Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1903-10-06
500 AT MOB'S MERCY.
UNPAID WORkMEN CAUSE RIOT
AND BLOOOSHE0..
Fixture of the Consolidated Lake SUI
perior Bubble Brings Serious Dis
,urbauce-Angry Men Wreck Office
and Defy Troops.

Coincident with the bursting Of Fran
els II. Clergue's Sill, 100000 bubble, the
Consolidated Lake Superior Company,
there were riots and shooting Monday at
the eo.npany's closed plants at Sault Ste.
Marie, Mich. While the company was
beng placed in the hands of a receiver
III Connections 200G former employees
whose wages We're nos forthcoming as
promised battered down the doors of the
magnificent office across the river, smash
ed everything on the irst floor and might
have torn down tha building but for fire.
men with hose and militiamen with load
ed rifles who threatened to kill the mem
bers of the mob unless it withdrew.
The mob, hooting and yelling, fought
and overpowered the police, and after
the local company of Canadian militia
had been called out hurled bricks and
stones at the soldiers
Most of the members of the mob were
armed, but no one used his weapons ex-
cept the soldiers, the police and the office
employees of the company. -Four police
men we're badly injured by the mob and
two Frenchmen were shot by policemen
for attempting to release two prisoners.
More militiamen and company of Brit
ish regulars were ordered out.
The employees held a big mass meeting
Monday night in the White house. An
attempt was made to allay the passions
of the men by an offer made by the
brotherhood Of WoOdsmen, an organiza-
ton maintained among the lumbermen,
to furnish an attorney free of charge to
collect all pay checks left in his hands.
The meeting broke up without any par
ticular confusion or disorder.
An effort was made to get q body of
the rioters to cross the river to the Amer
lean side and put the power house and
street railway out of commission, but it
was not successful. On account of this
rumor the local company of Michigan
troops was modified at the armory and
extra policemen were put on duty.
A meeting of the employees Of the COM
pany was held in Barnes Hall in the
morning and its proceedings were of the
most heated character. The particular
grievance that inhamed the men to acts
of disorder was the promise of pay when
the men who made the promises, the
employees believed, knew they could not
be fulfilled. Immediately after this
meeting the men went in a body to the
Office of the company, determined to get
their money or satisfaction" The doors
of the offices were locked and guarded
by police.
The men became furious, and despite
the efforts of the combined strength of
the local police force and the companys
private police stones and other missiles
soon filled the air. directed at the win
dows of the Office building, inside of
which could be seen the officials of the
company.
An assault on the office was made by
the mob and a mass of frenzied rioters
secured possession of the ground floor of
the building, destroying everything NOV
able that came in their path. The office
staff, with drawn revolvers, prevented
the mob from gaining access to the up
per floors of the building. Every win
dow and door in the building was smash
ed in.
Someone turned in an alarm of fire
with a view to using the fire hose on the
mob. The firemen turned several streams
on the crowd and drove it back from the
building. This reduced the size of the
mob.
The arrival of the troops on the
grounds, armed with ball cartridges,
about o'clock served to restore some
semblance of order. The rioters then
contented themselves with throwing
stones at the building and hurting invec-
tives at the soldiers, who established a
dead line and prevented any approach
toward the building by any of the riot
ers
in order TO avoid a clash all the cars ON
the Canadian side were ordered to the
barn.
In the conflict between the mob and
the police at the works Patrolman Lit
tlewood was seriously injured and Pa
trolman Stinson was Also hurt badly.
Two other policemen were injured.