Here we have it, upon the authority of President Cleveland’s own
Commission, that the United States government under his administration
furnished the railroad corporations with government officers in the form
of deputy marshals to take the places of striking employes, operate the
trains and serve in that dual capacity in any way that might be required
to crush out the strike. This is perhaps more credit than the
ex-President expected to receive. His own Commission charges him, in
effect, with serving the railroads as strike-breaker by furnishing
government employes to take the places of striking railroad men and
arming them with pistols and clubs and with all the authority of
government officials.
Page after page bears testimony of the disreputable character of the
deputy marshals sworn in to the number of several thousand and turned
loose like armed bullies to “preserve the peace.”
The report of the Strike Commission contains 681 pages. I have a mass of
other testimony, but for the purpose of this article have confined
myself to the report of Mr. Cleveland’s own Commission.