History of Sacramento County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, 1923, Part 47

Author: Reed, G. Walter
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1026

USA > California > Sacramento County > History of Sacramento County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, 1923 > Part 47

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The province of the historian is to weigh carefully all the data and evidence he is en- abled to collect, and to state impartially the facts in each case as well as he can ascertain

them. The strike on this coast created a great deal of bitterness, which, although nearly thirty years have now intervened, has not yet been entirely obliterated. The writer, how- ever, feels that at this date the consensus of opinion would be that the strike should never have extended to this coast, as the cause of it had no connection with the railroads doing business in this state. The strike began at the town of Pullman near Chicago. The town was known as a "model town," being owned solely by the company, which had built it for use by the employees, with streets, sewers, etc., complete. They were in no sense railroad men, being in reality members of the cabinet- makers' and kindred trades. But they had affiliated with the American Railway Union, the aim and scope of which was intended to embrace all crafts in connection with the rail- road business. Although not railroad men, the Pullman employees' union had affiliated with it, and when they appealed to it for aid, the American Railway Union thereupon declared that they were willing to handle the trains on the railroads affected, providing the roads would refuse to handle or put into their trains the Pullman cars. The railroads declining to do so, the members of the union refused to handle Pullman cars or trains of which they were a part. The railroad companies operat- ing in California could not separate their in- terests from those of the Pullman Company, the Southern Pacific being a three-fourths owner of the Pullman cars used in this state. The strike being declared, the Santa Fe Rail- road was the first to feel it, all trains being stopped June 27, 1904. As the Santa Fe road did not extend to Sacramento, this history is not concerned with the strike on that road further than the mention of this fact.

On the following day, the 28th, however, Eugene V. Debs, the president of the Ameri- can Railway Union, telegraphed from Chicago to the heads of the local unions in this state to tie up the Southern Pacific Company's roads completely, and the strike was on in full force. It immediately assumed a threatening aspect in the main railroad centers, and Sacramento, being the main center of the system in Cali- fornia, was forced to bear the brunt of it. It was brought under control in Los Angeles be- fore it attained full headway, while in Oak- land, which contained many strikers, they managed to do considerable mischief. The railroad company refused to yield, and the fight grew more bitter daily. Besides the workers in the Sacramento shops, numbering about 3,000, there were all the train crews, freight handlers, section men and other out- door men of the system, numbering several hundred more. Most of these had become members of the American Railway Union, and

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they became daily more irritated and inclined to violence in order to coerce the company to do their will. Passengers on the trains were tied up at various points. Baggage and freight were daily piling up. The crux of the situa- tion, however, was the delayed mail, which accumulated rapidly and which finally forced the United States government to take a hand. It was evident that the dam must soon break. The situation had grown beyond the power of the local authorities. The local police could not cope with the trouble and it was generally known that the sheriff of Sacramento County sympathized with the strikers, and that both in Sacramento and Yolo Counties there were many among the farmers and business men who were in sympathy with them. California had hitherto been free from any experience like this, but the Eastern National Guard had been called out several times to combat strikers who had deteriorated into rioters, and it was a foregone conclusion that as events were mov- ing so fast toward a critical point. the National Guard would be called out to protect people and property. Governor Markham was ma- rooned in Los Angeles, where he had been when the strike was declared, and all orders from him had to be received over the telegraph wires. The situation had become serious.

But Uncle Sam was ready to move, and on July 1 Attorney-General Olney sent instruc- tions to all United States marshals having jurisdiction over the territory affected by the strike, to execute the process of the court, and prevent any further hindrance to the free movement of the mails. In accordance with this order, the United States marshal of the southern district of California called on Gen- eral Ruger, commander of the western divi- sion of the regular army, to furnish assistance at Los Angeles. Six companies, 320 men, un- der the command of Colonel Shafter, were dis- patched there on July 2, and left San Francisco that night.

