ONWARD THROUGH OHIO.
Events in the Buckeye State—An Ugly Mob at Columbus—Marching Around
and “Shutting Manufactories Down”—Festive Firemen at
Collingswood—Marching Though Zanesville—The Breeze at
Newark—Cincinnati’s Fortunate Escape—A Mayor Harmless but Wise—He
Talks Kindly to the Strikers—And They Hear Him Gladly—Trouble at
Toledo.
At Cincinnati, an uneasy, restless feeling was prevalent among the
officers of the railroads centering there, although no strike had been
yet inaugurated, on the 20th. The Ohio and Mississippi men were waiting
for the pay-car, which passed East on the road the following Monday,
when they struck. The car started from St. Louis, and that was where
trouble was first anticipated. The Ohio and Mississippi Railway is the
Western outlet of the Baltimore and Ohio. On the Marrietta and
Cincinnati road, the intermediate connection of the Baltimore and Ohio,
no trouble occurred, and the personal popularity of General
Superintendent Peabody was very great. The Erie connection there—from
Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton road—notified their men of a reduction,
but on the demand of the employes, the order of reduction was
subsequently rescinded. There had been no trouble on the Pan Handle road
west of Pittsburgh. The Cincinnati, Louisville and Lexington Railroad
Company notified their men of a reduction of ten per cent., to take
effect immediately, but the order was not carried out.
On the 22d, the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad Company acceded
to the demand of their employes, and thus withdrew a large number of men
from the forces of the strikers.
The Little Miami Railway Company did the same thing. The action taken by
the managers of these railroad companies was of immense service to the
authorities in preserving the piece and upholding the laws in
Cincinnati. The withdrawal of so many men from the strike, cured the
enthusiasm of a vast number of sympathizers. The moral effect was of
incalculable value to the friends of law and order at that critical
juncture. It turned the scales against riots in Cincinnati.
The situation on the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad assumed a more
serious aspect on the 23d. All trains, both passenger and freight, were
blocked. Only postal cars were allowed to leave the yards. Strikers were
posted at Storr’s Station, a short distance from Cincinnati, and
determined no train should leave that city.
A deputation waited upon Superintendent Graves that day, but received no
satisfactory assurance. Nine engines and trains of freight cars were
abandoned along the road.
Mayor Moore issued a proclamation, wherein, after reciting the accounts
of disturbances at Pittsburgh and other points, he commended the example
of the citizens of Cincinnati as creditable to her people, and felt
assured it would result to the General and individual good of all
citizens of Cincinnati.
The serious nature of the difficulties between the railroad companies
and their employes induced Governor Young, of Ohio, to issue a
proclamation, which he did, the document reading as follows:
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. }
COLUMBUS, OHIO, July 25, 1877. }
TO THE PEOPLE OF OHIO:—
Owing to the troubles existing between Railroad Companies and their
employes, great excitement exists throughout the State. Of this
unfortunate state of affairs lawless and disreputable persons are taking
advantage, and endangering life and property. The civil authorities,
State, county and municipal, as well as the military, must and will
everywhere exert their power to enforce the law in every respect. The
good name of our people demands that this shall be done, and in no other
way can the order which is absolutely necessary to public and private
safety be maintained.
To avert all danger, and in order to successfully meet all resistance to
thorough execution of the law, I hereby call on law-abiding men in all
our cities, towns and villages to tender their services to their
respective civil authorities, and under their direction and control
organize themselves into a volunteer police force sufficiently strong to
overawe the lawless elements.
I confidently expect all good men will respond promptly and cheerfully
to this call.
THOMAS L. YOUNG, Governor.
At Cincinnati, on the 25th, no grain was moved from the elevators, and
several manufactories had stopped work in consequence of inability to
ship their goods. The employes of the Wabash Railway at that point did
not join the strike.
At a large meeting of railroad men held the night of the 25th, a desire
was expressed by the speakers that railroad and all other property
should be protected. No attempts were made to interfere with the workmen
in factories, mills, &c., but apprehensions were felt that such an
action might be resorted to during the trouble.
Order was restored permanently in Cincinnati in a comparatively brief
time after the first manifestations of the strike. The action of the
railroad employes in tendering their services to protect railroad
property and secure the moving of passenger trains, left malicious
abettors bent upon extreme measures without a footing. Passenger trains
were sent out on the Hamilton and Dayton Railroad, guarded by railroad
men, each train having four or six well armed men on the engine, and two
or four on the platforms. The Miami passenger trains arrived and
departed on time as usual. Another evidence of the wisdom of making
concessions. Trains on the Cincinnati and Marietta road also run
regularly.
