The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1910-03-02
FOR GENERAL STRIKE
Central Labor Union Backs Up
the Striking Car Men.

Sunday Was a Day Of Almost contInu.
GUS Rlotng-car That Was Deraled
by Blocking of Switch Crashed
Into a Building and Boy Was Kill
ed and a Man Fatally Injured-Boy
and Two Women In the Store Mar
rowly Escaped Death.
Union labor in the city OF Phil
adelphia voted Sunday night to back
~ the striking motormen and conduc-
ors in their fight against the Phil
idelphia Rapid Transit company. The
Central Labor union, after secret
meeting of 600 delegates, voted for
4 general strike to go into effect next
Saturday.
Sunday was a day of almost con-
.inuous rloting in which boy was
killed and sixty persons were hurt
1t was one of the worst days Philadel-
adelphia has suffered since the en-
ployes OF the p. r. T. walked out
Individual Unions to Vote.
The order for general sympathtic
strike was determined on as the only
means to force the Rapid Transit COM
pany to arbitrate with its men. The
heads of ur'ons allied with the Anal
gamated. the car men, declared frank
ly that their principal purpose was to
make the company give in. Their
reason for postponing the strike until
next Saturday was that the company
may be forced by public opinion to
agree to arbitration. In that event
the general strike order will be re-
scinded.
The action of the Central Labor
union puts 1t up to the individual
unions to vote whether they want to
strike. The danger in declaring
a general strike to go into effect next
men will have the active help Of per-
haps $1,000 idle men.
A southbound car turned east at
Jackson street and the conductor was
in such a hurry to dodge bricks that
he failed to throw back the switch.
After the car had gone on some one
placed a piece of wood in the switch
to hold it open.
Derailed Car Crashed Into Store.
There were three passengers on the
car following. 1t was attacked so
viciously at Dickinson street that the
three threw themselves on their faces.
Stones and bricks crashed through the
windows. A policeman on the front
platform, struck with brick, fired
into the crowd but hit nobody. The
motorman twisted his controller clear
over and the car ran ahead at top
speed. 1t was getting dark. The mo-
torman failed to notice that the switch
was blocked open. The car took the
switch with terrific jerk, righted itself,
shot ahead the length OF the switch,
bounded across a sidewalk and drove
into the wall Of a store at the south
west corner of Fifth and Jackson. The
impact was so heavy that the wall
gave way, letting the nose of the car
into the store. The motorman and
conductor jumped before the smash
but the policeman was caught and in
jured.
Charles McKenna, 10-year-old boy
could not get out of the way and was
pinned between the car and the wall.
He died half an hour later in the
Methodist hospital, John e. Freserick
was crushed in the same way and can
not survive his injuries. The others
who were hurt are three boys, Abra-
ham Skinsky, Raymond Trainor and
Edward Moore.
A boy and two women in the store
narrowly escaped death. The car
whirled heavy counter from its
place. The women and the boy were
caught behind the counter. They were
squeezed but not seriously hurt. 1t
required 100 policemen to clear the
street.