The Billings gazette., 1902-06-06
TAKEN
FROM POLICE
RIOTERS IN CHICAGO GIVE Off
GERS HARD FIGHT.
.AMBULANCEs KEPT BUSY
Sympathetic Teamsters Drive Wagons
So as to Block Progress Of
Meat Caravan.
Sympathetic Teamsters Drive Wagons

TO the LeamSLefS SCrlKe increased Ii
ferocity and frequency today. Police
men in a number of instances had to
draw their revolyers to protect them
selves, and several of them had their
clubs taken from them. The hospitals
began to feel the effect Of the battling
by the increased number of patients,
and the police stations were scarcely
able to take people arrested. Most
serious riots broke out at Congress
and State and Harrison and State
streets. By some vancouver the strik-
ers succeeded in dividing the 38 wa
gon caravan (the second one to leave
the yards today so that the front Of
it lay at Congress street on State and
the rear at Harrison. While the van
guard battled with crowd which
hurled broken bottles, stale eggs and
other missiles, the rear guard was
called upon to defend itself against a
more serious attack.
Drivers Assaulted.
At this place the mob made des.
perate assault on the drivers, but was
compelled to turn it's attention to the
police, who came up on the run. Twice
the blue-coats hurled themselves
against the infuriated men and twice
! they were rebuffed and crowded back
It was the most desperate clash the
| police have had with a mob in sew.
eral years. The strikers and their
sympathizers took clubs from police.
men and used them against their own.
ers. After the two ineffectual rushes
at the crowd mentioned, the police
managed to arrange themselves in
better shape and for the third time
rushed the mob. This time they were
successful.
The caravan, after 20 minutes de-
lay, began to move, but not in peace,
for the crowd followed closely The
police, however, walked by the wa
CONS and for a time confined their
efforts to pulling from the wagons
men who tried to climb into the seats,
presumably to pull down the drivers.
From windows along the route mis-
siles were flung at them. At every
street corner teamsters in sympathy
with the strikers so managed to bring
their wagons as to bring about a
blockade. With the continued opposi-
ton of the bombardment, the blocking
and the jeers, the police lost their
tempers and clubed with apparent in
discrimination. 1t was said that sew
eral women and boys received blows
from the batons of the police. The
streets through which the caravan
passed by noon had become perfect
maelstrom of surging, excited human
ity. The slowly persistent progress of
the meat wagons acted as a goad to
the temper Of the crowds.
Patrol wagons were kept busy rush
ing to the various lockups with pris-
oners; ambulances hurried to the
nearest hospitals, where heads could
be sewed up, but this did not lessen
the resistance of the strikers or their
sympathizers. The sight of new ar
rest and of newly cracked skulls only
whetted their appetites. While pass
ing under the elevated road loop the
caravan was endangered by trolley
wires which had been cut from their
fastenings and hung down to the pave
ments. No one was hurt, however,
from this cause.
Business on State street was in a
state of barracade for several hours.
Pickets for the strikers persuaded
some sympathetic drivers to drive in
to the thoroughfare in order to check
the advance Of the meat wagons. At
Madison and State streets the volley
of eggs, bricks, ETC., became SO thick
and the street so congested that the
police were forced to charge upon the
crowd. -Sympathizers in wagon loads
tried to drive into the squads of po-
lice and many were slightly injured
in the fracas. One old man had his
arm broken by a blow from a police
mans club.
At Randolph and Clark streets the
mob. which was preceding and fol
lowing the meat caravan, became riot
Ious again. From coal wagon and
| from standing produce wagons the
crowd seized missiles and pelted the
s-drivers OF the packing house wagons