Barry Baldwin, United States marshal of the northern district of California, was at Sac- ramento with a large number of deputy mar- shals, sworn in for the occasion, to cooperate with the regular troops. The plan was to break, almost simultaneously, the blockade in Sacra- mento and Los Angeles, the two real strate- gical points. At Los Angeles the regulars ex- perienced but little trouble, but the marshal and his deputies found it very different at Sacramento. Here the mob of strikers was larger and more desperate, and also better or- ganized than anywhere else in the state. Bald- win, on the afternoon of July 3, attempted to open up the blockade. The strikers calmly watched the operation of making up the trains, and everything seemed to be progressing

smoothly, when all at once, at a signal, the strikers rushed forward and demolished in a few minutes what it had been the work of hours to accomplish. Superintendent J. B. Wright and T. W. Heintzelman, assistant su- perintendent of motive power, both of whom were favorites with the men, when they at- tempted to throw off the brakes and start the train, were lifted bodily from the platforms by the strikers and carried to the ground. The brakes were disabled and the train could not start. Marshal Baldwin was furious and en- deavored to force his way through the crowd. but was thrown to the ground several times. Regaining his feet, he drew a revolver but was prevented from using it, and the cooler heads in the mob had difficulty in keeping him from being severely handled. Seeing the hopeless- ness of trying to move the train, he left the depot in possession of the strikers. He called on Governor Markham immediately for the assistance of the military to enable him to en- force his authority and maintain free passage for the mails. The Governor responded by ordering Maj .- General Dimond, of the Nation- al Guard, to furnish the necessary assistance. The experience of the militia in Eastern strikes having shown the salutary effect of a large dis- play of force, it was determined to call out a. large number of troops. Accordingly troops were ordered out as follows: of the 2nd Bri- gade, commanded by Brig .- General Dickinson. the 1st Regiment of Infantry, Colonel Sullivan ; the 3rd Regiment of Infantry, Colonel Barry : one-half of the Signal Corps under command of Captain Hanks, and a section of the Light Battery, consisting of Lieutenant Holcombe, twelve men and a gatling gun : of the 3rd Bri- gade. Companies A and B of the 6th Regiment. under command of Captain Nunan; of the 4th Brigade, under command of Brig .- General Sheehan, Companies A, E and G of the 2nd Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel Guthrie, the Signal Corps, and Light Battery B : in all about 1,000 men. The 5th Regiment. 2nd Artillery Regiment and 1st Troop Cavalry were ordered to hold themselves in readiness. Companies A and B of Stockton, Colonel Nu- nan commanding, were ordered to be ready to join the San Francisco troops when they reached Stockton, and the Sacramento troops were to join the main body on their arrival here.

The men arrived in Sacramento the next morning. ready for duty, at 8 a. m. The officers had expected to disembark at the depot. but found that orders had been given to stop the train at Twenty-first Street and the men were forced, after an all-night ride, to march thence to the armory at Sixth and L Streets, arriving there weary and hungry a little after nine o'clock. Here they were to breakfast. The

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adjutant-general had given orders for the men to be supplied with rations, but it had been overlooked, and they had none. They were promised an ample breakfast at the armory, but after an hour's delay it was found to con- sist merely of strong coffee and bread, and was the last food that most of them received until night. While the troops were being fed in re- lays, the 6th Regiment stood in line on L Street in the hot sun. It may here be stated that July 4, 1894, was one of the hottest days during the season, and the troops from San Francisco, being unused to the climate, suf- fered severely through the day, and many suc- cumbed to the heat, several officers among them. While in line, a private of the 6th Regi- ment attempted to load his gun, but it not be- ing in order, the cartridge exploded. The bul- let passed through the leg of a soldier in front of him and, striking a cobblestone, was shat- tered into a number of fragments. Here was shed the first and only blood of the day. The fragments of that bullet did deadly work, costing the life of an estimable citizen, O. H. Wing, and wounding six other persons.

After the troops had finished breakfast, they were marched to the depot, reaching it about noon. General Dickinson's troops marched to · the west end of the depot, General Sheehan's being at the head of the column. The descrip- tion of the day's events at the depot is collated and condensed from the testimony and report of the court of inquiry held afterwards in an effort to ascertain where the blame lay for the failure of the troops to take possession of the depot and drive the strikers out of it ; and from the "Record-Union" report, part of which the writer had helped to make.

