FIGHT TO THE FINISH

Lehigh Valley railroad engine 919.

Cortland Evening Standard, Saturday, November 25, 1893.

FIGHT TO THE FINISH.

NO HOPES OF A COMPROMISE IN THE LEHIGH STRIKE.

The Conference Between Coal Operators and President Wilbur Falls Through—No Serious Trouble Reported, but Grave Fears Expressed In Many Quarters—The Company Succeeds In Moving Freight.

   WILKES-BARRE, Pa., Nov. 25.—The fight between the Lehigh Valley railroad and its employes [sic] is now to a finish. The men have begun to realize this for the first time. There was hope all along that a compromise might be affected, but now that hope has vanished. The ray of sunshine that pierced the gloom yesterday and gave encouragement to the hope that the strike was nearing an end, was dispelled by the following communication to Chairman Rice, from Messrs. Simpson and Watkins, the coal operators delegated at the operators meeting to meet Mr. Wilbur and see if he would not assent to hearing the railroaders in the matter at issue:

   "Owing to your insisting upon the reinstatement of all employes, our negotiations for a conference have failed. Mr. Wilbur is standing by his circular of Nov. 21 in its entirety."

   Mr. Rice, upon reviewing the situation, said: "I very much regret that the hopes that we cherished Thursday, of an early adjustment of our difficulties have about vanished. It looks like a long fight, but we are prepared for it."

   The officials say that the old employes cannot now be received as an entirety but they may apply for and obtain places on the same conditions as outsiders.

   Many people here now fear that there will be a repetition of the great strike of 1877 when the Lehigh Valley was tied up for two months. The city and numerous suburban towns were under martial law for a month or more, though the strike continued but a little over a week. During the trouble many attempts were made by gangs of lawless men to burn buildings, but much property was saved from the torch by the prompt action of the military.

No Trouble at Sayre.

   ELMIRA, N. Y., NOV. 25.—It has been a quiet day at Sayre and the strikers have almost entirely deserted the depot and yards. They have been well behaved. Their surprise was great when they were informed that the sheriff had sent for 100 deputies to help guard the yards. The men say that there is nothing for the 40 already on duty to do, and there is no reason for the additional draft except to make trouble and blame them for it. They assert that every effort is being made to force them to commit violence.

   Sheriff Powell refuses to say what he wants the extra deputies for.

   Passenger trains have been run and some freight has been moved. On the whole, however, a great deal has not been accomplished.

   The strikers have not lost a man by desertion, but have captured quite a number from the railroad company.

Dynamite Found Near the Tracks.

   ROCHESTER, NOV. 25.—Five dynamite cartridges, each about eight inches long and two inches in diameter, were found under the platform leading to the section boss' hut, about 100 feet away from the Lehigh tracks and a mile south of the passenger depot. They are not of the ordinary kind used in blasting, and no blasting has been done in that neighborhood recently. One of these cartridges would have wrecked a train if properly used. They were tied together and evidently had been placed hurriedly there to hide.

   Officers are at work trying to ascertain who is responsible for the dynamite's presence. The strikers' committee disclaim all knowledge of the affair.

   Trains are still running irregularly with no passengers. The company is still enrolling men to take the strikers' places. About 400 have so far been enrolled here. The man Donohue, who was taken from the roundhouse and put in charge of an engine, is charged by the strikers with never having passed an examination. The attention of the state board of railroad commissioners has been called to the fact. They will pass on it Monday.

Playing the Officials.

   POTTSVILLE. Pa., Nov. 25.—The labor leaders on the coal branches seem to be "playing" the officials and in consequence the management is puzzled. The men apparently have arranged to take turns in failing to report for duty.

   One day the engineers are not on hand, but some of the train crews are. The next day some of the crews stay at home and some of the engineers report for work and so on.

   By this means the officials are unable to know exactly where they stand and Dispatcher Brill says he does not know who to depend on, who to expect to report for passenger duty until too late to fill vacancies.

   The strikers were in session all day at Quakake and are getting more thoroughly entrenched each hour.

