USA > Michigan > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Michigan > Part 46
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121
died a crushed and heart-broken, but guileless, man, and an honest Christian gentleman. The fact that the prisoners were all pardoned at the suggestion of the railroad company and their lawyers, that a tender of damages was made to them after being released, and that the witnesses, to this day, all stand convieted for perjury, is of itself vindieation enough for all; while their vietims were in prison for a crime they never committed."
A LETTER 110ME.
The following letter from Mr. Fiteh, under date May 6, 1851, was addressed to his wife and child. It is a lengthy epistle, but sufficiently interesting to elaim the reader's attention:
"I have just received your letter, and was pleased to hear that you were well, and in such good circumstances for help, etc. I heard that Sebastian had gone home. I do not think that I should try to do much farming; I would not employ more than one hired man, as I do not think more would be profitable under the cireum- stances. Take good care of the stock, etc., and, as I wrote before, let things move along as quietly as possible. Court sits here next week, when some of us will have our trials. We are very uncom- fortably situated, but try to get along as well as we ean. It comes very hard for Dr. Moulton. Dany was here yesterday. We all have bad colds, otherwise health is tolerably good. Mr. Wash- ington Gay, the man we are charged with conspiring with, is but just alive here in jail, and if he has told things to some of the rail- road folks, which they say he has, eriminating us from Jackson county, so palpably false and wicked, I do not wonder that he dies the death he seems about to die-loathsome and disgusting in the extreme. However, he may be innoeent, and the charges against him as corrupt and wicked as they are against us; but he is as poor and loathsome an object of pity as I ever saw, and the last end of some others I could mention, I have faith to believe, will be like his, for the proceeds of false swearing may flourish for a time, yet their last days will be spent in some loathsome prison, where there will be none to care for or pity their sad condition. If Di- vine vengeance was ever meted out to man while here on earth,
451
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
those who have entered into this secret plot against us will most assuredly receive their full share.
"You are well aware that I have been very cautions in all my op- erations for the last year, knowing, as I did, that large rewards were offered for my conviction, and that secret spys were lying in wait for me, and when they found they could not draw me by any pretext into any of their schemes, they finally pitched upon this depot scheme, and now seek to convict me and others. They never can do it ! They will be worse confounded than those who under- took to build the Tower of Babel. Next Tuesday the bail in the criminal suits will be fixed, and then I should like to go home and prepare for my trial, for it does not seem as though I should stand it here much longer, and we have no means of making any prep- aration for trial here; yet I suppose our enemies would be glad to keep us here until our energies were all impaired or weakened, so that we would fall an easy prey."
This letter bears the signature: Abel F. Fitch. There are 10 letters from Mr. Fitch preserved, the last of which is dated June 29, 1851. They are all very well written, but toward the close the sentiments of a heart bowed down with care and anxiety are appar- ent. His sympathy with his fellow-prisoners, and their widows was of no ordinary kind. Set on a strong foundation, it finds ex- pression in the letters, and is confirmation strong that he and his neighbors were the victims of some terrible plot.
DEATH OF ABEL FITCHI.
Mr. Fitch was imprisoned in this city April 19, 1851, and was under confinement until his death, charged with being one of the leaders among the persons then on trial in the "railroad con- spiracy " case. Living in easy circumstances, if not in luxury, before his imprisonment, the nauseous atmosphere of the jail en- gendered disease, and he was attacked with dysentery Ang. 16, 1851. On August 21 his recovery in the jail being despaired of, he was removed to the hospital of the Sisters of Charity, where he was kindly attended to by the Sisters, and a part of the time by his af- fectionate wite; yet, notwithstanding the care bestowed upon him, his weary heart and cruel persecution tended to his death on Aug. 24.
The Tribune, in its reference to the subject, says; " We forbear expressing an opinion on the matters with which the deceased is charged, -content and believing, from the character he has main- tained in the State, and especially in the vicinity of his residence, where he has always been known as a kind and conscientious man and neighbor, charitable to the poor and unfortunate, that his last dying words, uttered in the full possession of his mental faculties, and with a full realization of his situation, the awfully solemn rites, performed at his own request, and expecting every passing moment to prove his last, should have their full effect, as we doubt not they will upon every unbiased heart."
