Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-06-03
THE R|O1NG HAS BEGUN
Attempt to Move Meat Thru
Chicago Streets Precipitates
a Fierce Fight.
Policemen Knocked Down by
Stones...They Beat in the
Heads Of Strikers.
Other Vehicles Block Streets
Wherever Meat Wagon Try
to Go.

Chicago, June s.--I.io. and blcodshei
marked the progress of the teamsters
strike late yesterday. There We're ru-
merous fights between the police and
and the strikers and their sympath-
izers. Street Car traffic was stopped
while the fighting went on, the police
and employees of the packing COM
when surrounded by dense crowd
of men and women, the police. fifty
strong under the command of Lieuten-
ant Collins, maddened by the numer-
Gus stones with which they had been
! pelted, drew their revolNers and
charged full into the crowd, which
showed no disposition to retreat. Fists
| stones and clubs were brought into
requisition by the strikers and the
police used their batons and the butt
end of revolvers freely.
| When this fight was over there We're
| n number of strikers needing surgical
attendance. None We're dangerously
| injured as far as known. however, and
the wounded strikers were carried Off
by their friends.
The fighting began on the West Side
| shortly after noon and in different
parts of the city continued practically
all of the afternoon.
The most trouble Of the day occurred
In Crosby street in the district which
,>l; al
He'll" A detachment of policemen I'M
der command OF Lieutenant Collins was
escortins a number of wagons loaded
with meat to the distributing stations
down town. A large crowd followed the
wagons, shouting and jeering and now
and then sending stone over the
heads of the officers in the direction OF
the men on the meat wagons. Ihe
line of wagons escorted by the police
were frequently stopped by other
teamsters, who would manage to pull
across the street just in The proper
place to prevent the meat wilgons from
making any progress.
The police would order the man
away and in q few minutes the per-
Torrance would be repeated, much TO
the delight of The immense crowd that
was following. Finally, one teamster
refused to pull his team out OF the
way of the meat wagons and the po-
lice placed him under arrest Then
the fight commenced. In an instant a
shower of stores, mud and sticks fell
around and upon the officers, bruising
some of them badly.
Lieutenant Collins ordered the march
of the meat wagons to be stopped and
at once charged the crowd. The sight
of q policeman on the aggressive is
nothing new to the inha bitants OF
Little He'll" and the crowd refused
to bulge when the police came on. A
large number of women who came to
the aid of the strikers were the tiercest
fighters of the lot One officer was
knocked down with brick and his
companions then drew their clubs ana
made war with such force that in a
few minutes the street was filled with
men with bleeding heads.
The mob was led by a large man who
came from the gas house near Crosby
street. and who continually called to
his followers 10 kill the coppers first
and hang the scabs afterward,'
Finally big policeman got to the
man from the gas house, and when 1t
was over the, leader was carried off
by his friends, With his head and face
covered with blood.
The police made no attempt to ar
rest him, for they had their hands fun
With the hundreds of men and women
who crowded around them and fought
viciously with anything they could lay
their hands upon. The crowd increases
so rapidly that Lieutenant Collins soon
saw that his men would be overpow-
cred unless he took vigorous action at
once. He ordered the men to fall back
slowly toward the wagons, and the
crowd, seeing in this action token of
victory, pressed In with shouts and the
yollies of stones came more thickly.
The police fell back until they had
formed a compact mass close to the
wagons, and then, at Collins orders,
charged the crowd. This time the fight
was more desperate than before, and it
was over in much less time.
The police struck down numbers of
men and used their clubs and revolver
butts with energy, and in three min
utes the crowd was broken and in full
fight Forming his men around the
wagons once more, Collins started on
his march AS soon as the police start
ed away, the mob formed again, ard
altho at a respectful distance. they
kept after the wagons until they had
reached the barns at Halstead and Ii-
vision streets. In this fight about a
dozen of the officers We're badly bruise
and nearly all of them had torn cloth
ing Many more of the mob We're badly
used up, but as they We're all taken off
by their friends 1t is impossible to guess
at the number.
BY the time the barns were reached
the anger of the crowd mad grown to
fever heat. An attempt was made to
cross Halstead street, bur in less than
a minute blockade had been formed
which it took two hours to release. The
trouble at this point began when q
Halstead street electric car stopped di-
rectly on the crossing. The car was
filed with passengers on their way
home from work
1t was Il peculiar coincidence that
Just as the packing house wagons APP
preached the crossing the current was
cut off 1t was said that the trolley
wire had been cut. A police sergeant
approached the car and ordered the
motorman to proceed.
| Don't you do it, shouted the pas
sengers. "NWe'll stay here all night
! Don't move a step"