Company A of the 2nd Infantry, one of the three Sacramento companies, flatly refused to go to the depot, saying that they were willing to do guard duty, at the armory, but would not fire on the strikers if ordered to do so. The board of inquiry held afterwards censured Maj .- General Dimond and Brig .- Generals Sheehan and Dickinson, but the governor and adjutant-general afterwards declared that Gen- eral Sheehan had received an undue degree of censure. It is certain that several blunders were made by various officers. The San Fran- cisco troops were not properly equipped, and had to ride all night and stand on the streets most of the forenoon without anything to eat. Even when they had breakfast in the armory it consisted only of coffee and bread, and hard- ly enough of that for the companies who breakfasted last. After this insufficient meal they had nothing more until evening, when they were taken to a hotel for supper. When to this was added their being compelled to stand in the broiling sun for hours, on one of the hottest days in the season, many of the

San Francisco and Stockton troops succumb- ing to the heat, while red-tape delays pro- longed their sufferings, it is not to be wondered at that their enthusiasm was dampened.

It being the Fourth of July, the city was filled with people from the country, and others seeking a holiday, and when the troops began to march to the depot, the sidewalks were filled with curious men, women and children, who accompanied them, unmindful of the fact that any moment might precipitate a bloody con- flict, in which they might come to harm. When the depot was reached, too, they formed a crowd of about 2,000 in the west end of it, con- sisting of strikers and their sympathizers, among whom were mingled hundreds of wom- en and children, many baby carriages even being present in the mob. These were what the soldiers found to confront them, and it is not a matter of wonder that the thought of firing into or charging with bayonets upon such a crowd appalled many of the troops, and tested their loyalty to the state and to society. They were confronted with men who were defying the law, but these men were not at the time actively engaged in destroying prop- erty, nor did they, as a body, show any inten- tion, as is shown clearly, of attacking the troops. On the contrary, they were good- humored and attempted to fraternize and argue with the members of General Sheehan's command, who occupied the head of the column, and among whom many of them had relatives and friends. In justice to all, these circumstances must be taken into account in passing judgment on the fiasco of the day.

General Sheehan, on being ordered by Gen- eral Dimond to clear the depot, found the west entrance blocked by the mob, who refused to give way, and pressed up close to Company G. He addressed them, telling them the troops did not wish to use force, if it could be avoided. but were there to protect the United States marshal in the discharge of his duties, and must use force if it became necessary. He asked them to disperse and permit the troops to occupy the depot, as they must place the railroad company in possession of the govern- ment mail trains, as ordered, and would have to do their duty. Major Weinstock addressed the strikers in the same manner, but they said they would die in their tracks rather than give up the fight. General Sheehan convinced some of the leaders that they could not right any wrongs by resisting the law, and the mob began to give way to the troops, when some one cried out to hold on, and demanded that he would promise not to allow any Pullman cars to be moved. He answered that his troops would not help to move any cars, but if called on, must do their duty and protect those moy- ing them, and a chorus answered, "Then you

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can never enter here unless you do so over our dead bodies."

Some time prior to this General Sheehan had discovered that the east end of the depot was unguarded and unoccupied by the strikers, and he suggested to General Dickinson, who was with the San Francisco troops in the rear of his command, that he occupy it. Major Doug- las, who was sent by him to General Dickinson with the suggestion, forced his way through the crowd and delivered the message, and General Dickinson referred him to General Dimond, who was in consultation with Mar- shal Baldwin in the office of Superintendent Wright. General Dimond, on Major Douglas' explanation of the situation, approved of the suggestion and calling Colonel Hooper, his chief of staff, directed him in Major Douglas' presence to instruct General Dickinson to carry out General Sheehan's suggestion, and detail a body of his men to pass around the depot and occupy it from the other end. Mean- while General Sheehan endeavored for more than an hour to induce the strikers to give way, but they still refused, baring their breasts and inviting the soldiers to use their bayonets. "You wouldn't put that steel through me, would you, Bill?" said one striker to his broth- er, who was in uniform, and whose bayonet was within a few inches of the striker's breast. "Then, for God's sake, step aside, Jim," said the soldier, pale and quivering with excite- ment. "Go ahead, Jack: jab your bayonet through me, and make your sister a widow," said another. "Go ahead, boys, and run us through; we might as well die here as to starve," said others.

