The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1903-11-18
SERIOUS RIOT IN CHICAGO.
Street Railway Tied Up by Strik.
ing Employees.
No One Killed, but Many Persons
Were Hurt.
The City Administration Will Seek te
Enforce Order, but Will not Take Sides
for or Against the Men.

CnlcagO, NOV. 12.-COuSJanC scenes
of disorder over a district, approx
mately fifty square miles in extent,
resulted today from the Inauguration
of a strike by the employees of one of
the two principal surface street rail-
way companies in Chicago. All along
the line wherever cars were started,
strike sympathizers made desperate
onslaughts on the crews, beginning at
dawn of day and continuing as long
as cars remained on the tracks. The
.tis-np was made complete.
A number of cars were wrecked and
that no person was killed is no fault
of the rioters. One man had his back
broken and the first shot of the strike
was ired at Wentworth avenue and
West 69th street, where mob eof
several hundred persons tried to hold
up train.
Many persons, chiefly non-union
street car men, we're injured by flying
stones or splintered glass. Two women
were among those hurt.
Excepting a few dozen passengers,
who had to flee from the cars, the three
hundred thousand daily patrons Of the
company were forced to all sorts Of
other methods in order to get down
town and back.
With faces and hands bleeding from
the attacks of the strikers, motormen,
gripmen and conductors, who tried to
run trains, returned to the barns, and
refused to 90 out again unless the
trains bore platoons of police or patrol
wagons we're alongside.
The police confined their efforts to
seeing that the passage ofA cars from
the barns was unobstructed, and that
crowds and blockades in the streets
were quickly cleared. This was done
under orders from Mayor Carter II.
Harrison, whose announced purpose
was to preserve an impartial attitude,
taking sides neither for nor against the
strikers nor the street car company
which, though known as the Chicago
City Railway Compny, is private
corporation, the lines of which extend
through the south side of the city,
radiating from the business centre.
Developments regarding the attitude
Of the municipal administration hinge
largely upon new official, Herman F.
Schuettler, who today, under appoint
ment from the mayor, assumed the
duties of assistant chief Of police. He
will be in direct charge of police
arrangements during the contest.
Schlettler is the man vino tracked
and arrested the Anarchist, Louis
Lingg, after the Hay Market riot, and
subsequently sent Adolph Luetgert,
the wealthy sausage man, to die in the
penitentiary under conviction for wife
murder. Schuettler has remarkable
record for personal daring and astute
ness.
Possibilities of Federal intervention
under certain contingencies are being
discussed. The situation in this re-
spect was outlined today by Postmaster
Coyne. He said:
''Thus far there is no cause for alarm
as to mail service. 1t is true trains
have been delayed, but that is not
serious enough to report to Washing
ton. The street car company owns
the mail cars, and by contract is oblig-
ed to run them in separate trains and
deliver mail at specified points. There
is no ground for objections against the
company sending out mail trains
between passenger trains. What else
can the company do? If serious delay
occurs we will report the fact to Wash
ington and act on instructions from
the postal department.. :" Before night
fall President Hamilton and General
Counsel Bliss, of the railway company,
after endeavoring to operate cars in
defiance of the strike of its trainmen,
announced. after a conference with
Mayor Harrison, that the attempt
would be abandoned for the day. The
railway officials say that 80 per cent
of their employees are loyal, and that
if accorded sufficient protection by the
police department they viii be able to
man and operate their cars. A further
effort to run cars, each car accom-
panied by squad of police in patrol
wagon, will, it is expected, be made
tomorrow.
The strike is the outgrowth Of per
sistent efforts for increased wages and
exclusion ofsnon-union employees. To-
day about 5000 men, practically the
entire force of the company's wage
earners, were idle, the number of men
at any time running cars being but q
small fraction of the number usually
at work. The company's stationary
fremen. who also have presented
demands upon the company for in
creased wages and to whom the train
men looked for assistance, have de-
clined to go out.
Derogatory remarks regarding the
union by an armed non-union employee
of the company caused a riot at Both
and State streets tonight. The man
was'cbased into the engine house near
by and before the police could reach
the spot mob of 1000 persons sur
rounded the place. bowling for the life
OF the refugee A squad Of policemen
after great difficulty quelled the distur-
bance and removed the man to place
of safety.
Chicago, Nov. l3-Twenty-fve cars,
run on the Wentworth avenue line with
out damage to cars or injury to the
non-union employees operating them,
was what the Chicago City Railway
company was able to accomplish today
With tho accictoDno of tho pO1;oo DO