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
By Mr. Engelbert:
Q. You being the chief of detectives, did you send any men out to spot
those parties?
A. No, sir; after Friday, the thing was taken out of our hands. If any
party gave information in regard to what was done, we would have them
arrested. The detectives were out. We made inquiries of people as to
what they saw other people do.
By Mr. Larrabee:
Q. Was it not on Saturday morning that you considered the complaint
withdrawn upon which the warrants were based?
A. I think on Friday, it was, that I was notified to hold them until
further orders.
Q. Was it not on Saturday morning instead of on Friday morning?
A. My recollection is, that it was Friday.
By Senator Yutzy:
Q. Were you present at any time during the destruction of the property
of the railroad company by fire?
A. I was along the line Sunday morning, in Liberty street. I drove
along with the mayor in a buggy. My mother and sister both lived back
of the Union depot, and they were burned out. I tried to help them get
their things away.
Q. During the fire, were you ever called on by the chief of the fire
department, or by anybody connected with the fire department, to
protect them in their attempts to put out the fire?
A. No, sir.
Q. Do you know of any other officer of the police force being called
upon to assist them?
A. No.
By Senator Reyburn:
Q. Did you take any measures to prevent this destruction?
A. We could not do anything after the first firing was done. With what
police force we had, we could do nothing at all. They commenced
breaking into houses, and gun stores, &c., and we tried to prevent them
from doing that.
By Senator Yutzy:
Q. Did you see them breaking into any gun stores?
A. Yes; on Penn street I saw a couple of men breaking into a pawn shop.
I heard of the mob coming, and I hurried up the officers, and placed
men in front of different gun stores, but on Wood street they got into
one in spite of the men. Before that, we had notified the different
parties to put their guns away, that the excitement was very great, and
that the soldiers had fired upon the men, and that they would be apt to
break into places to try to get arms. I notified the different parties
to put their goods away that the mob should not get them.
Q. Who composed that crowd--did you recognize any of them?
A. They seemed to be working men--men that came from the south side.
One squad that came from the south side--I saw them going down the
street--a couple of young men--the same that I saw marching down Penn
street. Some of them have been arrested since.
Q. You think the men were principally from the south side who broke
into the gun stores?
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