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. Well, I cannot tell you that, because the cars not loaded with
freight, as I said before, were all occupied. Some had four or five in,
and some ten or twelve in. I cannot tell how many cars were full. At
Twenty-eighth street, I judge that a thousand persons were there at
that time, and all along, from Union depot to Twenty-eighth street,
they were scattered.
By Mr. Larrabee:
Q. Those cars you saw the men in, were they regular freight cars or
caboose cars?
A. I saw them in both. One thing other I wish to impress on the
committee, and that is this: I see that other evidence--by reading it
in the papers--places those warrants for the arrest of those parties on
Saturday, in my hands. It is not the case. They were in the hands of
James Richardson, the constable, and I was only acting as a guard to
assist him.
By Senator Yutzy:
Q. Was he not appointed as one of your deputies?
A. No; I told him I would go myself, and give him some of my men to
assist him. I took thirteen of my regular deputies and myself to assist
him, and some other men not regularly connected with the office. The
names of some of them I cannot recollect.
By Senator Reyburn:
Q. Would it then have been possible to have arrested those men?
A. No, sir; not unless the military had done it. Probably, General
Brinton might have been able, but I do not know. There was about a mile
of a solid packed mob.
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. On Saturday?
A. Yes; the day we had the warrants.
By Senator Reyburn:
Q. Friday?
A. On Friday there was a large crowd. It was continually increasing. It
increased from Thursday, and kept on increasing all the time, on Friday
and Saturday.
Q. Were they all taking a part?
A. No; a portion were lookers on, but the sympathy appeared to be all
with the strikers. But I must say, that I did not see many of those
strikers. After we had gone out to Torrens station, I asked Mr.
Pitcairn how many men he knew in those two crowds, at Twenty-eighth
street and Torrens station, as belonging to the road. After studying
awhile, he said: "Well, really, I think I only know four."
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. You say the sympathy of all those gathered around was with the
strikers?
A. It appeared to be.
Q. How extensive was that sympathy--to what extent was it carried among
the people?
A. It was very extensive. In fact, I do hardly know any person whose
sympathy was not with them. It went so far that on Saturday night,
after the firing, parties were coming to my house and telling my family
that they would be murdered or burned out before morning. My wife
became alarmed, and in the street where I lived she could not get
protection in any house. They would not let her in.
Q. Why?
A. Because they blamed me for being at the head of the soldiers, and
for causing the killing of innocent parties. That was the reason they
gave her--that they did not think they would be safe in letting her in.
Q. What street is that?
A. Washington street, Pittsburgh.
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