TROUBLE AT AUBURN.

NONUNION MEN ATTACKED AND ROUGHLY HANDLED.

No Serious Rioting, However —Many Points Report the Situation Favorable to the Company—Shipping Nonunion Men to Sayre—Individual Coal Operators Interested—President Wilbur Refuses to Negotiate.

   AUBURN, NOV. 24.—More trouble came between strikers in this city and nonunion men. A train went to Ithaca with Goldburg, an engineer from the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg road in charge of the engine, and David Slocum, a boy from Auburn, as fireman. When the train returned and pulled into the Lehigh yard a shower of stones from strikers and sympathizers crashed through the cab windows. David Slocum, the fireman, jumped from the cab and rushed into a house nearby. The engineer was hit on the head by a big stone, His scalp was cut open and his skull probably fractured. A detective in the cab was also hurt on the arm. The police were hastily summoned and charged on the mob, which dispersed without much show of resistance when they saw the officers at hand. Another train came in from Sayre shortly after, but no further serious trouble occurred.

   An hour later a mail train arrived from Sayre, but no further outbreak occurred, except that the crowd jeered the nonunion crew. At 4:30 o'clock a train which left for Fair Haven at noon, returned under close guard. The locomotive was housed, and the engineer escaped by means of a closed carriage, without receiving much rough handling.

   The yards swarmed with idlers and toughs all day, but only now and then was the face of a striker visible. No attempt has been made as yet to move any freight. When it was learned that no other trains would come in, and the officials had decided not to send out another train, the crowd dispersed and the yard again became quiet.

   To prevent a recurrence of the confusion and to clear the yards of loungers, who only await a chance to precipitate a riot, it has been suggested that the Second Separate company [National Guard] be called out today to guard the yards. The sheriff will not go to this extreme, however, until all other means fail.

Coal Operators Interested.

   WILKES-BARRE, Pa., Nov. 24.—A committee from the individual coal operators held a conference with the strike leaders. The individual operators are anxious that the strike should end, as they are losing a great deal of money. They cannot market their coal and some of them have contracts which must be filled. As a result of the conference, the strikers are very hopeful. William L. Conyngham, the wealthy coal banker, with headquarters in this city, had a long talk with President Wilbur at Bethlehem over the long distance telephone immediately after the conference. Conygham had important contracts to fill and he is particularly anxious that some amicable agreement should be reached. The advent of the individual coal operators into the fight is a new phase and a Brotherhood man said: "The individual coal operators may be the cause of our winning the strike within the next 48 hours."

PAGE TWO EDITORIALS.

If a Horse Could Talk.

   The first words a horse would utter if he could talk would be: "Loosen that overdraw check. It is torturing me out of life. It injures my windpipe, weakens my knees, makes me stumble and stiffens the muscles of my neck so that I can never again straighten it, but after a year or two I must finish my brief career with a neck fixed in the shape of that of the worst looking rackabones that ever drew a rag wagon. In many a case the rackabones was just as good looking a horse as I am now, only the check rein ruined him. How would you like to go through life with your head pulled toward the back of your neck and kept there by means of a strap that was fastened to a steel bar in your mouth? Try it an hour and then release me from torture.

   "If I am a good horse, I do not need this cruel check rein. Only a bad horse wants it, and bad horses are very few. Even when it is used on one of these, it should be attached to a separate bit, for the check rein pulls an ordinary bit one way while the driver pulls the other way with the carriage reins, and makes a seesaw upon the horse's tongue and the corners of his month. This wicked strap comes with every new set of harness, it is true, but that is no reason why my month should be pried open with it and my neck broken. In the name of horsehood I protest against the overdraw check rein as most drivers use it."

The Throttle Worked Open.

   Two engines were left standing coupled together on a side track at Watertown Thursday night at 6 o'clock. The throttle worked open on one of them and the pair stole away. They started slowly and gained speed at every revolution of the drivers. Men in the yards saw the runaways and could have stopped them, but supposed the engineers were aboard.

