Part 93

"General Osborne and troops have been ordered to aid civil authorities. His attention has been called to your dispatch. His is all the force now at command."

I will state that General Osborne has command of forces of the division that belongs here in this section, and my committee were of the opinion that that force would be of no benefit to us. Thus things remained in a comparatively quiet state until the 27th, when I sent the following message to the Governor:

"The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company have asked me for aid, to prevent their mines from being flooded, and otherwise destroyed. I am unable to render the assistance required. Can you have sent here a body of United States troops. The militia are in sympathy with the strikers, and, in the opinion of my advisory committee, would be of no avail. The presence of United States troops, in my opinion, would secure the desired purpose, without a conflict."

It was in answer to this dispatch that the Governor sends this of the 28th, marked Carney's. On Friday evening was the first evening that I met any portion of my posse, or special police, as they were called; swore in at that time a portion, and again on Saturday they were furnished with arms, which we procured here--Remington rifles, mostly. There were some muskets that had been left by the companies, in the armories of the companies that had gone to rendezvous with General Osborne, which I took possession of, and had them sent to my head-quarters. I had established my head-quarters for the posse at the Lackawanna Coal Company's store, where the arms were all kept, and where men were on duty day and night. Thus matters stood with us until Sunday, when, sending for a committee of the employés that had been appointed at the meeting at the Round woods, and laying the state of the case before them, that a cessation of the pumps in the mines was only going to destroy and injure them; that as far as the company was concerned, they would be but little injured, for they didn't care anything about the coal getting out; that some of our mines were in such a situation that if the lower pumps were drowned out, which they would be, it would take six months, or even a year, for them to get pumped out again. The committee, after a couple of hours talk with them, were enabled to see the folly of their course, and I issued there, in their presence--framed the following proclamation, which I had posted in the many mines in the disaffected districts, during the riot:

MAYOR'S PROCLAMATION.

WHEREAS, A difference of opinion having occurred between the employers and employés of several corporations in this city, whereby labor at the different collieries has been suspended, and on account of this suspension, serious injury has been effected, the most serious of which is the non-working of the mines;

_And whereas_, I have the assurance that the men at the collieries are willing to render me their most hearty cooperation for the protection of those who may desire to work the pumps, I hail this as a good omen, and trust that no opposition may be made to the starting of the pumps, and I hereby invoke the good offices of all good citizens to aid the companies in protecting their property of every kind from injury or destruction, and I do also hereby warn all persons that the property not only of corporations, but of individuals, must be protected, and that any act of violence or lawlessness will be by me resisted with all the force I can command, and to this end I call upon all citizens of the city to aid me.

ROBERT H. MCKUNE, _Mayor_. MAYOR'S OFFICE, CITY OF SCRANTON, _July 29, 1877_.

Immediately upon the adjournment of the committee, I notified Mr. Storrs--Henry R. Storrs--the superintendent of the collieries here, and on Monday morning the men were put in at the pumps to work, and the pumps in the most of the mines were set to work. In the meantime, on Saturday, at the meeting of the councils, the following resolution was passed:

"_Resolved by the common council_, (_the select council concurring_,) That it is the sense of the councils that there is no danger of riot or disturbance in the city, and that there is among the workingmen no disposition to disturb the peace of the community, and that there is at present no necessity for any increase of the special police, and that any so-called policemen or watchmen or the employés will not be paid out of the city funds.

"On motion, the clerk was instructed to notify the mayor of the action of the councils on the above resolution.

"All of which is hereby respectfully submitted."

So, you see, I was running this thing somewhat single-handed. On Monday, the pumps, as I said, were going, and on Monday morning, at nine o'clock, I sent for the executive committee of the brakemen and firemen of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company, and, in consultation with them, I there gave them to understand that the citizens of the city were desirous of having their trains placed again on the road, so that they could have their mails, the banks could have their money, so that the men who had been at work could receive their pay, and, after a long conversation, lasting three hours, I gave them to understand that I should start a train next morning, at the regular schedule time, nine-fifty, and that any attempt on their part to obstruct it would be met with all the force I could command. The gentlemen of the committee wanted to know when I wanted an answer in regard to whether they would run, and I told them I would like an answer that afternoon, at four o'clock. They immediately, upon leaving my office, called for a meeting of the men who were here in the city, and, at three-thirty, took a vote in regard to the question of resumption, and, by a vote of eighty-two to seven, voted to resume work, and at six o'clock that evening the train that had started from Binghamton, upon a telegraph, passed through here. So on Tuesday evening, the pumps at the mines were working, the road was open. There was a general feeling of quietude among our citizens, and hopes that the strike was passed. On Tuesday morning, the committee from the Round woods, as we called them, met at my office for the purpose of holding consultation with General Brisbin.

