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
History
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
With the repulse of the attempt to set fire to the Duquesne depot ended
all active efforts by the mob to destroy property, and after that
Sunday night no mob of any size was again assembled, although it was
several days before complete order was fully restored, as the people
had lost confidence in all the laboring men, and no one knew who to
trust or what to expect from others on account of the extent to which
the demoralization had gone.
About sixteen hundred cars, (mostly freight,) including passenger and
baggage cars, with such of their contents as were not carried away by
the thieves; one hundred and twenty-six locomotives, and all the shops'
materials and buildings, except one or two small ones, of the railroad
company, from above Twenty-eighth street to the Union depot, were
burned on that Saturday night and Sunday.
It has been estimated, by a competent person, that the damage,
including loss of property and loss of business, consequent upon the
interruption of business, which was inflicted by the mob, at Pittsburgh
alone, was $5,000,000. This may be a large estimate, but if the
consequential damages could be correctly arrived at, the total damage
would fall but little short of the figures given. The actual loss of
property by the railroad company alone, not including the freight they
were transporting, is estimated at two million dollars, by the officers
of the company, from actual figures made. The authorities of Allegheny
county adopted thorough measures to ascertain the extent of the loss of
property, and to that end appointed a committee to investigate claims
of those claiming damage. One hundred and sixty-nine claims were
settled by the committee, that is, the amount of each claim of this
number was adjusted and agreed upon by the committee and the parties,
and the total amount thus adjusted is about one hundred and sixty
thousand dollars, and all this is strictly private property. Some
persons refused to adjust the amount of their claims with the
committee, among which is the claim of the elevator company, amounting
to the sum of two hundred thousand dollars. Property that was stolen
was also recovered and returned to the railroad company, amounting in
value to at least sixty thousand dollars.
The tracks from Union depot out to and beyond Twenty-eighth street were
nearly all ruined by the fire, the rails being warped and twisted and
the ties burned; they were also covered with the debris of the burned
cars, and it was about a week after the destruction, or until July
30th, before the railroad company were enabled to get their trains all
running regularly again over this portion of the track.
During the troubles of the 20th and 21st, efforts were made by the
strikers to come to an understanding or compromise with the railroad
officials, and a committee to confer with the officials was appointed.
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