FRENZIED MOBS AND BURGESS BUILDING CORNER STONE LAID

Ohio National Guard escorts Cleveland police during Brown Hoisting Co. labor dispute.

Cortland Evening Standard, Friday, July 3, 1896.

FRENZIED MOBS.

Cleveland Strike Culminates In Bloodshed.

STATE GUARDS CALLED OUT.

Attempt Made to Lynch a Lad Who Shot a Striker. Police Found Themselves Helpless In the Face of the Maddened Throngs—Building Where the Offending Young Man Was Taken Besieged by the Mob. Troops Forced to Charge the Crowd With Bayonets Fixed—Soldiers Hissed, Hooted and Pelted Until Threats Were Made to Fire a Volley Into the Crowd. Order Finally Restored In a Measure And the Offender Safely Lodged In the Station House —Disorders Directed Against Nonunion Men Also Occurred, and Many Rioters Received a Terrific Clubbing at the Hands of the Police.

   CLEVELAND, July 3.—The strike at the Brown Hoisting company's works has reached a point where the authorities as well as the strikers are in no mood for trifling.

   When the nonunion men left the works at 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon there was rioting. Two hundred and fifty policemen emerged from the gates, guarding 53 workmen. An immense crowd had gathered a block away, but the police took a new route and eluded them for the moment.

   The strikers set up a yell and ran, soon overtaking the marching column, hooting and yelling. A huge moving van was in the rear, filled with strikers, and with a small wagon laden with empty beer bottles. The police suspected that the bottles were intended as missiles and compelled the driver of the wagon to turn back.

   At Wilson and Euclid avenues a railroad train blocked the way and an effort was made to drive the van through the guard of officers. The police dragged to the ground the driver, Fred W. Hearn, a moving contractor, and the man on the seat beside him, W. J. O'Neil, a paving contractor. These men resisted and the police used their clubs on them with such effect that their heads were swollen masses of cuts.

   O'Neil's ankle was broken. The strikers in the van jumped out, and the police charged the crowd, using their clubs on all heads within reach. Frank Coopenheiker, a machinist returning from work and not a striker, was caught in the crowd and severely clubbed on the head. Hearn was arrested and locked up. The strikers dispersed before the onslaught of the police, and the nonunion men were sent home.

   Meanwhile a tragedy had taken place at the Brown works. Albert G. Saunders, a young student at the Case School of Applied Science, has been working for the Brown company during vacation for the practical knowledge it would give him. He did not leave with the nonunion men under police guard, but mounted his bicycle and sought to reach home alone. As he turned up Hamilton street a knot of strikers saw him and shouted to him to stop. He did not obey, and they began to throw stones and bricks at him.

   A brick struck him on the head and knocked him off his wheel and he claims that after he was down they continued to stone him.

   Rising to his knees he drew his revolver and fired. The ball missed his assailants, sped across a vacant lot and buried itself in the breast of William Rettger, one of the strikers who was walking through an alley with several companions.

   Rettger was sent to a hospital, where he died in a few minutes. He was a brother of Pitcher Rettger of the Milwaukee Baseball club.

   Patrolman Gibbons heard the shot fired and rushed to the spot and seized young Saunders and hurried him into the office of the Bishop-Babcock company. In a wonderfully short time a furious crowd, which packed the street as far as the eye could reach, surged against the front of the office, demanding that Saunders be delivered to them. Someone brought a rope and a cry of ''Lynch him!" was raised.

   They began to pry at the windows of the office, when Patrolman Gibbons, who was once a union workman, addressed the mob and partly quieted it. Two patrol wagon loads of police arrived and a guard was posted in front of the building.

   Long before this Mayor McKisson, Police Director Abbott, Lieutenant Colonel Whitney of the Fifth regiment and others were gathered for consultation in the city hall. Word of the critical condition of affairs was telephoned to them from the Bishop-Babcock office and a request made for militia. The mayor responded by ordering the Cleveland City Guards and Company F to the scene of the riot.

   The guards arrived first, just as the mob was preparing for another effort to capture Saunders. As the soldiers came down the street the mob shrieked and howled and the guards were compelled to open away for themselves with a bayonet charge. Several men and boys were wounded slightly by the soldiers. The guards formed in front of the office and just then Company F was seen coming.

   Amid a frenzy of excitement on the part of the dense crowd, a patrol wagon was backed to the door of the office and Saunders was jerked into it and made to lie on the bottom. The guards formed around it with bayonets at "charge" and they forced their way down Hamilton street, part of the howling mob surging along with them.

   The wagon and the soldiers proceeded rapidly until the crowd in front had thinned, when the guard opened ranks and the wagon sped on to the Central station at a run.

   Saunders, whose head is badly cut up, and his body a mass of bruises, is a prisoner, charged with the killing of Rettger.

   Company F in command of Major Liebich marched to the center of the crowd that remained behind. The soldiers were menaced and jeered. Major Liebich halted his men, drew his revolver and declared that upon the slightest attempt at violence he would give the command to fire. After that the noise ceased and the crowd scattered, the company returning to quarters.

   The mayor caused a proclamation, declaring the riot act to be in force, to be posted in the neighborhood of the Brown works this morning.

   The striking quarrymen at Berea have quieted down somewhat. Wednesday night some of them tore up some water pipe at quarry No. 6, crippling it. Workmen tried to repair it, but were beset by a crowd of Polish women with clubs and stones, who compelled them to seek refuge in a shed. Two special officers went to their rescue, and only succeeded in dispersing the women by drawing their revolvers and threatening to shoot.

STRIKERS AT CLEVELAND.