Q. You say that was on Tuesday?

A. Yes. The legal adviser of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company, in that interview, lasting some three hours, the whole situation was very thoroughly gone over on the part of the men, by almost each one of them taking some part in the debate, Mr. Brisbin, taking the standing and circumstances of the company and the men, then made the following proposition: That in case hereafter, any differences of opinion arising between employer and employés, that upon the appointment of the committee from the employés, and notifying Mr. Brisbin of the same, that he would call the board of directors together, forward to this committee transportation, and that they should have the opportunity of telling their grievances, direct to the board of directors. This was one point the men tried to gain, in their long strike--the six month's strike--one they gained at this time. I never saw men seemingly more highly pleased with the result, and not only those, but Mr. Brisbin himself. During the afternoon and evening, when the information got through the city--when the evening papers came out, announcing the facts--the opinion in regard to the strike was, that the strike was about over, and we had rumors in regard to a meeting at the silk-works. We all presumed that the reports of this city would be given to that meeting, and that the meeting would, without question, resolve to go to work. The question of the advance of wages, had been abandoned, almost in the first interview with Mr. Brisbin and Mr. Storrs. In the evening, I met a number of special police posse at my head-quarters, stayed there probably half or three quarters of an hour, talking matters over, and we supposed that the emergency was over, and we relaxed, as it were, our vigilance, and most of the men went home. I had not been in bed, at the time I reached home, from the Tuesday night previous, at all. I stayed at home next day and night. I went home that night, and went to bed. I reached my office that morning, at about nine o'clock. I had relieved the officers that had been on day and night.

Q. Do you speak of Tuesday or Wednesday?

A. Wednesday, the 1st day of August. In the meantime, I might say, right here, that we had established a code of signals, to call any posse together, if it should become necessary. I need not say what it was--it was a code of signals to be given through one of the church bells. A gentleman was at my office, who represented the posse to carry the signal, or carry the orders for the signal to the men who were at the bell, and they were not to ring the bell without orders so given by the party. I remark this, for the purpose of showing in regard to what occurred now, upon the morning of the 1st. I had been hearing some cases, and was about through, when some parties came in, and said there was a large crowd coming up from the silk-works.

Q. What time was that?

A. I should think about half-past ten.

Q. In the morning?

A. Yes, sir; half-past ten or a quarter to eleven. One gentlemen, young Mr. Logan, came in with a request from Mr. Scranton that the signal bell should be rung. About the same time, Colonel Hitchcock, over the posse, came in and informed me that a crowd was down round in the neighborhood of the machine-shops, that I showed you to-day, and he immediately left the office. I gave, both to him and Mr. Logan, this order, that they might go to head-quarters as quickly as they could, and any of the boys of the posse that they might see, to notify to come immediately there, and remain there till I should send orders, or the signal bell should be rung. About the same time, Lieutenant Brown came in, and I then put on my hat, and we walked up the street together. We noticed, or, at least, came across a number of the boys, and we ordered them immediately up to head-quarters; and when I came to the corner of Lackawanna and Washington avenue, looking down the machine-shops of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company, I saw the whole space there covered with a large number of people.