452
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
THIE VICTIM OF THE CONSPIRATORS.
At 3 o'clock p. M., Ang. 23, "Mr. Fitch became conscious that he could not live, and talked calmly and firmly of his approaching death. He desired that Lawyer Frink might be sent for to con- sult about his worldly matters. Prosecuting Attorney Stuart, with Drs. Rice and Pitcher, arrived. An examination was held, and an opinion expressed that he could not survive the night. Mr. Stuart went to the bedside of the dying man, when he inquired, "What is to be done now!" and said, "I shall die a martyr to liberty." Later he remarked that he put his trust in God, and desired that he might be baptized. The solemn rites were per- formed in the presence of the Sisters, and in the midst of the cere- mony, while committing his soul to his God, he declared his entire innocence of the crime with which he was charged, said he never violated the laws of his country, that he had simply ex- pressed his opinions, as he had a right to do, and thought it not just that he should be punished. Mr. Fitch then called his wife to him, bade her good-bye, and then bidding adien to other friends around him, closed his eyes for a moment. Recovering again, he exclaimed; "There is dear little Amanda; I had nearly forgotten her; remember me to her. I dread to die with this charge resting upon me ! Will not the truth come out and my character be vin- dicated ?" Being assured by Mr. Frink that his character should be vindicated, he expressed himself prepared to die, and presently he took the hand of his wife, and pressing it to his lips, he said: " Amanda, it is hard to part ! I die of a broken heart." Having spoken, he fell into that slumber that knows no waking. His remains were taken to Michigan Center, where one of the greatest ~ funeral corteges was formed that ever followed the corpse of a citi- zen of this county to a grave, within the Jackson cemetery.
Wm. M. Gunn, one of the persecuted men, died Ang. 23, 1851, from diseases fostered within that Detroit prison.
From beginning to end of these proceedings, Judge Livermore, Judge Johnson, Hon. Austin Blair, J. A. Dyer, E. Pringle and many other members of the Jackson Bar interested themselves in behalf of the unfortunate victims of the conspiracy; but their honest efforts could not cope with an array of villainy, and so the innocent suffered. May the time come when upright judges and jurors, who observe their oaths, will supplant all that is vicious in the administration of the laws, so the people may be saved from all the evils which spring from corruption on the bench, in the jury- room, and from the perjured ruffian in the witness-box.
THE STRIKE OF 1877.
The strikes of 1877 were as rash as they were impolitic. There did not exist one justifiable point to which the disaffected employes could refer. Grievances existed, but they were irreme- diable. Depression cast its hideous shadow over every branch of
He. B. Eldred
455
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
business; railroads suffered in measure, and in the midst of all this a body of men is found foolish enough to rebel against com- parative welfare, at the bidding of a horde of malcontents, whose god is Discord. A meeting was held at Jackson, July 23, to consider the action of the M. C. R. R. in proposing to reduce the pay of its employes. That meeting appointed a committee to wait upon the principal directors of the company, and report the result to a meeting, ordered to be held at Union Hall the follow- ing evening. The report of that gathering of discontented spirits is thus given:
An immense throng of people assembled at Union Hall to learn the result of the conference between the committee appointed by the meeting Monday night and the officers of the Michigan Central Company. Disappointment was in store, however, for those who went thither out of mere enriosity, for none but those directly interested-railroad men-were admitted, a scrutinizing committee being posted at the door who required the production of a pass card or a personal identification. This proved a wise precaution, as a large element was excluded that might have produced mischievous results; but as it was, the end attained was purely the work of railroad men, and to them belong the credit of bringing about a course of action that has proven in the end the better for all concerned.
By half-past eight the body of the hall and the gallery was filled with an anxious assembly of men, when the meeting was called to order by "Diek" Van Horn, who suggested the nomination of a chairman and secretary, and Mr. Robert C. Stewart was called to the chair, and Mr. E. P. Hastings appointed secretary.
