The age-herald., 1900-05-09
STRIKERS CAUSE
 SEVERAL RIOTS All Street CaT Traffic in St
 Louis Stopped FORWARDED WITH STONES The Few Cars Taken Out Were Met by Crowds of Men and Boys,
 Who Demolished Them
 With Missiles.
FORWARDED WITH STONES

St. Louis, May S-In accordance with the decision reached by the St. Louis Transit eompany's employees early this morning a general strike was inaugurated on the im- mense system at daybreak today. No cars were in operation save a few of the Park avenue division. The first car on this divis- ion left the shed at o'clock. The strikers at the sheds did not attempt to prevent the crews from taking their cars out, and they ran unmolested until 1245 o'clock, when car No. of the Park avenue division was badly wrecked on Washington avenue, be- tween Sixth and Seventh streets by a volley of stones thrown by a crowd of men and boys.
 The suburban line, many of the em- ployees of which had been on a strike for several days, were also tied up after the early morning hours. Cars were run as far east as Thirteenth street, but when efforts were made to bring them down town, crowds of strikers and sympathizers inter- ferred with the crews, and in several cases dragged them off the cars From time to time during the afternoon and night att tempts were made to operate the cars. but nearly every attempt resulted in attacks on the crews by the crowds along the streets practically stopping traffic At 1 o'clock this afternoon a Park avenue car war con siderably damaged at Eighteenth and Washington avenue. A large crowd of men and boys was congregated there, and as the car approached they bombarded it with stones, regardless of the fact that several women were inside it.
 Stuck to Their Posts
 The crew on the car stuck to their posts although the stones flew thick around them. The company when it found that the cars could not be operated, ordered them back to the sheds. Numerous cars were stoned, and the men operating them were nit in almost every instance
 vehicles of all sorts were pressed into service today by the citizens of the town Tn getting to and from business Chair man Sam w. Lee of the national executive board, the man who is conducting the strike, said today that the union was sat lshed with the results of the strike. we struck to tie up the system" said he "and we have succeeded. The company has pre- cilitated this crisis by it's refusal to treat with us. We are ready at any time to do our part toward settling the differences between us and the company"
 Ihe union claims that 34,000 men are out,
 
 or the Transit company's employees
 A joint meeting of the executive commit tee Of the Business Mems League and board of directors of the Merchants Ex change has taken preliminary steps with view to settling the strike.
 The most serious personal injuries sus- tained up to tonight were received in riots which took place on Washington avenue from Sixth to Eighth streets. In one of them boy was shot by non-union con- ductor who was trying to push his car through the crowd. A motorman was se- riously injured by a brick. man was shot at Grand and Franklin avenues and another was shot near the crossing of the suburban tracks and Taylor avenue
 The police were powerless in the face of the mob. At 9 o'clock tonight as a suburban car was crossing Taylor avenue a big crowd gathered Some one in it pulled the trolley from the wire and this action so enraged a passenger, at present unknown, that he drew a revolver and fired three shots into the crowd. Hurd Gilberts, a barkeeper and onlooker re- ceived one of the bullets in the arm and another in the lung. Physicians pronounce his wounds mortal.