Q. Give an estimate of the number, if you can, Mr. McKune?

A. Well, sir, from what I could see--what came under my observation, I should say three or four thousand people, sir, upon the railroad, through and in that part below the road. There were but very few people, we passed but very few people, comparatively, upon the main avenue, as we went up. I went down through the crowd, and as I struck the outer edge of the crowd, I said to them something like this: "Boys this won't answer. You are doing wrong. You must disperse and go home." Most of them that I first saw--the great majority of them--were of those that I knew. The way was immediately opened. Lieutenant Brown was with me. We walked side by side. I went in that way down as far as the office of the car shops--the Mackanny office, as I call it--having learned that Mrs. Mackanny and her daughter was in there, and was very much terrified, and wished to be got out. I found the door locked, and in looking into the window, saw that young Miss Mackanny was in her father's arms, fainting, and, of course, I concluded it was best that she should remain there up there. Turned and came back, for the purpose of going to the company's store--the head-quarters. Having passed from the office probably thirty or thirty-five feet, a party of men came out from the roadway that leads in through to the shops--the car shops of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company. I should think there was one hundred or one hundred and fifty of these men. They had mostly in their hands, clubs of different kinds, handles of picks, and sticks, and when the leader was within probably thirty feet of me, he made an inquiry--there was something of a fuss or noise right round where I was, and seemed to be the center of attraction--made an inquiry, "What was it? Who was it?" With that, some person standing in my vicinity says, "This is the mayor." Then, raising his club, hollered out, in an extreme loud voice, "Kill the son of a bitch. He has got no business here." With that, there were two pistol shots fired, one upon my right hand, and one upon my left, by my side, as I judge from the sound, and almost immediately with that, four or five men, one of them a constable of the Nineteenth ward, and another by the name of Duffy, and some three or four others, whom I did not know personally, rushed immediately behind me, to form a sort of a barrier against this crowd, that was seeming to make for me. With that, I was struck with a club--I judge it to be a club--right behind my shoulders very severely, so much so, that it started my left lung, which has been weak for some years, bleeding. My mouth was almost immediately filled with blood, a stone which was thrown hit me in my kidneys, and before I probably got ten steps, this crowd made towards me, and I was hit some numbers of times, but I kept square upon my feet. I dodged my head to avoid them as well as I could. In the meantime, Lieutenant Brown was standing by me. The very first signal, the very first exclamation of these men, I had ordered that the posse be sent for and the bells would be rung, but Mr. Brown dare not move. But the men passed the cry on, and it was taken up by others standing back. I probably went twenty steps before Father Dunn, the Catholic priest of the parish here, came down, and as soon as he saw me came right up to me and first took hold of my arm. He was a smaller armed man than I am; I then changed and took hold of his. Immediately upon his coming, this party that was behind trying to protect me was increased considerably, numbering twenty or twenty-five. Some of these men, who had had sticks in their hands, came up at this time.

By Senator Yutzy:

Q. For your protection?

A. Yes; the men I speak of, the constable of the Nineteenth ward, and William Duffy and others immediately upon the pistols being shot off, came right for my protection--the citizens here. I might say right here, that all that party who had swept through the shops and came under my observation, not one of them I recognized as a man whom I had ever seen before. The leader, whom I took very close observation of, was a man whom I had never cast my eyes upon before to my recollection. When we got to within twenty-five or thirty feet of the causeway under the railroad, the crowd behind broke through the party that was trying to protect me, and carried off Father Dunn. I slipped from him to the left of him, so that they rushed by me, and I escaped from them and went through under the railway bridge--under the railway near there--the causeway under the railway, and there met four of my policemen. In the meantime, the crowd commenced to surge past, filling the whole street almost, with the cry, "Now for the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company's store." "Now for Lackawanna avenue. Let's clean out the town." The distance from where I met these policemen to Lackawanna avenue, is just a hundred feet, the depth of those lots. Just one hundred feet. When I reached Lackawanna avenue coming up Washington, in looking up the street, I saw my posse coming down. They were nearly opposite the Opera House, a distance of one hundred to one hundred and twenty feet from me. I stopped a moment, and the crowd seemed to give way, and waved my hands three times for them to come on. My idea was, if they could come down to my office, there we would make a stand, if they attempted to go to pillaging. I turned to go down towards my office. Lieutenant Brown was still with me. When opposite the store of Mr. Hunt, in whose employ he was, about twenty-five or thirty feet from the corner, he turned and went into the store. Just after he had left me, the crowd then commenced to surge down and fill up the street. I was struck with an instrument, whether it was a hammer or some heavy instrument I don't know--here, just back of the ear, and I have no memory from that moment of receiving the stroke--but I came down here as was testified to, at the trial, and went into the bank--the Merchants' and Mechanics', nearly opposite, at the distance from where I was struck, of about one hundred and twenty-five feet. I have no memory from that time till I found myself back again up the street, probably fifty feet, and just stepping off the sidewalk, and as I stepped off the sidewalk into the roadway, I partly fell upon my hands, and as I was raising up, I heard a shot or two, and a man cried out, "Now go for them, damn them, they are firing blank cartridges; now take their guns away from them; now kill them," and upon looking round, I saw two men standing together. I gave the word of command to fire, and almost immediately upon the word, a discharge was made, and upon the word fire, one man fell right in his tracks, right where he stood.

Q. One of the rioters?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. It was your posse that fired?

A. The posse fired. You will hear of the action of the posse from the gentlemen who were with the posse. I cannot give that. And then while standing--the two men seemed to be standing together--as the one fell, the other, who was standing with him, thew a stick, or stone, or something from his hand and started running, and ran probably ten or fifteen steps. He was covered very thoroughly by two guns, but the parties who were covering him with their guns could not apparently hit him without hitting somebody else. As soon as he uncovered himself the guns were immediately discharged, and he fell dead. Almost in a breath after this, the whole crowd turned in all directions, and inside of five minutes our avenues were almost clear of people. I came down--I do not know whether I mentioned that before I left--while Father Dunn and me were together, that one of those men in front of me previous to coming under the bridge came in front of me, and with a blow from a front as he passed by me, gave me a blow which broke my jaw and fractured the whole roof of my mouth.

