GENERAL EFFECTS OF THE STRIKE.
In the previous chapters we have treated of the situation and the
movements as confined to Sacramento. It is now our purpose to declare
an intermission and treat of the situation as represented in other
parts of the country as well as in other parts of California, thus
bringing the different threads of the same movement to an equal level,
before taking up the thread of the narrative again in Sacramento.
The strike involved three-fourths of the United States, and it was not
long before it passed the bounds of legality. No unprejudiced person
will ever deny to the workingman the right to strike; and, as long as
he confines his labor troubles within the strict letter of this right,
positive advancement can not fail to attend his efforts; but, when
he adds to this acknowledged right the right to indulge in acts of
incendiarism, robbery and even murder, then defeat will surely be his
goal. Never before, in the history of the country, with the exception
of the Civil War, was the United States ever menaced by a movement so
fraught with danger and terror as this. It had become something of far
greater importance than a mere quarrel between railroad corporations
and their employees over a matter of wages; it amounted to an armed
rebellion against the laws of the United States. Good men shuddered as
they caught glimpses in the struggle of a future condition of affairs
in which anarchy would reign supreme, and in which the stability of
our government would be shaken to its foundation. Let us hope that this
will never be; but rather, that the workingman will see that this form
of government, which is essentially for the people and by the people,
and his own development depend upon the adaptation of his growth to
the growth of the laws. All over the country the lawlessness of the
strikers was something fearful. The extent to which desperate men will
go and the violent deeds they will resort to when their evil passions
are aroused passeth all understanding. They lose all respect for the
laws; and the dread consequences which attend their infringement have
no terrors for them. They are inspired with a hatred for the troops.
A National Guardsman is an object of especial aversion to them. When
defeat stares them in the face they will work out their disappointment
upon innocent persons, and the torch of incendiarism applied almost
indiscriminately to property, with pillage and carnage, illuminate the
last scenes of the conflict.
The state of affairs in the other affected cities of the East was but
a reflection of the situation in Chicago, and, as it would be utterly
impossible to give within the present limits of this work a separate
account of the strike and its effects in each of these places, and
further, as there is a universal resemblance in the effects of the
strike throughout every affected section of the country, it will be
sufficient for an intelligent understanding of the situation in the
East to give in outline the situation in Chicago.
On the same day that the regulars were ordered to Los Angeles the
Federal troops stationed at Fort Sheridan were ordered into Chicago.
This force was steadily increased until it amounted to a thousand men
under the command of General Miles. Concerning the occupancy of Chicago
by the regulars a wordy dispute arose between the Governor of Illinois
and the President of the United States. Governor Altgeld, in protesting
against the presence of the troops in Chicago, stated that it was an
invasion of State rights. Illinois, he said, had enough troops of her
own to quell any disturbance that might arise within her borders.
President Cleveland, however, maintained in his position, by Attorney
General Olney, refused to withdraw the troops, as he deemed their
presence necessary for the execution of the laws. The National Guard
of Illinois was not really called out until later in the struggle.
The regulars found little difficulty in dispersing the strikers; but
the dispersions only had a tendency to drive the strikers to other
points where they continued their depredations. Beside the regulars
there was a small body of militia in the field. But, in spite of this
force, the strikers seemed all powerful and masters of the situation;
for when the city’s health was threatened by the stench that arose
from the dead carcasses remaining uncarted away at the stockyards, the
Mayor of Chicago, in order to have them removed by rail, was forced to
appeal to Debs for permission to do so. Rioting also went on apparently
unchecked. In the suburbs of Chicago numerous fires were seen blazing.
The yard of the Panhandle Railroad Company was put to flames and a
million dollars’ worth of property destroyed. The situation in Chicago,
on July 6th was heralded by the San Francisco _Daily Examiner_ thus:
FIRE AND PILLAGE
Wild Work of Destruction by
Thousands of Rioters
in Chicago
From Daylight to Midnight Mobs Hold
Possession of the Railroad Yards
The Torch Applied to Hundreds of Cars and Untold
Quantities of Merchandise Destroyed
Six Persons Killed and Innumerable Wounds From
Clubs, Bayonets, and Rocks The Day’s Record
A WILD CARNIVAL OF CRIME
On account of the troops in the field being insufficient to hold the
strikers and prevent them from destroying property Mayor Hopkins called
upon Governor Altgeld for further military assistance. So, on July 6th,
two brigades of the National Guard, Illinois, were ordered into Chicago.
