Report of the Committee Appointed to Investigate the Railroad Riots in July, 1877: Read in the Senate and House of Representatives May 23, 1878Pennsylvania. General Assembly. Committee Appointed to Investigate the Railroad Riots in July, 1877
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Report of the Committee Appointed to Investigate the Railroad Riots in July, 1877: Read in the Senate and House of Representatives May 23, 1878
Pennsylvania. General Assembly. Committee Appointed to Investigate the Railroad Riots in July, 1877
A. Not on Friday. I did not see anything unusual on Friday. No; I was
not molested on Thursday in any shape, but on Friday they were around
by hundreds. Parties that I did not know where they came from, and we
could not do anything with them. They would get on the trains, and we
could not do anything with them. They did pretty much as they pleased,
and I saw that we had better keep quiet. They were riding between
Twenty-eighth street and Lawrenceville and Torren's station, during
Friday. They were just riding when it suited them.
By Senator Reyburn:
Q. What did they seem to be?
A. They seemed to be mill men, as much as any thing else, from their
appearance. They seemed to work somewhere where the sun did not strike
them.
By Senator Yutzy:
Q. They refused to pay fare?
A. Yes; they paid nothing. On Saturday morning, coming in on the first
trip, I did not see any of them. I had the usual run of passengers in
that morning. Going out at nine-forty, I got a crowd on that covered
the engine, and tank, and train, and every place. After I left
Twenty-eighth street, I made up my mind between there and Lawrenceville
that I would not go any further until I had got those parties off. I
got to Lawrenceville, and went to the engine, and got a big coal pick,
and then went to them, and said the first man that refuses to get off
here, I am going to stick the coal pick in him. I found that they all
got off, and seeing that I had it my own way with those on the engine,
I thought I would try it with the others on the train. I did try it on
them, and so pulled on to Millvale, when I did not have anybody on that
did not pay any fare, and I kept that up all day Saturday, except one
trip. On the half-past three trip, they were a little too thick. I
threw them off, and knocked them off the train, and drove them off the
engine with the pick. At Liberty, coming in on the twelve o'clock trip
that day, I was about five minutes putting them off there. A crowd of
them got on at Torrens. I got them all off, that did not pay any fare.
My crew stood by me very well. During the whole trouble, if I had had a
few more men on the train--I only had two of a crew--I could have
cleaned them out all the time. I was not molested or troubled at all by
the railroad men--that is on the train, in that way. I was told at
Liberty, on Saturday night, that I could not run the train out the city
there by one railroad man and one other.
Q. Who was the railroad man?
A. His name was Hice, and the name of the other was Smith.
Q. Smith was not a railroad man?
A. No.
Q. Do you know what his occupation is?
A. A one-horse stock dealer. He went around the country buying up
calves. I do not know what he is doing now. He is under indictment at
present.
Q. Was Hice in the employ of the company at that time?
A. He was when the riot commenced. He has not been since.
Q. You say you ran your train without carrying passengers that refused
to pay fare except once. What day was that?
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