Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-07-10


house and machine and car shops.
Brentwood damned the Red Water
and began grinding its own wheat be-
fore Minneapolis reached for 1t. Brent
wood jumped from population of 10
to $4,000 in less than ten years, and
Z NOW the Seattle and the Big Horn had
handsome stone depot buildings. The
st. Louis and Northwestern had grad
ed to within ten miles of the town, and
the Minneapolis and Southwestern had
n spur that tapped mills, elevators and
factories and switch engine that
screamed defiance at those of the big
transcontinentals. The Seattle was
not built through to "the sound" by
any manner of means, and the "Big
Horn" for which it's rival was named,
( looked very little when viewed from
the outermost stake. But the grain
and cattle business was tremendous If
through passenger was not. Chicago
took all the wheat and corn and live
stock the Red Water valley could spare
and eagerly bid for more. But e bad
time had come for the Seattle and Big
Horn both. Long, long lines of grain
.and cattle cars, especially cattle,
stretched westward on both main line
!; and sidings from Brentwood. The
mercury had dropped to within a few
degrees of zero. A thousand horned
fcattle and five times as many sheep
mnd hogs were clamoring for food and
water and couldn't get 1t, for thou
tsand angered men In the various shops
mnd yards of the Seattle and as many
lin the Big Horn had sworn no wheel
should turn and no hand should minis
tier until "the road" came to their
terms. If the trains had been passen-
ger coaches and the passengers hungry
and thirsty women and children, the
rule would have been the same. The
strikers proved that in later and
fiercer grappie when the authority Of
even the United States was set at
naught by the labor leader who estab-
lished his headquarters In Chicago and
checked the commerce of the world.
But this earlier instruction against
I'LL conscience. For "a hours only the
mail trains had been allowed to leave
the Chicago stations. For "a hours
east bound passenger trains had been
side tracked at faraway towns in the
interior. Train crews were coaxed or
driven from their posts. The few de-
I.termined and devoted men who re-
manned steadfast were assaulted and
fmobbed, and away out here ut Brent
wood the division shops poured forth
ian array Of strikers who, aided by
( gangs of tranps from all over the west
and toughs from the Missouri river
towns, were more than sufficient to bid
defiance to dozen sheritfs' posses and
ITO ditch trainload of Pinkertons three
days march away. The national guard
was on duty in Chicago, and the gov
ernor of Nebraska had ordered out
such militia as was then organized.
The people Of Dakota, just budding In
to twin star statehood, had appealed
for federal troops, but at Brentwood
the striker had full sway. Two COM
panies of militia arriving to reinforce
the local command found n few Of the
latter wandering disconsolately about
In small squads and civilian dress, the
laughing stock of the town, the leaders
of the strike having early and thought
fully possessed themselves of their
arms, armory and uniforms. Received
with ironical cheers, the newcomers
sought to communicate with the sher-
40, as their instructions required. Po-