The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-06-07
Strikers Claim to Have $500 Men.

Strikers Claim to Have $500 Men.
The strikers claim they have $500
men In their ranks. Two thousand
attended the meeting in Paine Mem
orial hall, which voted 1888 to s to
strike. The company claims only 900
who attended this meeting were ever
employed on their cars. The COM
pany also claims that at least 1000 OF
its 5000 employees have Joined the
Loyal Federation" recently organic
ed.
The first charge on car was at
Castle Square, near the meeting hall.
Car crew and passengers we're driven
from an outbound Brookline car, cob
bic stones were hurled through the
windows and the thumb screws on the
fuse box torn out and thrown away.
It was half an hour before traffic on
that line was resumed.
Crowd Dispersed by Police.
The crowd was dispersed by police
after four arrests had been made. 1t
gathered again in the heart of the
down town district at Washington and
Elm streets, where a semi-convertible
Medford car, outbound from Adams
Square, was stopped by 100 men, who
/ smashed windows with sledge ham
mer, crawled through the windows
and chased the passengers. The con-
Iductor and Motorman Fay resisted
and were roughly handled. Fay show
ed tear in his coat which he said
| had been cut by a man welding a
long knife. Superintendent Costello
of that car division, was thrown to
| the street and trampled on. The troll
! ley rope was cut, the fuses removed
and traffic delayed an hour At Hay
market Square, an Everett car was
stopped and wrecked and two more
We're. wrecked on the CharIestowJ
! bridge enroute to the city Sieepers
bridge over which some surface cars
come from Cambridge. Traffic was
delayed on that line for two hours
Massachusetts, avenue and fremont
| street, in the Back Bay, was the scene
of another car stop. A badly crippled
Cambridge car which runs on belt
! line circuit, was stopped 1t was
+ sent to the Eenox barns to be repair.
ed. AS it showed into the barn, a
! Jamaica Plains inbound car was
stopped at the entrance Of the build.
ling and had to follow the Dudley
street car to the repair shop. Motor
man O'Brien and Conductor Collamer
were both cut and bruised about the
| head and face.
| Despite the disorders the elevated
ran more cars in the early hours than
ever before. Besides the 1000 Loyal
Federationists' 1900 imported strike
breakers made up the car crews.
AS soon as the first report began to
reach headquarters, Police Commits
sioner O'Meara ordered all reserves
on duty at the subway and elevated
stations and the car barns. All pre-
icinct captains and headquarter inspec-
tors were called into active service.
/, Less Than Half Service Operated
| After midday developments we're
rapid Because the guards at the
! Park street terminal of the Cambridge
subway deserted to the ranks of the
strikers, the elevators were stopped
and passengers had to climb three
flights of stairs to the street. BY
one o'clock less than half of the
regular trains were running between
Boston and Cambridge.
AT / O'Clock the cars on the Water
town to Beacon Street, Central
square, and Cambridge lines were
completely tied up, the employees hav-
ling gone over to the strikers. Many