The chairman then called for the report of the committee appointed Monday night. The committee responded through its varions members to the following effect: That the committee had waited upon Assistant Superintendent Brown with a request for passes to Detroit and had been met by that gentleman with the tender of Mr. Ledyard's car and his own company, which was accepted by the committee. They had proceeded to Detroit and had an interview with Messrs Joy and Ledyard, to whom they stated their grievances. These gentleman, after hearing the committee, informed them that in the present condition of the business of the company it would be impossible for the company to entertain the demand of the men, either as regarded the 10 per cent. reduction, or the matter of double erews, but stated that the reduction was not intended to apply to men who had been redneed in May; and that those who had suffered sneh reduction exceeding five per cent. would be reimbursed, and that the company would at the earliest practical moment return to the former rates of wages.
The apprentice system was also discussed, but the officers could not see their way clear to its abolition, as that would involve the discharge of a large number of faithful employes. Messrs. Joy and Ledyard also expressed a desire and readiness to meet the employes of the company at any time and place appointed by such
28
456
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
employes, and place the matter fairly and squarely before them. It was also the wish of Mr. Brown that the men should be asked to vote on this question, and, if favorable, that a time and place be fixed at the present meeting. The varions members of the committee were unanimous in counseling careful, cool and deliber- ate consideration of the important question before them, holding to the idea that the interest of the company was the men's inter- est, and that any precipitate action would result in disaster to both the company and employes.
The question of meeting the gentlemen above referred to was then discussed, and it was decided to entertain their proposition, and then the question arose as to the most suitable time and place. Messrs. Joy and Ledyard had expressed a preference for holding the meeting on the company's ground, where railroad men-their employes -- should be their auditors, and it was finally decided that that evening, at 8 o'clock, at the passenger depot, be the time and place for the meeting. This was decided upon mainly from the fact that it was thought best whatever was done should be done quickly, as this community, like all others, is liable to feel the ef- fects of disorderly elements dwelling in it, which, though not directly identified with the interests of the railroad men, would undoubtedly be found ready to foment and foster disorder. That the result of the meeting is a credit to the men engaged in it no one with any sense will deny.
But the demon of mischief was abroad, and his power conquered the better feelings of men, and large numbers persisted in their opposition to a peaceful solution of the difficulty. Another meet- ing was held at the depot on the night of the 25th, which was largely attended.
While this meeting was in progress, Mayor O'Donnell, seeing that the crisis was at hand, issued the following proclamation :
MAYOR'S OFFICE, CITY OF JACKSON, July 25, 1877.
WHEREAS, Certain derangements now exist in certain departments of industry in this municipality which impede business and are detrimental to the prosperity of our city, and it is desirable that the views of the people be given voice; therefore I, James O'Donnell, Mayor of the city of Jackson, State of Michigan, do hereby issue this, my proclamation, requesting a meeting of the citizens and business men of the city of Jackson, for counsel and the adoption of such measures as the circumstances of the case may demand. Said meeting will be held at Union Hall, on Thursday morning, July 26, at half-past ten o'clock, and a full attendance is desired.
Witness my hand, this 25th day of July, A. D. 1877.
JAMES O'DONNELL, Mayor of the City of Jackson, Mich.
In response to the call ot the mayor about 200 of the best citi- zens assembled at Union Hall at 10:30 o'clock, July 26. The meet- ing was called by order of the mayor, who called C. W. Penny to the chair. Upon taking the chair Mr. Penny said, that whatever the circumstances of the case, it was apparent that this people must say that trains must be run, and must demand' that the men who have quit work on the railroads must be made to understand that while their individual rights are recognized entirely and thor-
457
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
onghly, they must not interfere with the movement of the neces- sary business of the railroads centering here, so important for the best interests of all our business men. He left the meeting open to any suggestion.
Thomas A. Wilson was chosen secretary, and Mr. R. H. Emer- son moved that a committee of five be appointed by the chair to draw up resolutions expressive of the sense of the meeting.