No through freight trains were moved on any of the roads. Passenger
trains were uninterrupted on all the roads running into Cincinnati,
except the Ohio and Mississippi.
The railroad men were generally among the best friends of law and order
at Cincinnati. Many trains, both freight and passenger, were running,
and only on the Ohio and Mississippi was there complete blockade. There
was a fortunate and complete absence of interference by the Federal
authorities. A feature of the close of the strike—or rather the failure
to get up one there—was the outpouring of tramps, noticed by all
incoming railroaders. The walkers had evidently found that it was
healthier for their class elsewhere.
At Collinswood, on the Lake Shore road, in Ohio, on the 25th, a large
body of strikers had gathered, and the men were in constant
communication with their fellows in Buffalo and Cleveland. Everything
was quiet and orderly, but the men seemed to be determined to carry
their point. For miles up on the side tracks, freight cars stood as
closely together as possible, and much of the freight of a perishable
nature spoiled. In certain instances permission was given parties in
Cleveland and elsewhere to cart it away, but subsequently a resolution
was passed that no more freight be interfered with. The feeling was very
bitter against nearly all the officers of the road. A conference was had
between the committee of the strikers and General Manager, John Newell.
Mr. Newell told the men that he could do nothing directly for them, but
that he would use his influence with President Vanderbilt in their
favor. Among the men, there was a certain element becoming very
impatient at the delay, and the question was often asked, with
considerable earnestness, how much longer they were expected to restrain
themselves peaceably. The three hundred car loads of cattle and hogs
were all unloaded and cared for in pens. Meanwhile the men were devoting
themselves to social festivities. Dances were held in the station house,
the men designating those who were to act as ladies by tying
handkerchiefs around their arms. The ladies of the village gave the men
a picnic dinner under the trees of the beautiful grove near the station,
after which a large number of speeches were made by the men, all of whom
counseled moderation, and an entire abandonment of the saloons. It was
held that public sympathy and support would continue with them just so
long as they behaved like men.
During the morning of the 23d, at Zanesville, Ohio, two thousand men
assembled in front of the new hotel being built under contract for J. B.
Townsend, and commanded the men working on the building to quit work,
which they did; and they also assembled in front of the court house,
where the crowd was addressed by Henry Blandy, who counseled moderation,
and told them to look to the Democratic Convention for consolation.
After the speech large crowds marched to the different manufacturing
places in the city, compelling the men to quit work. They also waited on
Townsend & Burgess, proprietors of the street railway, compelling them
to haul off the street cars. Mayor McGowan requested that saloons be
closed. No further violence was attempted. In all, about fifty
manufacturing establishments were forced to close.
Two consultation meetings were held by the Lake Shore Railway strikers
in Cleveland, on the 25th, and their organization further perfected. It
was decided not to molest the workmen of the Cleveland, Columbus
Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railroad, who had resumed, nor to interfere
with workmen in the manufactories of the city. Special precautions were
taken to prevent the tramps and other persons having no right there,
from joining the strikers in any way. Great care was taken to protect
railway property. A few passenger trains on the Cleveland and Pittsburgh
were run some distance down the line. Delegations of Lake Shore men
twice talked with General Manager Newell, without result.
The Lake Shore shop men held meetings, and adopted measures to secure
the co-operation of all the shops on the line between Buffalo and
Cleveland, and were sustained in it by the shop hands of the Cleveland,
Cincinnati, Columbus and Indianapolis Railroadmen, who were at work on a
compromise. The trackmen were firm, and fully sustained the shops.
Strikers from Toledo and Cleveland closed the Newark shops on the 25th
of July.
A large open air meeting was held at Crestline, Ohio, on the evening of
the 25th, which was addressed by the Mayor, Manuel Wray, of Mansfield,
and others. The addresses were full of sympathy for the strikers in
their just demands, and extolling their orderly conduct, while deploring
the stagnation brought on the country. One train a day only, was run
over the Fort Wayne Road after that date.
The railroad strike caused some excitement on the Cincinnati, Mount
Vernon and Columbus Railroad. The through freight trains were abandoned.
The railroad bridge at Killbuck, five miles south of Millersburg, Ohio,
was fired by tramps, causing some delay, but not much damage. The
employes were very anxious for the restoration of their wages prior to
June 1st.