On July 7th the strikers had their first conflict with the National
Guard, and the streets of Chicago became moistened with blood. A mob of
strikers, 8,000 strong, bent on mischief was gathered around the Grand
Trunk round-house with the intention of burning the same. Company F,
of the Second Infantry, National Guard Illinois, commanded by Captain
Kelly, was ordered to the spot, and succeeded for a time in forcing
the crowd back. The mob becoming larger and more aggressive the troops
began to withdraw and in a corresponding degree as the troops withdrew
the strikers became more abusive, and finally commenced to throw
bricks, stones, chunks of coal and coupling-pins at the troops. Under
this heterogeneous fire the men behaved nobly and remained under the
strict control of their officers. Several times the advance of the mob
was stopped by being steadily met with elevated rifles. But patience is
an exhaustible quantity, so, when the second lieutenant of the company
was struck upon the head by several stones and felled to the ground,
the men were immediately given the command to charge. One of the
strikers with his hand in the air, in the very act of throwing a chunk
of coal, had a bayonet plunged through his body. The mob gave away
before the charge, but quickly rallied and discharged a number of shots
at the troops. No further orders were needed by the men. Rifles were
leveled and a sheet of lead mowed down the front rank of the strikers.
The mob then fled in the wildest confusion. Too much credit cannot
be bestowed upon this company for the manner in which it behaved. No
company of regular troops ever acquitted themselves with greater honor,
and none showed more loyalty and courage. May their example be ever
imitated by the rest of the National Guard.
On July 8th the President’s proclamation was issued, the text of
which has been set forth in the previous chapter. From this time on
the strike in Chicago and in the East moved gradually toward the
catastrophe, while on the surface it appeared all the time to be
getting greater in magnitude. A new element which resembles somewhat
the last kick of the mule was now about to enter upon the stage.
President Sovereign of the Knight’s of Labor threatened to inaugurate a
general strike. A sympathetic strike, to be a factor in the settlement
of a direct strike, must be so related to it as to directly influence
the person against whom the direct strike is waged, either by
preventing him from manufacturing his goods or else from disposing of
them. But when workmen threaten to inaugurate sympathetic strikes of
the third, fourth, or fifth degree, which can only affect the person
against whom the direct strike is waged in an indirect way, if it
affects him at all, they threaten to inaugurate movements which contain
within themselves the germs of suicide. How absurd it is to inaugurate
a strike among the journeymen tailors, because their employer furnishes
clothes to the man who sells groceries to the person who operates mines
which supply coal to the railroad companies that use Pullman cars. This
string might run back in _ad infinitum_.
The arrest of President Debs on July 10th added another force to
increase the downward impetus of the movement towards the end. This,
together with the failure to make good the threat to order a general
strike and especially the proposal made by Debs to the railroad
companies, and which was not accepted, to declare the strike off
provided the men were allowed to return to their old positions, gave
evidence of an early dissolution of the strike. And though the strike
was not settled until sometime later, and while rioting did not cease
though it became lesser in degree, until the very end of the strike,
still the ranks of the strikers from this time on became gradually
thinned out and the men showed a strong inclination to return to work.
It might be said that the climax of the strike in the East was passed
on July 10th.
And now for the situation in California other than in Sacramento.
The news of the success of the strikers in Sacramento was received
enthusiastically by the public all over the State. So great was the
hatred of the public for the Southern Pacific Company and so warm
was their sympathy for the strikers that when the _Examiner_, a San
Francisco daily, placed upon their bulletin-board a notice of the fact
that the first train that left Sacramento since the commencement of the
strike had been derailed and a number of soldiers killed, the crowd
standing in front of the bulletin-board actually cheered for what was
one of the most heinous crimes ever perpetrated. The public seemed
to be lost to every sense of right and wrong. Upon the great body of
strikers the retaining possession of the depot against the attempts
of a large body of the National Guard to dislodge them had a very
marked effect. It made them very confident and defiant. They evidently
believed that the possession of the depot was of the very greatest
importance, and since the first attempt to dislodge them had resulted
so successfully for them, they were determined to hold that advantage
even though they had to meet a further advance of the troops with their
own weapons. These sentiments were expressed by most of the strikers
but it was extremely doubtful, whether when the time came, they would
put them into practice. It is certain that none but the most desperate
would.
