Annals of the great strikes in the United States

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road—notified their men of a reduction, but on the demand of the employes, the order of reduction was subsequently rescinded.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:

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.

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,

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.”