About noon on the 25th, the railroad strikers at Columbus, Ohio, to the
number of three hundred, went to the rolling mill, and compelled the
employes to suspend work. They also went to many other factories, the
employes of which joined the strikers as they went along. The entire
crowd also had dinners with them, and to the number of two thousand,
they proceeded to the Union Depot, where they dined. There was no other
violence. General Manager Caldwell, of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and
St. Louis road, had ordered all shops closed, and the suspension of all
business, except such as was necessary to keep the passenger trains
moving. No interference was offered such trains.
No passenger trains left on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad that day.
The Hocking Valley trackmen quit the morning of the 25th. The same
evening the shopmen joined in the strike. Quiet reigned at the Newark
yards, which was under the control of the troops. No attempt was made to
move trains on account of the blockaded condition of the tracks.
Passenger trains were also delayed. Strikers were distributed at
different points along the road.
The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis striking firemen and brakemen
were emphatic in denouncing the action of the mob in closing up business
establishments. While they were firm in the purpose of maintaining a
strike, and preventing the running of freight trains, they utterly
repudiated all riotous, incendiary, and lawless proceedings, and
promised to do all in their power to bring the rioters to justice, and
prevent a repetition of their excesses. The strikers were thoroughly
organized, and determined not to yield. They declared that they could
not live upon their present compensation, and the men were discharged if
they created a debt. The strikers resolved not to countenance any
drunkenness or violence by any of their number.
At a meeting of the Lake Shore men, at Cleveland, on the 26th, a
Committee from the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis
shops was present, and asked whether it was the wish of the strikers
that they continue work on the terms offered by President Devereux. This
Committee further offered to pool their earnings for the assistance of
other strikers, if thought necessary. A vote of thanks was passed by the
strikers for this offer, after which it was voted that the Cleveland,
Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis men keep on with their work. A
Committee was then appointed to visit Norwalk, Buffalo and Erie, and
confer with the men there. The Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and
Indianapolis, and the Atlantic and the Great Western roads were
accordingly doing their full business all through the strikes.
The following proposition was circulated, and generally signed, by the
striking railroad men, at Columbus, Ohio, on the 27th of July:
If we should succeed in getting our demands, we should like to know if
our fellow railroad men throughout the land will go in with us to agree
to deprive themselves of a small sum, say thirty-five or fifty cents per
month, to pay the citizens of Pittsburgh for their losses in the late
fire, caused by the hot-headedness of parties not directly interested in
the strike, the whole to be placed in the hands of the United States
Treasurer, with the privilege of using the same at a small rate of
interest, and all over and above the sum sufficient to pay the losses of
said citizens to be divided among the railway reading-rooms throughout
the country.
Hoping you will cause this to be circulated throughout the country, we
have the honor to be your most obedient servants,
(Signed.) COMMITTEE.
Governor Young notified the military at Columbus, and four companies at
Newark, on the 27th, to go home, but hold themselves in readiness to be
again called into service at a moment’s notice. One company was left at
Newark. The Sheriff of Pike County telegraphed from Waverly for militia,
and the Adjutant General ordered a company from Zanesville to Waverly.
The call for troops was occasioned by a strike on the Narrow-gauge
railway.
A meeting of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad employes,
Columbus, Chicago and Indiana Central division, was held at Goodale
Park, Columbus, at which resolutions were adopted reaffirming the
resolutions adopted at a meeting held on the 24th, wherein the
restoration of wages of 1874 was demanded, and a determination was
expressed not to resume work until the demand was complied with.
The strikers themselves, except in a few isolated cases, refrained from
indulgence in strong drink, and were the upholders of good order and the
law, in every particular, except to the running of trains. Taken as a
measure of the character of men who run the American railways, the
strikers revealed them as a class far above the average of workingmen in
this country or in Europe. Some of them betrayed the possession of
remarkable executive ability.
During the morning of the 27th, at Cincinnati, when a train was about to
start on the Hamilton and Dayton road, a crowd gathered and prepared to
prevent the train from going out. There were quite a number of the
would-be rioters, but word was sent to the special police; a party of
them came upon the scene, and the crowd vanished from the vicinity.
Later the same day, a striking example was offered of the effect of
resolution in an individual in times of excitement and peril. A freight
train was moving out on the Dayton Short Line, when a crowd gathered and
stopped it, forcing the engineer, by threats, to bring the train to a
standstill. At this juncture a looker-on, an ex-railroad man, became
irritated beyond control, and resolved to send that train out himself.