Seeing the situation was hopeless unless force was used, and that General Dickinson had not taken any action towards occupying the east end of the depot, and that his order to the troops to "charge bayonets" had pro- duced no effect on the mob, General Sheehan went to Marshal Baldwin and told him of the situation, and that nothing but force would dislodge the mob; that if it was the marshal's desire to use force, he must. decline to use it unless he received the written order of the marshal to do so. The marshal took the posi- tion that the troops were under the orders of General Dimond, to whom he referred General Sheehan. General Dimond was present, and thereupon exercised his privilege of turning over the command of the troops to the marshal. Finding that the responsibility now rested on him, Marshal Baldwin told General Dimond that if he must take charge his first order would be that the Sacramento and American river bridges must be immediately guarded and protected by troops. General Dimond thereupon turned to General Sheehan and di-

rected him to detail two of his companies and a light battery to take position on the bridges named. All of this time the strikers were en- deavoring to persuade the men of Companies E and G to lay down their arms, but they re- membered their duty, and refused. The men were suffering terribly from the heat and many fell exhausted, and had to be removed and cared for. An injunction issued by Chief Jus- tice Fuller of the United States supreme court had been served on Harry Knox, chairman of the strikers, restraining him from interfering with any and all trains, but he paid no atten- tion to it, and the wreck of the first train out occurring a few days later, so far as known no punishment was ever meted out to him for his contempt of the court's order. He refused the request of the committee of the board of city trustees that he would consult with the officials of the railroad company. That afternoon Ma- jor Steinman issued a proclamation requesting all citizens to abstain from visiting the depot or grounds or helping to swell the mob.

Marshal Baldwin ascended a locomotive cab and harangued the strikers to no avail and finally suggested that they call together their calmest and ablest leaders and see if they would not agree that it would be best to leave him in peaceable possession of the depot. After some opposition this was agreed to, and a truce was declared till 3 o'clock, and afterwards extended to 6 p. m. The troops were dismissed 'and left the grounds. During the afternoon armistice a crowd of strikers went to Smith's Hall on Seventh Street, where the Bersaglieri Guard, an independent Italian organization, kept their arms, and took possession of the entire outfit of guns and accoutrements, it is understood, without much opposition.

The order of Marshal Baldwin withdrawing two companies of General Sheehan's command for the purpose of guarding the bridges over the American and Sacramento Rivers was an unfortunate one, and being misunderstood, had the effect of encouraging the strikers. On receiving the order, General Sheehan requested the crowd to fall back about five feet in order that he might not be compelled to use force on them. His request was complied with, and on the command "Fours right! Column right ! March!" the two companies of Sacra- mento troops that had faced the crowd marched off the ground and proceeded to the bridges as ordered. No sooner did the crowd see the troops marching away than they began to cheer. and the report soon spread that the troops had refused to fire on the people when ordered to do so. The Sacramento troops hav- ing departed, and no orders having come to take further action, Colonel Nunan, command- ing the Stockton troops, took upon himself the responsibility of ordering his men, who were

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weakened and almost prostrated by the heat, to break ranks and seek the shade. Again the crowd cheered, and again the false report spread that the Stockton troops had been or- dered to fire, and had refused. This left only the two regiments of the 2nd Brigade, un- der General Dickinson's command, who still stood in line. Many of these had fallen out of the lines and were being cared for by the sur- geons. After the truce between Marshal Bald- win and the strikers was declared, the troops were allowed to seek the shade, and at 6:30 p. m. they were ordered to fall in for supper, and were marched to the hotels.

On July 5 the troops were ordered to put up tents and make their camp in Capitol Park, which was done, and the camp was maintained there until the order to dismiss them was given.

