The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-08-15
DURYEA THE SCENE
OF WILD TUMULT
Deputies and Strikers Clash at the Warnke Wash
cry and Riot Reigns for Four Hours-Eialf
Dozen or More Are Injured

Duryea was, yesterday, the scene Of a
conflict between deputies and strikers
which resulted in a deputy having his
skull fractured. striker being shot in
the leg, and reign Of terror ensuing
which moved the sheriff to decide to
call for troops. Later he decided to
withdraw the call
Harry Carrin, of Lackawanna ave-
nue., this city, was the deputy injured.
He Is at the Lackawanna hospital,
lowering between life and death. The
wounded striker is Adam Juravitch, OF
Babylon. A bullet entered his left leg
just behind the knee. He was taken
to his home.
Another man who was mistaken for
deputy had his head cut open with
a stone and narrowly escaped being
killed as he was being helped aboard
car to be taken to the Pittston hos
pital
This latter assault took place while
the police force and a number of depu-
ties were veritable onlookers. Chief
Of Police Cosgrove and Deputy Sheriffs
Seiple and Rodda realized their inabil-
ity to cope with the situation, and the
deputies telegraphed Sheriff Jacobs
that he should call for troops. After
a short talk over the wire the sheriff
said he would make the call, but after
wards changed his mind.
The disorder was resultant of an at
tempt to operate the Warnke washery,
located in the very heart of Duryea,
the most lawless community, undoubt-
edly. in the whole anthracite region.
An attack was made on the guards,
they fired on the mob, and when the
shooting ceased the Duryen police went
to the washery, seized the fifteen depu-
ties and eight workmen who had not
escaped or been laid low. and locked
them up in the borough Jail.
The burgess, who is also the village
doctor. one DR.. Burlington, committed
them Unfortunately to Jail in default
of $4,000 ball. deputies workmen and
wounded men alike. A force of twenty
deputies who We're fastened from
Wilkes-Barre on a special train, sue
ceeded in getting the prisoners safely
from the Jail to a special Lackawanna
train consisting of car and engine,
and they were hurried off to Wilkes
Barre. The conductor of the train had
his head injured by stone thrown from
the crowd as the prisoners were being
loaded on the car.
Was Expected.
The conflict was only what every
one expected and what Sheriff Jacobs
should have anticipated. Two pre-
vious attempts were made to operate
the washery, but both were unsuccess-
full because of the onslaughts of the
lawless Hungarians, Poles and Italians
of the Duryea- a-Lackawanna-O Forge
region.
After waiting week or so the gen.
eral manager of the washery, ex-Re-
corder of Deeds Frederick Warnke, de-
termined to make a final and desperate
attempt, to get his plant under way.
Wednesday, force of carpenters, en-
gagged in erecting a barbed wire fence
about the washery, We're driven to COW
err by mob Of strikers and the fence
was torn down. Later in the day
some of Sheriff Jacobs men appeared
on the scene, in response to sum-
mons by telephone. The mob was dis
persed and work on the fence COM
pleted.
1t was known throughout the entire
mined effort would be made yesterday,
to start up. and it was freely declared
by the strikers of the community that
the washery would not be allowed to
work.
General Manager Warnke brought
seventeen deputies and about ten
workmen to the washery during the
night. ready to get under way with
the coming Of day The deputies were
armed with siXteen-shot 44.calibre Win
chester rifles and the workmen with
3S-callbre revolvers. A line of two and
one-half inch hose was laid from the
engine house pump to the roadway
skirting the washery, as an additional
means of repressng an attack. Sheriff
Jacobs sent half-a-dOzen of his Office
deputies to help preserve the peace.
At daylight, a crowd began to gather
outside the washery. BY Q O'Clock it
numbered 500 persons, many of them
women. The sheriff's Office deputies
went among them and succeeded in
inducing them to leave. They We're
comparatively quiet and did nothing
more than jeer and throw few stones.
The deputies inside the barbed wire
fence kept in the background.
Sheriff's Men Left.
The sheriffs deputies left for Wilkes
Barre about II o'clock, believing, pos
sibly, that all danger of an outbreak
had passed
Soon after noontime the crowd again
began to assemble in the vicinity of
the washery. Every minute ii grew
bigger and bolder. A crowd of boys
playing base ball in an adjacent field
gave up their sport to mingle with the
throng and emboldened and encour-
aged by their elders began to jeer and
then hurl missiles at the washery
hands.
AT 2.30 O'Clock, when the crowd was
about at point where 1t could no
longer contain itself, young man
named Cosgrove reputed to be a mem
ber of the notorious willy Gang" and
a brother of the chief of police, boldly
approached the stockade and entered
the wire enclosure. The guards say he
had stone in each hand and advanced
towards them, uttering threats. Chief
OF Police Cosgrove denies that his
brother did anything more than stand
about the outside of the fence, and that
he only went inside when summoned
by the chief to assist the police force,
after the shooting was over with.
General Manager Fred Warnke was
in Scranton. His young brother, a
mere boy, was In charge of the depu-
ties. Each deputy had one blank and
fifteen ball cartridges in his rifle.
According to the deputies, the mob
began throwing stones as Cosgroye an