Q. The upper jaw?

A. Yes, sir; I have no use, even now, of my front teeth. The jaw is not together at all. I am unable to use them at all for anything, only soft food. I called upon the citizens to rally, or at least took a gentleman's arm and he made the announcement for me, I was unable to say much, my mouth being so full of blood--calling upon them to come to the rendezvous at the company's store, as my head-quarters; the posse and myself then went there. I immediately telegraphed the Governor stating the case, and issued a proclamation calling upon the citizens to rally and take all precautionary measures possible for the suppression of any further outbreak. In the course of half an hour, the whole of the arms we had were placed in the hands of good responsible persons; our posse was drawn across the head of the street, and orders were sent--I sent my police out with orders that all persons should disperse--all crowds, and so on. In the course of probably half an hour from that, the report came that they were firing in the residence of the Messrs. Scranton, which was immediately above our head-quarters there. I went with the posse there, and placed some men on picket, and so on, taking precautionary measures. By two o'clock the crowds began to gather through the streets again. I sent my police officers out again to try to disperse the crowds. In the meantime, the dead bodies had been taken from off the streets, and taken home. Our acting chief came back and reported to me that he was unable to disperse the crowds. I immediately had Captain Repple to detail twenty-five men, and in company with him marched down the street, and as I met the crowds I merely said this: Gentlemen you must disperse, and go immediately home. I gave no other orders, and the result was that by the time I struck the corner here below, the crowd in this part had all dispersed, or dispersed immediately upon my giving orders. I sent the police on further, as I was quite weak at this time, bleeding very thoroughly from all of my wounds. I was unable to walk further, and went back again to head-quarters, and my policemen went on below, and were unable to disperse the crowd. The posse were kept on duty. I remained at head-quarters until next morning at half-past five o'clock, when General Brinton and his command arrived here. I then went home and had my wounds dressed. That is the history of the matter as I have it.

Q. These twenty-five men that you sent down in the afternoon at two o'clock--who were they?

A. They were the gentlemen I had sworn in as special police.

Q. Citizens of the city?

A. Yes; I could give you the names of them if I thought it was necessary, sir. Colonel Hitchcock, and Mr. Brown, and others of our best citizens.

Q. What did you learn about the assembling of this crowd, if anything, as to where they got together?

A. What I subsequently learned?

Q. What have you learned since?

A. The meeting was called at the silk-works--what we call the silk-works--it is in the Twentieth ward, near the outskirts of our city--the portion adjoining Taylorville--in a southerly direction. The resolutions which I got from the arrest of the gentleman who was president at the meeting--the chairman of the meeting--he was arrested and brought before me--and Mr. Thomas, who will be subpoenaed before you, can give you the exact wording of that resolution and can give you more intelligently the proceedings of that meeting than any other gentlemen that will be called upon. If you please, bear that in mind.

Q. What time was that meeting at the silk-works held?

A. I learned they commenced coming from Dunmore and the outer vicinity as early as three o'clock in the morning.

Q. Of What day?

A. Of the 1st day of August.

Q. Had been called by previous announcement?

A. They called all their meetings in their own manner of calling--by runners. I might say right here, at this point, they had a complete code of signals on the night of the 1st of August. While we placed our sentinels on the top of the buildings we occupied, we could discern lights from one side of the valley to the other--from point to point--a line of different colors and different shades. They had a thorough code of signals so all the way through. You are aware, undoubtedly, that so far as the engineers or the firemen--the strikers--were concerned, they used their own alphabet in telegraphing over the wires. They used their alphabet.

Q. Had there been any assembly prior to their reaching the silk-works?

A. No, sir; this was the meeting.

Q. What time did they leave the silk-works and come to the city?

A. That the other gentlemen, (Mr. Manes,) can give you about the hour when they struck his works. I judge, I left my office somewhere about eleven o'clock.

Q. Were there any railroad men among this crowd that assembled on the 1st day of August?

A. There were some railroad men that I saw at the shops around when I struck the crowd?

Q. What class of men did they seem to be principally?

A. Well, they were mechanics and miners and laborers.

Q. Were there any men from the shops within the city?

A. Yes; there were mechanics and laboring men from the shops. Among the men who were more upon the outskirts, were quite a number of the men who were employés of the shops--men whom I recognized--quite a number of them. As soon as I made the remark that they had better disperse, they commenced, upon the outer portion of the crowd, quite a number, to go through from under the archway, apparently going up the street.