He asked the engineer if he wanted to go out, and was answered in the
affirmative. Then he stepped forward, a revolver in his hand, and
announced to the crowd that he would kill the first man offering to stop
the train again. The train left the depot safely with only that one
audacious man with a revolver as a guard to protect it.
The strikers at Cincinnati became the worst foes of all against the
roughs, who had joined in their meetings. A curious circumstance added
to the animosity. At one of the meetings held, the thieves picked the
pockets of the strikers, as well as of other people; a prominent
engineer lost a fine gold watch. This circumstance opened his eyes to
the difference between a striker and a plunderer.
At a meeting of the Hamilton and Dayton employes, held on the 27th,
considerable confusion arose among them, as to whether they were all to
be considered strikers. It was certain that freight trains went out on
the Dayton Short Line, the Hamilton and Dayton, and the Marietta lines.
Upon the other roads, with the exception of the Ohio and Mississippi,
the passenger trains went out, and arrangements were made to allow of at
least a limited handling of freight. The strikers on different roads
showed a want of inclination to exercise arbitrary control in the
matter.
The pressure of public opinion at Cincinnati was in favor of a
resumption of the old higher wages paid railroad employes; but the
sentiment was also quite general that trains should be again moving
regularly before terms were made. Cincinnati held herself more
independent in expressing opinions in this respect, than some other
cities, since there was no danger of famine, the river route and three
railroad lines remaining open for the transportation of breadstuffs, and
the coal supply being abundant.
At one of the depots in Cincinnati, while the police were pushing back
the crowd which pressed forward too closely upon the track, one big
burly fellow, half-resisting, exclaimed: “Well, if we can’t look on
here, we can go and burn something anyhow.” He was promptly taken to the
station, and others, who ventured to express opinions similar to his,
were treated as summarily. The incident is given merely to illustrate
the sentiment that prevailed, with the confidence coming from a well
organized protective force, and the disposition that existed to mingle
no maudlin sympathy with a sense of justice towards all.
At ten o’clock on the morning of the 26th of July, a large crowd,
composed of laborers, stevedores, and all classes of workingmen,
assembled at the United States Hotel, on Ottawa street, Toledo, Ohio. A
committee was appointed to draft resolutions expressing the sentiment of
those present. The committee reported resolutions, “That every laboring
man and mechanic should ask reasonable recompense for his labor, on this
basis: Mechanics from $2.50 to $3.00 per day, and laborers $1.50 per
day; that every laboring man and mechanic join the railroad men who had
struck; that their object was alone to obtain certain rights wrenched
from them by the combination of capital, and that as soon as their
object was attained, then the organized movement was to be abandoned,
but not till then; that, in order to secure all persons and their
property from violence, as well as the protection of themselves, they
recommended the appointment of a Committee of Safety, to consist of one
member from each branch of each labor union, which had or might
hereafter join them in the movement.”
Mayor William W. Jones, being called upon for a speech, responded by
saying that he had been requested to make some remarks to the
assemblage, who were there to ascertain what they were going to do in
the present situation of things. For them to march around and ask that
wages be increased to a fair living price, was all very proper. He was
there as the representative of all classes. He was elected Mayor of the
city by all classes. As such an officer it was his duty to see that the
rights of both classes were respected, and it was the duty of all to
preserve their own self respect. The troubles which were upon them were
phases of the great labor question which always troubled and would be a
puzzle to the best minds in the land. As to the cities, the trouble was
that there were too many laborers. Excessive competition in labor had
forced the prices down below the living standard. But the poor man
cannot be driven to the country, for he has no farm, and perhaps cannot
find work there if he try ever so hard. It is this condition of things
that the railroads have taken advantage of, to put down the laborers,
until they had taken the matter of redress into their own hands. No
doubt that the railroads would have to yield to the cause of the
strikers. They would have to come down. It should be borne in mind that
an unyielding position on their part, such as was reported of a railroad
president, (Mr. Vanderbilt), would result in defeating all demands for
an increase of wages, and they might as well go about some other
business at once. Now he was opposed to them going about in a body that
day to make men quit work. He said that nobody was going to starve as
long as he was Mayor of the city. There was no conflict between labor
and capital, and there was a wide sympathy with the strikers and labor
inadequately paid. It was a God-given right to every man to have
employment that he may have food for his wife and children. But all
classes had rights in the community, to be respected, and there was a
liability in excitement to commit acts which they would be sorry for. As
the Chief Magistrate of the city it was his duty to frown down all
lawlessness. He therefore hoped that in whatever demonstrations they
might make, there would be no excesses, and that they would go gently
about it.