Excitement over the occurrences on the Fourth quieted down next day and the troops took up the routine of camp duty. On the 11th, however, there came a terrible change that caused a revulsion of the tolerant feeling with which the strikers had been regarded, and which cost five lives. On the morning of the 11th, nearly 800 United States troops ar- rived on the steamer "Alameda" and the steam barge "Acme," consisting of two troops of cavalry, five batteries of light artillery with several gatling guns and two Hotchkiss rapid- fire cannon, six companies of marines and one company of infantry. There was also a full corps of surgeons and hospital stewards, army wagons with supplies, etc. They were under the command of Colonel Graham, commandant at the Presidio, in San Francisco. The whole river frontage was at the time occupied by the National Guard. 800 strong. under the com- mand of Brig .- General Sheehan. The boats landed at the foot of Y Street and the troops debarked. being covered from interference by the militia. The cavalry deployed and took possession of the cross streets, to guard the march of the infantry and the guns, and lined up the spectators driven from the streets, in the rear of the cavalry. The command took possession of the depot grounds, without re- sistance, the strikers realizing that here was a force it would not do to trifle with. Guard lines were thrown out rapidly and the batter- ies planted, and in a short time the whole rail- road property was enclosed in a line of senti- nels. While the guards were clearing the grounds, the switch engines, under the guard of a heavy body of soldiers, began to clear away the congestion of cars and locomotives. The gatling guns were cleared ready for serv- ice and a detail was sent to guard the supply train, which soon arrived. The hospital tent was set up near the baggage-room, and the

surgeons put their instruments in order. Mean- while, a detachment of marines had taken pos- session of the Yolo bridge, cleared it and had taken up its position at the Yolo end, having . been preceded by a cavalry company which took an advantageous station.

Meanwhile the militia had been under fire and had returned it. About 8: 30 a. m., oppo- site the foot of O Street, five shots were heard, and the bullets came whizzing overhead. About fifty shots were sent back, and one man was seen to fall from a tree, while others were seen behind a sand bank on the Yolo shore, deliberately aiming at the troops. One shot from the troops entered Reed's cannery, wounding a Japanese. A boat with a white flag was sent across, and several men were found behind the levee, who were unarmed and claimed that they had been sent over by the strikers to patrol the levee and see that no more shots were fired, but they were not be- lieved. However, there was no proof against them, and they were not arrested.

Heretofore there had been no bloodshed, but it seemed as if the arrival of the regular troops, although it had served to clear the depot and give possession of it to the railroad company, had served to make the strikers desperate. It developed afterwards that Worden and others had planned to use dynamite to destroy the regulars when they arrived and disembarked. Probably nothing but the fact that the militia had occupied and guarded the river bank pre- vented the murderous scheme from being car- ried out. The strikers' leaders, angered by their temporary defeat, had resolved on des- perate measures. Members of the Brother- hood of Locomotive Engineers stated that they had been threatened by members of the Ameri- can Railway Union, and that they had been told that they would never live to haul a Pull- man car ten miles. In view of the events of this day, and the testimony adduced at the trial of the strike leaders, Harry Knox, Thomas Compton and James Mullen, later on, there remains no reason to doubt that they had de- termined to prevent the moving of trains by all means in their power, however desperate. The body of the strikers were not admitted to the councils of the leaders, and it is certain that the large majority of them would never have sanctioned the means employed. Indeed, a large number of the strikers not only took no part in the unlawful acts, but even stayed at their homes, not coming to the vicinity of the shops at all.

After the regulars had completed their in- vestment of the depot, their attention was turned to the making up of a train for move- ment. The cars belonging to overland train No. 4, which had been "killed" by the strikers

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two weeks before, were assembled. and prepa- rations made to start the train for San Fran- cisco. The train was composed of a locomo- tive, two mail and three express cars, one bag- gage car, three day coaches, and the three Pull- man coaches and the Pullman diner that came in with the train originally. The locomotive was handled by Samuel B. Clark, one of the oldest and most popular engineers in the em- ploy of the company, with J. S. Denekamp as fireman, and Conductor Samuel Reynolds. The train was guarded by twenty-one men of Bat- tery L, 5th United States Artillery, under the command of Lieutenant Skerret, as it was thought that the strikers or their sympathizers might fire on it or assault it. How many stri- kers had knowledge of the plans to wreck it will never be known, but it is certain that many of them freely prophesied that the train would not go far and it is certain that many of the strikers knew of the wrecked train before the messengers bearing the news arrived at the depot. It is known that the strikers applied to Father Grace for permission to use the Cathe- dral tower as a signal station, but that he re- fused. It also developed afterwards that sev- eral of the strikers were in the Capitol dome watching the train with field glasses and that they signaled to persons in the street below.

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History of Sacramento County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, 1923, Part 47

Author: Reed, G. Walter Publication date: 1923 Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1026

Author: Reed, G. Walter
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1026