The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-08-05
Biggest Car Strike in History of
N. Y. Ties Up Six Lines.
Day Opens With Acts of Vfo-
lence and Much RiOting.
1000 CARMEN QUIT WORK
Expect 1t Will Spread to Every
Surface Line Today.
Run Cars With Police; Affects
100000 Passengers.

New York. Aug. 5.-Men on the sec-
ond avenue lines Joined the strikers
this afternoon Their employers said
no demands had been presented and
that less than SO per cent of their ern-
ployes went out.
AT noon today the number of cars
in operation on all lines in Manhattan
had materially decreased. Officials of
the railways said this was due to Jack
of police protection They maintain
that strikebreakers have been mob
bed, and intimidated until it has been
necessary for them to stop the opera
tons of cars in many sections of the
city. Additional police protection Is
assured. however. Greatest trouble in
operating the few cars running was
experienced in the heart of the crowd
ed East side, where many of the strik-
ers i've Enormous crowds of women.
boys men and even little girls, poured
out of close-built tenements and
swarmed to the streets and tracks
Plant Furniture on Track.
The crowds carried chairs stools.
buckets and all kinds of portable fur
nlture At times it was necessary for
cars cars to stop thirty minutes before pc
lice reserves could pass and shove a
passage through the mob
Police arrangements have been
completed with flying strike squads as
the important unit of the force Po-
lice Commissioner Woods said TODAY
he anticipated no necessity for calIjng
on Governor Whitman for troops. Big
Trims whose employees are multitude :
nous were using autos to transport
thelr workers. The surface and ele-
waited roads, the only ones continuing
regular schedules in New York were
1ammed and packed almost beyond
human belief during the morning rush
hour.
Day Opens With Rioting.
New York. Aug. 5-Incipient riot
ing and hundreds of acts of petty yio-
lence marked the opening today If
the latest development in the biggest
street car strike in the history cr
Americas biggest city. After the first
few riotous gathering of strikers were
dispersed by the police, how yer. New
York waited to see how tight the tie
up would be. Walkouts by men IN
the New York Railways company and
the New York and Queens county lines
which began shortly before midnight
brought the total number of com
panies affected up to six in Yonkers
West Chester, Flushing. White Plains.
The Bronx and Manhattan Two and
half million passengers ride on these
lines daily.
Half Men Join Strike.
Nearly 1000 mouormen and rom
auctors out of a total of nearly 1900
have struck. Spread to Staten Island
was expected hourly. When men on
lines there go out, and IL seemed arIv
today inevitable that they would the
strike will have been carried to every
surface line In Greater New York.
The usual charges and counter
charges OF hiring of thugs, or respon-
s1bility for inviting of violence were
flung back and forth between COM
pany and union officials today. Press
ident Shonts of the New York City or
Green Car Lines issued a statement
oh ,v-rrIr7
with being a known dynaniter.
Shonts declared the man was con-
nected with the recent bomb outrage
curing the San Francisco preparedness
parade. Union leaders denied the
charge.
Vote for Sympathetic Strike.
Elevated and subway lines. not cf-
fected by the strike, were thronged by
persons unable to use the surface
lines. Threats have been made that
the strike eventually would be ex-
tended to those systems
The strike began to take effect on
the main lines of the New York rail-
ways company as early as 10 o'clock
last night when the first meeting of
conductors and motormen voted TO
quit work. One thousand men took
similar vote at meeting early this
morning.
Employees of the Second avenue line
who had presented no demands to
the company. struck in sympathy. Two
hundred employees of the surface lines
in Queensborough voted to quit early
today. The Brooklyn lines are not In
volved. The officials of the New
York Railways company asserted that
only a small percentage of their en-
ployes had voted to quit work and
sought the protection of, the police for
the others
Cars Running at o a. m.
At 9 o'clock officials of the New
York Railroads company said service
on all their lines was ftalfuost Do-rual"