Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1908-05-19


from the Lakeview barns was opposed
by the strikers.
In Lakewood, big suburb west of
the city, the trolley wires of the Mu-
nicipal Traction Company were cut.
Officials of the company claimed that
the police of the suburb made no at
tempt to prevent destruction Of its
property and called upon County Sher
If McGooray for protection. A number
of deputies were at once sent to Lake.
wood.
stones Hurled; Clubs Used.
The men on the cars refused to
leave and crowd quickly gathered.
The police, headed by the chief, were
rushed to the barns. In an effort to
drive the crowd back stones and
clubs were used. The police also
used their maces in an effort to con-
troll the mob. Many were slightly In
jured
Cars were stopped in all sections of
the city by the strikers and their
friends. A Payne avenue car was de-
rallied by a rail thrown across the
tracks. The crew on st. Clair ave-
nue. car were dragged from the car and
assaulted. The motorman's scalp was
laid open. On East Ninetieth street
a mob of SO men tore up the car
tracks and traffic was stopped.
Passengers in Peril.
During the early hours stones were
freely hurled at many and cars and
windows were broken In numerous In
stances. Rotten eggs were thrown at
the motormen and conductors. The
non-union men also were hooted and
1eered. In many instances riding upon
the cars by regular patrons was
fraught with danger. For the most
part people walked to their places of
business in the morning.
During the first hour or two after
the Inauguration of the strike there
was little or no trouble. The strikers
appealed to the non-union men who
refused to leave the, cars Some Of
them did desert after first deciding
not to strike. Many old employees re-
manned in the company's service.
An attempt to run cars on the Payne
avenue line was frustrated by crowd
OF strike sympathizeH. They took
away the controller lever of car,
pulled down the trolley and cut off the
trolley rope. The motorman and con-
ductor left the car standing in the
street. Later it was hauled back to
the barns. At the junction of the
Collinwood and Euclid Beach lines, in
the eastern suburb, switch point was
broken off and a telephone pole was
thrown across the tracks, effectually
tying up the progress of cars in that
section for the time being.
Gather About Car Barns.
The strike sympathizers gathered
around the car barns and hooted and
yelled with the strikers, at the men
at work. The union men were en-
| Unused, in some instances, to use force
to stop the operation of cars. For the
most part, however, it is said, the vio-
lence was instigated and carried out
by outsiders. The 300 motormen and
conductors formerly with the Forest
City Railway Company, the original
! three-cent fare line and later merged
| with the old Cleveland Electric Rail
way Company, now being operated by
the Municipal Traction Company, re-
NAMED at work. While many cars are
running, yet they form only a small
percentage of the usual quota. Some
lines are tied up entirely. The others
are running cars irregularly, averag-
ing possibly two or three an hour.
President Dupont Of the Municipal
Company stated that new men are en-
ployed as rapidly as possible. During
the past week scores of new men have
been broken in while scores of old
Cleveland Electric employees were dis
| charged.
Italian Knocked Unconscious.
A trolley rope of Cedar avenue car
was cut at East One Hundredth street,
and traffic further tied up when two
men climbed on top of the car and cut
the cars feed WIRE The next car
that came along was stoned, and an
Italian who was riding In it was
knocked unconscious by blow on the
head. The car windows were smashed.
A crowd at East One Hundred and
Fifteenth street charged a car that
started through, broke the windows
and dismantled the equipment. A
squad Of police soon arrived and
charged the mob and drove it back by
free use Of clubs.