Dunsmuir and Truckee are conceded to be the hardest railroad towns in
California. The situation at both these places was very one sided, as
none but strikers or their sympathizers were allowed to have anything
to say. The striking railroad employees at these places were of the
most desperate kind and ready to go to any extreme that they thought
would help the cause. These are the kind of men Leader Knox of the
Sacramento Branch of the American Railway Union turned to when it
became known that the National Guard had been ordered to Sacramento.
In response to his call for assistance a train bearing 125 strikers
fully armed, left Dunsmuir at 12:20 P. M. on July 4th, while another
train with 100 strikers equally well armed, left Truckee at 4:20 P.
M. on the same day. The destination of these trains was Sacramento.
Their journey was attended by the wildest demonstrations. Through
every town they passed they were loudly cheered; bonfires blazed forth
in honor to them and brass bands greeted them with the tune “See the
Conquering Hero Comes.” To show the sentiment of the public toward and
the encouragement it gave to the strikers to perform lawless deeds, the
following extracts taken from the daily papers are given.
REDDING.--“Two thousand people greeted the arrival of the train and
gave the committee assurance of their support with men and money if
needed.”
“At Red Bluff, Company G of the Eigth Regiment Infantry, stationed at
Willows, was ordered to stop the train containing the strikers coming
from Dunsmuir. Half the company on receipt of orders proceeded to
arm themselves and prepared to intercept the train. This action so
incensed the citizens that they repaired to the station to the number
of two hundred, and got in readiness to oppose the militia and see
that the strikers’ train went on its way unmolested. A conflict seemed
imminent, when the company received orders to return to their armory
and disband. When the train arrived, many people of the town and
country surrounded it, and amid bonfires, firing of cannon, and the
playing of a brass band, the A. R. U. men were given an oration.”
COTTONWOOD.--“Thousands of tons of fruit are spoiling here, yet all
the people in Cottonwood valley sympathize with the A. R. U.”
The military authorities learned of this movement on the part of
the strikers, and Colonel Park Henshaw was ordered, at one o’clock
P. M., July 4th, by Major General Dimond, to call out the troops of
his command and “to intercept and arrest the strikers en route from
Dunsmuir to Sacramento.” Colonel Henshaw immediately, upon the receipt
of these orders, called out Companies A, B, F and G of the Eighth
Regiment, Infantry, N. G. C. The men responded promptly. Two companies
were ordered to deploy along the line of Chico Creek; one on the east
side and the other on the west of the road. A twelve pound Parrott gun,
loaded “with eight and one-half pounds of blasting-powder, the only
kind that could be procured, and twenty-five pounds of one ounce lead
bullets and other projectiles,” was posted in the middle of the track
to sweep the strikers’ train if it failed to come to a standstill at
command. Just as they were in a position to achieve a notable victory
Marshal Baldwin, at Sacramento, fearful that a movement like this would
precipitate things to such an extent that the strikers would retaliate
by burning snowsheds and destroying bridges, asked that the order,
calling upon the National Guard to arrest the strikers, be rescinded.
This was done, and the four companies were ordered back to their
armories and disbanded. The strikers arrived in Sacramento on the fifth
of July.
The strikers began aggressive operations in Oakland on July 3d. On this
day two trains were seized at Sixteenth street and the air-brakes cut.
The regular running of the local trains was stopped; and throughout
the day there was but a spasmodic service. On July 4th the strikers
determined to prevent the moving of any trains on the local system. In
large numbers they invaded the railroad yards at West Oakland, overran
them, took possession of the shops, entered the offices of the yards
and chased out the clerks engaged therein. The self-sacrifice of these
strikers was worthy of the noblest struggle. Like martyrs they were
willing to lay down their lives for their cause. To prevent the running
of the trains they threw themselves, a living barricade, upon the
track, their heads resting upon one rail, their feet upon the other,
and opposed to the iron front of the locomotive their bodies, unmoved
by the fact that their lives depended upon the simple pressure of a
hand upon the throttle of the engine. This was a very dangerous but
still an effective method of bringing trains to a standstill. Engineers
and firemen were torn from their posts with no gentle hand. The Fourth
of July saw things settled, until July 13th, as far as the running of
the local system was concerned.
On the same day, July 4th, a company of regular soldiers, stationed at
Benicia, was ordered to Oakland, while Colonel Fairbanks, commanding
the Fifth Regiment, Infantry, was ordered to assemble his regiment at
the same place. Owing to the fact that no request had been made by
the sheriff for troops, the six companies of the Fifth Regiment were
bivouacked at the armory of Companies A and F of Oakland. When the
troops arrived in Oakland on the evening of the Fourth the situation
had become somewhat quieted, and on July 5th Colonel Fairbanks was
ordered to dismiss Companies A, F and G, “until further orders.” On
July 10th Companies C and E--D having been ordered to San Jose--pitched
camp at Piedmont.
