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
Q. Before or after the troops came out?
A. A portion of it--the square shop that they came out of was set on
fire afterwards. The building was L shaped, and there was a fire in the
rear of it, and there might have been a fire--but I won't be
positive--but there might have been a fire in the L that ran towards
the road, but none in the L on Liberty street when they came out; and
they had made some efforts to protect themselves against fire, because
I discovered some leather hose, that the railroad company had in the
premises, after the troops came out. The fire then kept burning down
gradually on Liberty street down the railroad, and the people kept
carrying off the goods all day Sunday. Down at the Union
depot--previous to that catching fire--I was in there, and saw that the
parties had moved as many of the goods as they could, and I saw no
person trying to stop them. They set the depot master's office on fire,
and then a burning car was run down into the depot, and that fired it.
I saw the troops marching down Twenty-fifth street towards Penn, and
saw them march up Penn.
By Senator Yutzy:
Q. Can you tell us what portion of the round-house, or the buildings
attached to it, were on fire when they left?
A. I do not know, but there might have been a fire in the rear of the
round-house--the portion of it that is next to the main line might have
been afire--and as I said before, this L of the carpenter shop might
have been afire previous to the vacation, but I do not know it; but,
from my recollection of it, the fire burned so slow that there must
have been a fire in there before they got out, because when it caught
from the burning car on Liberty street, the whole building appeared to
be enveloped at once.
Q. Did you see the troops fired on as they went out?
A. I saw one man fire, I think, twice. He attempted to run into my
yard, and I kicked him out, and I said "if you want to fire on those
men go out and do it, but you cannot do it here." He ran out and shot
at them with a pistol. Somebody returned the fire, and he quit
following them any further.
Q. Did you know him?
A. No; I never saw him before. I know a great many men here; but I knew
very few men that took part in the riot.
By Senator Reyburn:
Q. You were around through the crowd?
A. Yes.
Q. And could judge of the crowd?
A. The men I saw jeering the soldiers penned in there, I did not know
any of them, nor I do not think they knew me, because I think if they
had known I was an officer, or had been one, I think they would have
made it lively for me, because I have the idea that they would have
thought I was there in the line of my business. I did not know any of
them. But this man, Richardson, that was tried last week, I saw him and
spoke to him about half past nine o'clock on Saturday night, and told
him that the railroad company had conceded to the wishes of the men,
and he said that was too damned thin, and went on.
By Senator Yutzy:
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