Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1903-10-02

Coincident with the bursting of Fran.
els II. Clergue's $f17,000,000 bubble, tho
Consolidated Lake Superior Company,
there were riots and shooting Monday mt
the company's closed plants at Sault Ste.
Marie, Mich. While the company was
being placed in the hands of Il receiver
in Connecticut 1000 former employees
whose wages were not forthcoming as
promised battered down the doors Of the
magnificent office across the river smash
cd everything on the first floor and might
have torn down the 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, hootng and yelling, fought
and oyerpowered 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 were badly injured by the mob and
| two Frenchmen were shot by policemen
| for attempting to release two prisoners.
| More militiamen and Il 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 alay 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 tla Amer
| lean side and put the power house and
| street railway out of commission, but 1t
| 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 infamed 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 tao
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 cimpany IS
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 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 rcvolyers, prevented
the mob from gaining access to the ups
| per floors of the building. Every wins
dow and door in the building was SMASH
| cd in.
Someone turned in an alarm of fire
| with a view to using the fire hose on tho
mob. The firemen turned several streams
on the crowd and drove it back from tho
building. This reduced the size of the
| nob
THE arrival of the troops on tho
| grounds, armed within ball cartridges,
about = o'clock served to destore some
| Seulblance of order. The rioters then
contented themselves with throwing
stones at the building and hurting invec'
tives at the soldiers, who established 4
dead line" and prevented any approach
toward the building by a?y of the riot