During this interval, from July 4th to July 13th, the strikers remained
masters of the situation in Oakland. It was not until July 12th, that
any signs became evident of a movement to contest their position. On
this day about two hundred sailors and about fifty marines of the
United States Navy arrived at the Oakland Pier, while on the following
day the Second Regiment Artillery, N. G. C., Lieutenant Colonel Geary
commanding, arrived from San Francisco.
On July 6th the sheriff of Santa Clara county made a call for military
assistance, as he had “exhausted all the powers of the county and was
unable to disperse the mob stationed at the depot and yards of the
Southern Pacific Company.” Company D, Captain Elliott, Fifth Regiment,
Infantry, then at Oakland was ordered to reinforce Company B of the
Fifth stationed at San Jose. These troops were placed under the command
of Lieutenant-Colonel Whitton. Owing to the hesitancy of the sheriff of
the county to give an order calling for aggressive movements against
the strikers, in spite of the fact that he was continually urged to do
so by Lieutenant Colonel Whitton, the troops remained inactive until
July 10th, bivouacked part of the time at the armory of Company B,
and part of the time at the fair grounds. During this time Lieutenant
Colonel Whitton received instructions from Major General Dimond telling
him how to act in case he was called upon to do so, which showed that
those officers of the National Guard who conducted the operations on
the Fourth at Sacramento were not beyond redemption, there was one
redeeming feature, they were not too _old_ to learn. Lieutenant Colonel
Whitton’s instructions advised him, that in case he was ordered to go
to the depot, to get the necessary order empowering him to use force to
clear it, “for,” the instruction continued, “if you should go to that
place and then have to go for an order, it might cause a delay that
might be disastrous to yourself and men.”
On July 10th the troops reinforced by Company C of the Naval Reserve,
under command of Lieutenant Douglass, were ordered to the depot and
guards were posted about the round-house and a portion of the yards of
the Southern Pacific Company. The strikers were evidently overawed by
the presence of the troops, as they made no demonstrations of hostility
and, though the militia came to no actual conflict with the strikers,
their presence there was of untold value in keep the riotous element in
check. Both the railroad officials and the sheriff were of the opinion
that were the troops dismissed there was great danger of a new outbreak.
San Francisco was not troubled directly to any extent by the strikers.
Still precautions were taken to prevent them from doing any harm. To
avert the possibility of the strikers securing arms by raiding the
different armories of the National Guard in the city the arms were
either removed to a safe place, or else the armory was guarded by a
strong force, both night and day. And further it was deemed advisable
to keep the Second Artillery Regiment in the city, to guard against
the possible massing of the strikers. So it was not until later in the
campaign--July 13th, that they were ordered into the field.
The southern part of the state now demanded attention. So on July 12th
Brigadier General Muller, commanding the Third Brigade was ordered to
proceed with Companies E, F, and G of his command to Sumner, and from
thence to guard the disputed points on the Southern Pacific Railroad,
between Sumner and Tehachipi, and also to furnish train guards for
trains running north. Brigadier General Muller arrived with his
command at Sumner on the 13th. In preparing his men for active service
he met with the same annoyances, but in a far greater degree than did
the other commands of the National Guard. Many rifles were unfit for
use, firing pins and ejectors being broken, a few old canteens and
knapsacks were all they could boast off. As for blankets and shoes the
brigade was poverty stricken. The men were compelled to fit themselves
the best they could.
To sum up, the following troops were in active service July 12th:
At Sacramento, the First and Third Regiments, Infantry; part of the
Signal Corp and a section of Light Battery A of the Second Brigade;
Companies A, E, G, Second Infantry Regiment; Light Battery B; Signal
Corp of the Fourth Brigade and Companies A and B of the Third Brigade.
At Oakland, Companies C and E, Fifth Infantry Regiment, Second Brigade.
At San Jose, Companies B and D, Fifth Infantry Regiment, Second Brigade
and Company C of the Naval Battalion. At Sumner, Companies C, F, G,
Sixth Regiment, Infantry, Third Brigade. Besides these there were six
companies of regulars at Los Angeles, one company at Oakland, together
with two hundred sailors and fifty marines, while at Sacramento there
were four companies of artillery, two companies of cavalry and one of
infantry.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]