Homestead : $b A complete history of the struggle of July, 1892, between the Carnegie-Steel Company, Limited, and the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel WorkersBurgoyne, Arthur Gordon
History
Homestead : $b A complete history of the struggle of July, 1892, between the Carnegie-Steel Company, Limited, and the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers
Burgoyne, Arthur Gordon
Homestead Strike, Homestead, Pa., 1892
W. E. Bullock, pay roll clerk in the Carnegie office at Homestead, had
also been at the supper, sickened, lost sixteen pounds in eight days and
was still ailing.
Mr. Brennen made a long argument for his client, alleging that the two
informers were "miserable, contemptible rascals who had put up a job on
an innocent man in order to shield themselves." The magistrate, however,
believing a good _prima facie_ case to have been made out, held Beatty
for court in $5,000 bail.
As if to accentuate the force of the poisoning charge several more
deaths from sickness contracted in the mill now occurred, the symptoms
being identical in all cases.
District Attorney Burleigh proceeded without loss of time against
Dempsey and Davidson, the information against the men being lodged by
County Detective Beltzhoover. Dempsey surrendered himself and was
released on $2,500 bail. Gallagher, against whom an information had been
made by William E. Griffith, one of the workmen who had been poisoned,
was arrested and sent to jail in default of $5,000 bail. Davidson was
also arrested, but was released on $3,000 bail.
Hugh F. Dempsey was the first of the accused men to stand trial, being
arraigned before Judge Stowe on January 12, 1893. The indictment against
him contained four counts, 2 charging felonious assault and battery with
intent to murder, and two felonious assault and battery with intent to
"make sick." The defendant was represented by Messrs. Marshall,
Montooth, Brennen and L. K. Porter. District Attorney Burleigh, Captain
Breck and John S. Robb appeared for the Commonwealth. The jury selected
was composed as follows: Harry T. Anderson, L. P. Boyer, Michael Brown,
David Duff, Charles H. Kretzer and William G. Murray, all farmers;
Daniel Bohannon, painter; Louis Blumenschein, gardener; David C.
Brickell, gent; Alex. D. Guy, merchant; Edward Letzkus, clerk, and John
H. Wilson, manufacturer.
Captain Breck, in his opening speech, admitted that no man could be
convicted of crime on the evidence of an accomplice, but promised to
furnish ample testimony corroborative of the confessions made by
Gallagher and Davidson. He laid special stress on the reports of the
physicians who had treated the men supposed to have been poisoned at
Homestead.
A numerous array of witnesses was brought forward by the prosecution.
Attorney L. K. Porter conducted most of the cross-examinations for the
defense.
Dr. Weible, surgeon for the Carnegie Company, submitted a tabulated
report of the cases treated by him in the mill.
Louis Wolfe repeated the testimony which he gave at the Beatty hearing.
George W. Amy, Henry P. Thompson and Louis H. Craig, all of Chicora,
Butler County, deposed to having worked in the Homestead mill and being
stricken with disease, from which none of them had fully recovered. Dr.
J. L. Campbell, of Chicora, had treated these men and described their
symptoms, which, he said, he had ascribed to mineral poisoning. He was
certain that antimony had been given.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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