   The runaways started down the Cape Vincent branch. It was known that the passenger train was due from the Cape about that time, and a telephone message was sent to the dispatcher there, in the hope that he would be able to wire the operator at Brownville in time to stop the passenger train. It was too late. The passenger train had passed Brownville and a collision was inevitable.

   The trains collided about two miles from Watertown. Engineer Wells of the passenger train saw the headlight of the runaways, and brought his train to a standstill. The two locomotives crashed into the train and smashed the pilots of both engines and shook up the passengers, but only one man was injured. He was standing at the door in the smoker, and the force of the collision drove his hand through the glass door and cut it severely. The engines or cars did not leave the rails. The total damage is estimated to be about $250.

   [Recall the Chaffee case and runaway engine at Cortland—CC editor.]

BREVITIES.

   —There will be a school sociable at the Normal parlors to-night at 8 o'clock.

   —Justice Bull sentenced this morning William Whalen to three days or three dollars for public intoxication.

   —Deposit is to have a factory for the condensing of milk. Work has just begun on a new $75,000 plant.

   —Dr. F. J. Cheney will address the boys at the East Side reading room to-morrow afternoon at 4:15 o'clock.

   —Rev. Geo. H. Brigham will preach in the Memorial Baptist church on Tompkins-st. Sunday afternoon at 4 o'clock.

   —Mrs. N. F. Jones of Binghamton has opened dressmaking parlors in the Graham building, third floor, over Mrs. W. W. Gale's store.

   —The new Baptist chapel on Tompkins-st. has been given the name of the Memorial Baptist chapel, by which it will hereafter be known.

   —A new sophomore debating society has just been organized at Cornell university to be known as the George William Curtis Debating club.

   —The freight employees of the D., L. & W. and E., C. & N. railroads will take a vacation Thanksgiving Day and no freight will be received after 10 o'clock in the morning of that day.

   —The next meeting of the Chautauqua circle will be held Monday evening, Nov. 27, with Mrs. H. L. Bronson on the corner of Port Watson and Greenbush-sts. Quotations about Thanksgiving.

   —Mrs. Davern has on exhibition in the window of her millinery store on Main-st. a fine, enlarged portrait of the late James Dowd. The picture was enlarged for the Emerald Hose Co. and it will soon be placed in their hose parlors.

   —The breach of promise mock trial at Normal hall last night was well attended and it passed off in fine style. The charge to the jury was a marvel and the verdict that was brought in in writing was something fearful and wonderful. About $30 were realized for the football association from the entertainment.

   —The funeral of Silas Baldwin will be held from his late residence, 224 Tompkins-st., at 12:30 o'clock tomorrow afternoon. The deceased has been well and favorably known in this county for a long time. He was elected sheriff in 1860 and afterwards served three terms as supervisor of Preble.

   —Marriages go in groups in Binghamton. A few days ago The STANDARD made a note of one minister marrying three couples in a single day, and it was believed that the high water mark for wholesale business had then been reached, but it does not so appear, for the Binghamton Republican remarks that on Wednesday the Rev. Dr. Colville married eight people in matrimonial blocks of two, without, so far as is known, making any mistake in the blocks.

A Marvelous Healer.

   The Opera House was last night packed to the doors with an audience assembled to witness the work of Dr. Franklin Stewart Temple of Binghamton, the magnetic healer. And some of his work was truly marvelous. The lame walked, the deaf heard, the blind saw. Several persons who were troubled with rheumatism took seats on the stage and Dr. Temple rubbed the disabled member. After a short time the lame were able to walk off without trouble. One man was so filled with exhilaration at the thought of his ability to walk that he threw up into the air the cane with which he had helped himself up toward the stage.

   Dr. Temple does not claim that the cures resulting from a single treatment of this kind will be permanent. The old trouble will probably return, but it will not be as severe as before, and he thinks that four or five treatments will cause a permanent cure. The doctor rubbed the eyes of a lady who had cataracts over both eyes and she was able to read from a paper placed before her. A person quite deaf was able to hear a whisper. The doctor's headquarters are in Binghamton and patients can meet him there for further treatment.