At the conclusion of the Mayor’s remarks, the crowd formed a line, it
being announced that they would first go the whole length of Water
street to the Pennsylvania depot, and then through the manufacturing
districts, notifying all the establishments to stop work at once. This
plan was followed out, and the crowd proceeded from place to place,
gaining strength as it proceeded, in ordering the employes of lumber
yards, mills and founderies to stop work.
A call for a mass meeting of citizens, at eight o’clock in the evening,
was issued by the Mayor, early in the day, and in pursuance thereof, an
immense crowd assembled in the market place at that hour. Mayor Jones
presided, and after addresses by several citizens, a resolution was
adopted, calling on the Mayor to appoint a committee to consist of
twenty persons from each ward, to take measures for the preservation of
peace and the protection of property. The meeting was composed largely
of the discontented element, representatives of which took possession of
the stand and proceeded to address the crowd, and the meeting finally
broke up in confusion and disorder.
At ten o’clock in the evening the city was comparatively quiet, though
the excitement among all classes was intense. The elevators were all
closed. The banks declined any advance on bills of lading, and the
commercial as well as the manufacturing business of the city was at a
standstill.
A committee of twenty-five employes of the Wabash road arrived there
from Fort Wayne and Lafayette, and held a consultation with Manager
Hopkins. Mr. Hopkins informed them that he was willing to pay what was
reasonable. The next day the city had become very quiet. Saloons
remained closed, in accordance with the order issued by the Mayor. The
police, the day before, arrested James Turner, the acknowledged leader
of the Wednesday movement, and lodged him in the county jail. Other
arrests followed rapidly, and at Toledo, most of the ringleaders of the
mob were secured. About five hundred prominent citizens met at the Court
House, Toledo, Thursday morning, and were supplied with arms and
ammunition. Business was generally suspended during the forenoon, and
members of leading firms throughout the city reported for duty at the
Court House. Mayor Jones issued a proclamation in which he recited the
fact that certain riotous demonstrations had been made in the streets,
interfering with citizens who were engaged in lawful occupation, for the
purpose of interrupting the work, and damaging business; therefore the
Mayor of the city, warned all persons engaged in exciting riotous
proceedings, or interfering with labor or business, to desist from such
practices, or from congregating in crowds upon the streets to discuss
the situation or promote disorder; and that in order more fully to
promote a peaceful situation, the police were directed to close the
places where ardent spirits were sold, and to arrest all persons found
violating the law, or in any manner interfering with the rights of the
citizens or the laborers. He gave the assurance that all law-abiding and
all laboring men, and those employing laborers, should be protected in
their lawful occupation to the extent of exhausting the civil powers of
the constituted authorities of the city.
The expiring spasm of the great strikes in Ohio, occurred at Columbus on
the 28th of July, when the Mayor, at the head of a squad of twenty
police, marched to the freight yard for the purpose of sending out a
train. At the depot they were met by three companies of military, who
were passing through the city on their way home from Newark. They were
invited to remain in the city until the train went out, which they did.
The train was made up in the midst of an immense crowd of people. The
strikers stood around and put forward every inducement to the crew to
abandon the train, offering the engineer one hundred dollars in cash, to
quit the engine, but to no effect.
No violence whatever was used, and no attempt made to uncouple cars. The
train left about eleven o’clock. Three strikers were arrested earlier in
the day for running an engine from the yard into the roundhouse.
An attempt was made about three o’clock in the evening, to send out a
train on the Indianapolis division of the Pan Handle. Strikers coaxed
the engineer and fireman off, and ran the engine into the roundhouse,
and put out the fire. Military were guarding the train. In the
meanwhile, the engine was again fired up, and another attempt made to
get the train out. Strikers switched gondolas on the track between the
engine and train while the engine was backing down. The obstructions
were removed under a guard of soldiers, and the train finally got out.
Several shots were fired at random between the soldiers and the crowd,
but no harm resulted. An alarm bell was sounded and the citizen guards
called out, but soon returned to headquarters. There was much
excitement, but no violence that night. Citizens’ companies, well armed,
guarded depots, railroad bridges, roundhouses, and other buildings.
[Illustration: RIOTERS SOAPING THE TRACK.]