People's Pilot, Volume 4, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1894 — DEFIANT STRIKERS. [ARTICLE]

DEFIANT STRIKERS.

They Prevent Officer* from Moving Trains nt Blue Island, 111. Chicago, July 3.—Strikers anil their friends, numbering near 1,000 men, at Blue Island Monday morning overpowered 300 deputy sheriffs and United States deputy marshals and prevented the clearing of the Rock Island yards at that point. Chief Deputy Marshal Logan was stabbed during the encounter. The wound, inflicted by an unknown assailant, was long, but not deep nor dangerous. It extended from the armpit several inches down the leftside. Many of the strikers were clubbed by the deputies and struck with rocks and stones from 'their own ranks but none were seriously injured. Traffic in an Iron Grasp. Chicago, July 3. —Through intimidation, and in many instances the exercise of violence, the strikers of the American Railway union and their sympathizers held the traffic of the United States throughout the west in an iron grip from sunrise to sunset Monday. The first sturdy attempt made by the state to lift the blockade was balked by the strikers when at Springfield they sidetracked and otherwise interferred with the movement of the Fourth regiment of the Illinois national guards, which was ordered by Gov. Altgeld to Danville and Decatur. Northwestern Men Join the Strike. The Northwestern Hne, one of the stanchest fighters represented on the General Managers’ association, succumbed Monday afternoon. Its suburban service was wholly suspended and only one or two through trains were sent out during the evening. The direct cause of this victory for the strikers was the walk-outof all the firemen employed on the road. They decided to join the strike only after holding several meetings and notifying the officials of the company that they would not haul Pullman cars. As soon as they were out the general superintendent tried to substitute non-union men, but the engineers refused to work with them and nearly every wheel on the line came to a sudden standstill. President Debs has received assurances from Master Workman Sovereign, of the Knights of Labor, and President Mahon, of the National Association of Street Car Employes, that these bodies stand ready to assist the American Railway union in its fight. The force of deputy marshals and sheriffs scattered throughout the various railway yards up to the hour of noon numbered nearly 1,000. Embargo on Necessaries. One of the most serious features of the situation is the effect of the boycott on necessaries. The ice business has been very seriously affected by the strike. Within the last two days the price of ice has jumped from $3.50 to sll a ton and unless the embargo is speedily raised the price will surely leap to a higher figure. In consequence of the strike farmers in the great fruit and vegetable belt of southern Illinois are losing thousands of dollars daily because of their inability to get their berries and tomatoes to market. At a mass meeting of the growers Monday a telegraphic message was sent to Gov. Altgeld, asking him to release their products now held on the side tracks of the Illinois Central road.

The shipment of milk, coal oil and coal is seriously embarrassed. There is, it is said, scarcely a ton of soft coal in the city, although usually 50,000 tons are burned daily. There is, however, an aggregate amount of 200,000 tons of hard coal scattered throughout the various yards, and if the users of the bituminous product purpose to keep their boilers going they must pay the higher price for hard coal. Fruit Rotting;. The vicious grip which the strikers have on the Southern Pacflc and other roads in the far west has effectually stopped the movement of California fruit, which is either spoiling in transit or rotting on the vines or trees. Hundreds of carloads of bananas are decaying on the t acks where the strikers have tampered with the switches and interfered with the movement of perishable freight. Potatoes, it is said, are becoming scarce, and the shipment of fish from the east has been completely throttled. Situation at the Stock Yards. As a result of the general tie-up of the Stock Yards railroads, 6,000 men and 400 girls employed in the big packing houses have been laid off. During the early morning the Burlington road succeeded in bringing in five trains of live stock, each train containing thirty cars. The receipts of live stock at 9 o’clock were 8,000 cattle, 9,000 hogs and about 2,000 sheep, and these will be killed at once for local consumption. No coal has been received at the stock yards since last Thursday and orders have been issued for a general clean up preparatory to shutting down the packing houses. The Burlington road has 463 cars of live stock on the road between Chicago and Galesburg, and the Rock Island has turned 20,000 head of live stock into pasture at Geneseo, 111. The Northwestern road reports having 8,000 head in pasture a few miles east of Clinton. A gang of strikers attacked a nonunion switchman shortly before day break in the stock yards district and beat him severely. They dragged him from the railroad tracks and threw him into the river. The switchman was rescued by police, who drove the mob from the yards.