Mr. John D. Conelly advocated the resolution in an earnest and eloquent speech. He said: " It is the duty of the honr for every citizen to express himself decidedly and firmly on the situation. What has occurred elsewhere admonishes ns that we should be ready to do whatever may be necessary to be done. A few men are undertaking to say that while they will not destroy property the owners shall not use it as they see fit. It is our duty as eiti- zens to enroll and say that all shall be protected in their rights. If a man interferes with one of our draymen who is driving through the streets he will be arrested and punished.
" The same protection should be afforded our railroad companies, and it is now the duty of every citizen to stand up and see to it that the railaoad company is protected in its rights. For one I think I am wanting in my duty as a citizen if I neglect to volun- teer in defense of the rights of the humblest as well as the wealthi- est class of citizens. We should say to this railroad company and these railroad men, your rights shall be protected and no man shall be prevented from working if he shall deem it his duty to do so. We as citizens can protect ourselves, and it is the duty of every community to protect the rights of both property and labor. We don't want any trifling. We had better sink our whole town than permit these disorganizers to put us at defiance. These are my sentiments, and I want them carried out with a firm hand. If need be, let us arm ourselves and see to it that the rights of all are protected."
Mr. Connelly was followed by Messrs. Pringle, Emerson, Stew- art, Penny, Rev. Moses Smith and others. Resolutions were then offered fully indorsing the action of the mayor in issuing his proc- lamation, and asking all good citizens to enroll themselves as special police.
July 26, as train No. 4, of the M. C. R. R., carrying the mail, started out of Jackson, a crowd, composed of a few dissatisfied railroad employes and a large number of outsiders, jumped upon the train and stopped it, by setting the brakes and uncoupling the train. They threatened to prevent the running of all trains through Jackson, Mr. Ledyard, General Manager of the road, telegraphed this fact to Gov. Croswell, at Lansing, who then tele- graphed orders to Gen. Withington to co-operate with the citizens and civil authorities in keeping order. The citizens commenced enrolling for service in behalf of law and order, and the Governor encouraged a vigorous prosecution of this work, to "maintain the good name and fame" of this city. Mayor O'Donnell stood ready at the telegraph key to assist. All remained quiet until 8 P. M.,
458
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
when the express train bound east was hindered for a time. Order again prevailed until next day.
Gen. Humphrey, in the meantime, obtained from the governor a promise of such military help as he might need. L. W. Heath, of Detroit, Inspector General, Cols. Wormer, Pulford, Grisson and Duffield, and Adj. Gen. Robertson were all ready for prompt action.
The necessity for encamping the troops being fully established in the foregoing record of events, and as their services fortunately were not brought into actual conflict, the question arises, how far their presence tended to prevent the commission of more serions acts against law and good order than those already detailed. Of this, a conclusion may in a measure be arrived at, by judging of the action of parties at other points, under like circumstances. At Pittsburg, where the most disastrous results of the strike occurred, the first overt acts were not any more formidable than at Jackson, yet the riot progressed, accumulating strength, while its suppression, even by troops, became a failure, until after an immense destruction of property was accomplished, with great loss of life.
Experience has fully established that very trifling occurrences often bring abont a collision between rioters and troops, such as a thoughtless boy in a crowd throwing a stone, an impertinent and insulting jeer or threat, or the accidental discharge of a musket by a careless soldier. To guard against such occurrences when troops are called out to suppress riot, discretion in selecting their position, the location of their camp, and its management with reference to avoiding premature collision, are all important; while they should avoid a very near approach to the scene of riot until required to do so by proper authority.
The strike ended ingloriously for its promoters and their innocent victims; the action of the railroad company in the matter, sustained; and the people made doubly determined to resist such rash enter- prises in the future.
In closing the sketch of those evil times, it is deemed proper to subscribe the following leader, from the pen of one of the editors of the Patriot.
