The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-22
Trimmed Out Last Night and
Rowdy Element Became
Much in Evidence
POLICE, HOWEVER, IN
APPARENT CONTROL
Company Officials Are Greatly
Pleased With Way Employees
Stood by Them Yesterday
in Maintaining Service

A marked thinning out of cars operat-
ing from the business district to the res
idence sections and a very noticeable in
crease of rowdyism among the strikers
and strike sympathizers constituted last
night the first appreciable effects of the
street car strike.
During the day and up until $50 or 9
o'clock last night the strike of the street
railway employees, called Friday night,
had had no apparent effect on the opera
tions of the Birmingham Railway, Light
and Power company About 8 oclock last
night, however. the cars began to thin
| out very noticeably, abnormal crowds
gathered on the street corners waiting
for cars, and soon after hundreds of peo-
pe men, women and children, started
walking in all directions toward the res
| idence districts--and the majority of them
had not Joined the II Will Walk clubs,
either
Police Seemed in Control
| That there were no serious disturb
ances of the peace last night was gem
orally considered as true criterion of
the effectiveness of the police force and
| the grip the city officials have on the
strike situation. For many of the strik-
ers and sympathizers insuted and cursed
every man who would not allow them to
| tie an Il Will Walk tag on him. The
strikers were very orderly and peaceful
| yesterday but as darkness came last night
the rowdy element came out more boldly
and many arrests were made by the po-
| lice
| In spite of all the insults and discour-
teous approaches of some of these men
! to peaceful citizens who had nothing to
+, do with the strike one way or the other,
there was not reported a single serious
| fight or disturbance up to midnight. The
minute one of these men grew loud and
| insulting a police officer was on the
| scene and quietly escorted him off to the
| city Jail. The usual procedure of these
] fellows was to walk the street in threes
| and fours and accost everyone who was
| not wearing a tag. If the man ap-
preached refused to take the tag, the
| three or four Immediately started de-
| bate among themselves and in very aud
| ible voices intended for the citizens ears
| they advanced startling opinions as to
the citizens ancestry, his mental accom-
| plishments, his .'scabbing'' proclivities
and mis- atomstic position in the general
scheme of things At about this stage
! of the proceedings a "cop" would sud-
denly appear and the debate would unan-
| imously adjourn.
Police on Every Car
Uniformed officers of the police depart
ment rode every car that operated after
| dark last night. In addition to this many
extra policemen patroled the downtown
streets, several being in every block.
There was very large crowd downtown
last night until late.
Yesterday afternoon the strikers and
sympathizers followed the custom of ac-
costing every motorman as he came down
town and got off to change the switches,
asking him to join the-union. This was
stopped last night by the street car COM
pany. Employees of the company in
groups of twos and threes We're stationed
at every downtown switch and when the
| loyal motorman brought his car in they
escorted him to the switch and back to
his car and not another person was al
lowed to go near him.
Cars Become More Scarce
! AS the night wore on the scarcer be-
came the cars until along about midnight
| the schedules We're far apart. There were
times along about 10 and II o'clock when
for a full 20 minutes there would not
be "a car in sight on Twentieth street.
| going either way. When one did come,
| 1t was packed to the roof with. swelter-
| ing humanity long before it left the down.
| town section. The crowds of citizens on
the street corners appeared to be good
| natured and even took insults from the
| "taggers' without objection in the in
terest of peace.
| Strike headquarters were maintained all
day and all night at the knights of Co
lumbus hall and the union men claim they
are steadily gaining recruits. This the
street railway officials deny.
Poor Showing Made
| The strike of street railway employees
| of the Birmingham Railway, Light and
Power company was unproductive of any
effective tie up in street car operations
here yesterday.
At midnight Friday night there was
called a strike of the street railway em-
-->-----~---
tCOntinued ON Page Ten)