The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-08-21
ride THREATS
ARE HURLED IN
BUS WALKOUT
10000 Street Car Men May
Join Strike; Warfare
Feared Near.
BIZ United Press

By United Press
CHICAGO, Aug. 21.-The lone
way ride" deadly reprisal invented
by Chicago's gangland, threatened
today to add major violence to the
strike of union bus drivers.
Police were told that death
threats had been received by sew
eral striking drivers. Union lead
ers, claiming the warnings came
from hired SluggerS, announced sew
eral warrants would be sought.
The possibility of bloodshed-po-
lice said things are about ripe to
blow wide open"-came as 10000
street car and elevated lines en-
ployes awaited word from a confer
ence in Detroit which will determine
whether they r to vote on a strike
in sympathy with the bus drivers.
Should the trolley and IL" work
erS leave their cars the nations Sec
ond city would be in the grip of a
serious transportation paralysis.
Violence Flares Repeatedly
Behind the new death threats re-
ported to police lay a background
of steadily widening vio1ence-slug-
g1ngs, stoning of buses and damage
of omnibuSes.
Bobby Lee, striking driver and
one-time boxer, appeared at the
Fillmore street police station on
Grutches to ask warrants for two
men whom he accused of threaten
ing to kill him.
Lee received a broken ankle, two
cracked ribs and a body covered
with bruises in a clash with nom
union drivers operating the buses.
You'll be taken for a ride if you
appear on the street again." a voice
told him over the telephone last
night, according to his story to po-
lice.
Two other strikers, Irving Thomp-
son and James Lynch, said they
would swear out warrants against
aSsailants whom they described as
company sluggerS."
Police Patrol Routes
Armed patrols of police rode up
and down the 225 miles of streets
and %boulevards traversed by the
company BUSES and squads of uni
formed men were concentrated in
the loop.
Things are about ripe to blow
wide OPEN" said Captain Ira Nc
Dowell, commander of all uniformed
police. Il look for big trouble"
Action of the executive committee
of the Amalgamated Association of
Street and Electric Railway EN-
ployes, meeting in Detroit, on a plea
for sanction of a general transporta-
ton strike in Chicago, was expected
today.
Ralph Stoltzmann, president of
the Bus Drivers local union,
laughed scornfully at the company's
claim that fewer than seventy-fve
of its 300 drivers are on strike.
I'VE have nearly 700 union mem
bers out of that 300" he said gr4mly,
and we have that many on strike.
Violence Breaks Out
Bus service has not been affected
noticeably by the strike but violent
incidents have been constant.
A driver of one of, the elevated
lines supplementary buses was
shot by police, who said he threw
a brick through a motor coach WIN
dow, nonunion bus drivers have
been stoned repeatedly and pas
sengers have been chased from
buses by threatening pickets.
More than 5000 persons partici-
pated in or watched a riot in which
pickets battled 200 police in an at
tempt to overturn BUSES on West
Jackson boulevard.
Sixteen pickets have been ar
rested. Among them were several
employees of the street car and ele-
waited lines who backed moral sup
port with fists.
Predicts Real Trouble
Stoltzmann bitterly predicted
real trouble" unless police protect
peaceful pickets from bus company
sluggers."
Executives of the coach company,
who have defed a national labor
board order to reinstate twenty
four discharged union men, told a
different story.
They conferred with Hugh Friel,
department of labor conciliator
sent from Washington, but appar-
emily conceded nothing to the union.
The two parties r as far apart
as the poles said Mr.. Friel. Con
citation looks improbable, if not