"It is quite likely," said he, "that the laborers with whom the present deplorable strike originated, have suffered, and perhaps seriously, from the reductions-actual and proposed-of their wages. They are, however, not alone in their suffering. Not only have higher classes of laborers suffered a similar reduction but in the universal business depression of the last three and a half years a large proportion of the business men and corporations of the country have been driven to the perilous edge, if not into the actual abyss of bankruptcy. With the exception of the comparatively very few who have been fortified during that period by capital ac- cumulated previous to the panic of . 1873, employers have experi- enced the stress of hard times, nearly if not quite as strenuously as the employed. Within the period referred to, the shrinkage in
459
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
value of property alone, or in other words one description of the losses of employers, immensely exceed the losses of the employed by reason of the shrinkage in wages.
"However we may sympathize, therefore, with the sufferings of the strikers, it is with the knowledge that the hardship of the situation has not been visited solely upon them. Conceding that the complaints of the strikers are altogether just, they by their ap- peal to violence and bloodshed changed the debate from a discussion of their particular grievance to a consideration of the supremacy of law and of the very existence of society. Labor is free, and the attempt to dictate to the employer the wages that he shall pay, or to the willing laborer that he shall not work, is no less intolerable than to attempt to drive the unwilling laborer to a distasteful task. The general and permanent success of any such attempt to coerce either the employers or employed, in defiance of law, would be in- evitably fatal to even the semblance of a government of freemen. That the strikers have a right to stop work goes without saying. That the companies have the right to fix the compensation which they can afford to pay, and that the willing laborers have the right to accept those terms and fill the places of the strikers, is equally indisputable. While every leading journal in the country gives emphatic and earnest expression to its sympathy with the laborers in the unfortunate condition in which the business depression has involved them, not one fails to utter its condemnation of their un- justifiable appeal to force. A very little reflection on the part of the strikers themselves would satisfy them of the justice of the condemnation. Every one of them, in his own case and in ordinary times, would deem it a gross outrage if he were prevented by force from earning wages which he needed and was willing to ac- cept.
"The outrage is not less gross when it compels thousands of willing hands to remain idle. The strikers are scarcely less unjust to themselves than to their fellow laborers whom they obstruct. They refuse to accept low wages, and for an indefinite time they lose all wages. The experiment cannot be otherwise than expen- sive, even to those engaged in it. If it were simply a contest of endurance between the railways and the strikers, the public might possibly afford to await the result with a degree of calmness and impartiality. But the contest assumes more ominons proportions. Already the stoppage of freight communications is beginning to work its inevitable result in the suspension of large manufacturing enterprises in Pittsburg, Cleveland and elsewhere, with the conse- quent enforced idleness of thousands of additional laborers. The consequence of the ill-advised action of one class of laboring men are thus directly and promptly visited upon an army of their inno- cent fellow-laborers. With the continuance of the conditions, the number of innocent and peaceable laborers, thus compelled to suffer for no fault of theirs, must constantly and rapidly increase. The laboring classes are themselves primarily interested in the restora- tion of order, inasmuch as they are among the first to be visited by
460
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
the unpleasant consequences of a movement professedly begnn in the interest of laborers.
"But as we have already remarked, the matter is no longer a debate over the rights or wrongs of labor. It is a question of government against anarchy, of society against chaos. The strikers have professed a desire to avoid destruction of property or life. How futile the effort is, and always must be, to set before- hand a limit to the spread of lawlessness, let the terrible slanghter and lurid flames at Baltimore and Pittsburg answer. The brief space between the lawlessness of the strikers and anarchy is filled by the savage, merciless and ravening mob, swarming out of the depths, hungry for pillage and thirsting for blood. It is to this fearful power that the strikers have furnished an opportunity, and its terrible menace to society must compel the prompt and thorough combina- tion of every desirable social force against it. Every householder must hate and oppose it, because in its red right hand it waves the incendiary's torch. Every citizen must hate and oppose it becanse its inspiration is rapine and murder."
There cannot exist a doubt regarding the justice of the part taken by the people of Jackson in suppressing the tumult. Jackson citizens were among the first to cry aloud against the curse of negro slavery, and it is not at all probable that they should oppose the rights of their own fellow citizens, if rights they sought for, rather than the rapine, wrong, and crime they threatened.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.