On the evening of July 14, Leonard, in company with Bert Nash, also an employe of the same railroad, brought a lot of non-union men to a boarding place in St. Paul, known as the Minnesota Home. Luth followed them into the house and requested the proprietress of the Home not to board them as they were in the city to take the place of strikers, and while explaining the situation, became involved in an altercation with Nash. Leonard interfered and was told by Luth that he was little better than a scab, whereupon Leonard drew a revolver and fired five times, all of the shots taking effect in the body of Luth. Two of the shots were fired after Luth had fallen to the floor. These facts were given by an eye witness who afterwards took the revolver from Leonard. This dastardly, cold blooded murder worked the strikers into a frenzy of excitement, and had it not been for a herculean effort on the part of older and cooler heads, a lynching would surely have occurred. This foul deed was absolutely unwarranted as Luth was unarmed and alone, and if he had harmed or threatened to harm any one, an officer could have been called and he would have been promptly arrested. Luth left a wife and two small children to mourn his loss and grieve over his tragic end. The funeral procession that followed the remains to the grave headed by the Knights of Pythias and Foresters, was the largest ever seen in St. Paul. President Debs felt confident of victory. Addressing a meeting at Ulrich Hall, he said: "We have just finished reading 160 telegrams in not one of which there is any sign of weakening." He dwelled on the action of the general managers refusing to entertain the proposition made to them, and the necessity of the men remaining loyal to one another. "The law seems to be against us as it is read by some, but if the law makes it a crime to advise you men against the encroachments of capital, by all the Gods united I will rot in jail." Referring to the attitude of other railroad organizations, he said: "Men in such positions as myself and Mr. Howard cannot afford to be on good terms with general managers. If we are we cannot be your friends. It is true, however, that certain officers of certain other organizations ride on annual passes and spend months on fishing excursions at the expense of the railroad managers, but it comes out of your wages in the end." Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers present, informed the officers of the American Railway Union that Chief Arthur had issued orders for men to work with scabs, and that he was supplying scabs to take the places of men on strike. In other words, he was running an employment agency for the benefit of the railroads.