Produced by Barbara Kosker, Odessa Paige Turner and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print project.) The Pullman Boycott A Complete History of The Great R. R. Strike. BY W. F. BURNS. 1894: THE McGILL PRINTING CO. ST. PAUL. COPYRIGHTED 1894 by W. F. BURNS. CONTENTS. CHAPTER. PAGE. I--The American Railway Union, 7 II--The Boycott, 15 III--First Day of the Strike, 26 IV--An Appeal from Debs, 32 V--The Federal Government Sides with the Managers, 40 VI--Troops at Blue Island, 51 VII--A Protest from Gov. Altgeld, 55 VIII--Incendiarism and Bloodshed, 66 IX--Slaughter of Citizens, 81 X--Business Men's Protest, 92 XI--Indictment of President Debs, 100 XII--A Protest by the Peoples Party, 108 XIII--An Offer of Settlement, 115 XIV--Debs in Jail, 124 XV--Blacklisting Begins, 139 XVI--Trial of Debs, 147 XVII--A Convention of the American Railway Union Called to Take Action on the Strike, 159 XVIII--The Strike Lost, 167 XIX--The Commission, 176 XX--Altgeld Investigates Pullman, 288 XXI--Conclusion, 310 INTRODUCTORY. In presenting this work to the public, I beg leave to say that I lay no claim whatever to literary ability, and will ask the reader to kindly overlook the crudeness of this my first effort. My line of work since boyhood has been confined principally to railway service; in short I am a switchman, and in that branch of the service, have been frequently confronted with the differences that arise between the management of the various railroad corporations and their employees. While I disclaim any credit for ability as a writer, by years of experience and careful study of the condition of affairs as they have in the past and do in the present exist, I profess to be able to fairly present the facts of the Pullman strike. This strike was a matter of unusual interest to me, not alone because my individual interests were involved, but because the independence of every man in America who earns his bread by the sweat of his brow, was in the balance.