The Militia at the Brown Hoisting Works Under "Rush" Orders.

   CLEVELAND, O., July 3.—The situation at the Brown hoisting works had an ominous look this morning. Men were gathered on the corners discussing the killing of Wm. Rettger. One shot from a "scab" is likely to cause a riot at any moment and the police are keeping alive to the gravity of the situation. As the non-union men got off the cars at the works this morning they were greeted with cries of "scab, scab," but no violence was offered. By actual count seventy-five men entered the works. Capt. English has forty-five men on guard. The police and strikers are of the opinion that the works will be shut down after to-day as it will take a regiment to keep them running.

   It was feared last night that the strikers would attempt to blow up the works. Company F. and company B., fifth Regiment, are quartered in downtown blocks under "rush" orders. Each man has twenty rounds of ammunition.

Cornell Exploring Expedition.

   ITHACA, N. Y., July 3.—A Cornell party of six left for Greenland exploration under Lieutenant Peary. Professors Tarr and Gill of the geological department are in charge. Messrs. Kindle, Watson, Bonsteel and Martin accompanied them. A party from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will join them. They will leave Sydney, C. B., on July 14 for Melville bay, Greenland. The purpose of the expedition is to study geological formations and to make natural history collections.

PAGE TWO—EDITORIALS.

Exit the Bloomers.

   The bloomer rage, if it can be called a rage, was short-lived. In New York it has almost died out. A writer for The Sun says that any one gifted with observant eyes, who spends a couple of hours of any fair afternoon watching the bicycles go by on a favorite thoroughfare, will need no other demonstration. Last year when the season closed there were plenty of bloomer girls, but during the winter their costumes underwent a decided change, and when they started out in the spring again the bloomers were discarded. It is more than possible that in every one of the very few cases in which a woman bicycle rider still clings to bloomers, it is because the wheel she owns has a diamond frame. Frequenters of the boulevard have noticed the steady decline of the bloomer with a good deal of interest. It is a not infrequent occurrence to hear one old rider comment to another that such and such a woman has quit bloomers and gone back to skirts. Two of the early morning regulars were trundling up to Claremont recently, when a young woman in an extremely neat suit came sailing down the road.

   "Look at that girl," said one to the other. "That's one of the prettiest suits I've seen, and it makes a great change in her appearance. Last year she used to ride in bloomers, and her outfit was about the homeliest I ever saw. It's surprising what a change in appearance a dress makes."

   The Albany Journal believes that this will be sad intelligence to many who imagined that in some manner the donning of semi-masculine habiliments would result in the "enfranchisement" of the downtrodden race. But of their own volition it seems, the most progressive of the sex are going back to skirts.

A. S. Burgess block on left.

Corner Stone Laid.

   The corner stone of the addition to A. S. Burgess' building was laid yesterday by Rev. David C. Beers, with appropriate ceremonies. Copies of the Cortland Democrat—as being a near neighbor—and also of another newspaper publication devoted chiefly to immortalizing the memories of certain citizens of this village were entombed under an iron pillar. Mr. George Allport did not throw cold water on the affair, whatever rumor may say to the contrary. There was no music, but considerable "chinning'' and lots of fun.

THOSE FAT MEN.

All Are in Fine Shape for the Race Tomorrow.

   The entrance of two additional sprinters in the fat men's race for to-morrow adds greater interest to the race which will be run on Church-st. at 4:30 o'clock P. M. The representatives of Dell Gross of McGrawville were in town this morning and entered him in the race. This announcement will be a surprise to a great many as it is not generally understood that for three weeks he has been in constant training on one of McGrawville's side streets. It is understood that McGrawville will send a delegation of 600 to shout for their man who they are confident will win.

   Jack Andrews of Homer is said to have been induced to enter much against his will but for the last three days has been getting himself in shape for the event.

   Dr. L. T. White and Deputy Sheriff James E. Edwards, the two Cortland men in the race, who have been longest in training, are both confident of success, notwithstanding the new entries. The doctor claims that he could win even if the deputy sheriff had not injured himself with the spikes in one heel yesterday morning while training He thinks this is going to seriously impair the officers' chances of winning and help his own. Mr. Edwards is not saying much but when approached on the subject slyly winks his left eye and says, "you just watch and see."

   All the sprinters are in fine shape today and their training has reduced their weights so that they may be expected to appear to-morrow weighing respectfully, Edwards 401 pounds, Andrews 396, Gross 374, White 361. It will certainly be a great race. [Weights may be exaggerated for comic effect--CC editor.]

A Work of Art.

   The handsome oil painting which is attracting attention in the south window of McKinney and Doubleday's book-store is the work of a Cortland boy, Mr. Robert R. Freer, who has been for three years a student in the National Academy of Design, New York. The picture is entirely original in design and purely allegorical in character. It represents the trust of one of God's children in his watchful care over her and shows rare talent for so young an artist.

   The picture has received special commendation from Kenyon Cox, one of our greatest artists of to-day, and also from C. V. Turner, life class professor in the National Academy of Design, New York.  It is an order from William Gold Hibbard of Chicago and is designed as a gift for the Franklin Hatch library.

Charged With Bigamy.

   Deputy Sheriff James E. Edwards was in Homer last night and arrested Sarah Way on the charge of bigamy, on a complaint sworn out by Moses Way of Homer before Justice Dickinson. The complainant alleges that last April, Way was married to the woman who was living under the name of Johnson but that she had a husband named Smith to whom she was married at Auburn two years ago. She was arraigned before Justice Dickinson this morning, pleaded not guilty and demanded an examination which was set down for July 22.