USA > New York > Niagara County > Outpost of empires; a short history of Niagara County > Part 15
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How did the "Big Four" win control?
Each of these men had held the position of Collector of Customs, the highest paying political job in the county. With this position they also had the power to appoint people to forty other jobs. Through these forty jobs they controlled many others. So the people depending upon the Republican party for their jobs worked hard to win votes for Republican candidates. Thus, few Democrats ever represented Niagara County in state and national legislatures. Except for the support given Tilden and Cleveland, the area re- mained in the hands of the Republican party until the 1930's.
What part did they play in the birth of the city of Niagara Falls?
The Republican Big Four also took part in the most important events in Niagara County. Major James Low and General Ben- jamin Flagler played an important part in the forming of a new city in 1892.
During and after the Civil War, Niagara Falls and Suspension Bridge expanded rapidly. But the cost of running the villages grew also. Village businessmen saw the answer to these problems in uniting the two villages. Suspension Bridge was an important rail center and Niagara Falls was a power center. By joining, they could take advantage of each other's business and cut the costs of providing water, light, sanitation, and police and fire protection.
Major James Low was chosen president of the joint committee from Suspension Bridge and Niagara Falls to draw up a charter for the new city. Under his leadership, the committee planned, de- bated, and compromised. Finally the charter was ready. In March of 1892, the two villages became the City of Niagara Falls. In the first city elections in April, General Benjamin Flagler ran for mayor, but was defeated by George Wright, a Democrat.
The celebrations of the new city lasted for days, and happy citizens talked endlessly of the wondrous and prosperous future. They were right. Niagara Falls was in the middle of a great power boom. New industry moved in to take advantage of power and transportation. With industries came growth in population. Land prices soared, doubling in four years. For a time Niagara Falls was the fastest growing city in the state.
North Tonawanda is torn by labor troubles
Almost before the celebrations of the new city ended, violence touched Niagara County. While Niagara Falls was prospering, the Panic of 1893 struck the nation. In protest against increasingly bad times, bloody strikes broke out during the summer of 1892. One community in Niagara County had a part in this national labor violence.
Why did labor troubles result in violence?
North Tonawanda lumber mills employed most of the men in the village, and working conditions were worse than in surrounding areas. Many families, living in miserable poverty, felt the pinch of hunger. Attempts to raise wages ended in failure. The men never knew from one day to the next if they had a job or what wages they would take home.
The stevedore system was the source of trouble Bitterness in North Tonawanda centered around the stevedore system. Lumber own- ers paid the work-gang bosses, called steve- dores, a fixed sum to hire gangs to unload lumber barges and ships. The stevedores, in turn, paid the work
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gangs under them. If they could hire men for less money, or hire fewer men and work them longer, they kept the remaining money. If the men complained, the stevedores fired them, and no other stevedore would hire them. The stevedores also paid the gangs in saloons owned by friends. They got a percentage of the money that the workers spent on liquor. With hard times upon them and fam- ilies to feed, the men put up with these conditions.
The lumber owners, on the other hand, found the stevedore system a necessary part of business. It cut costs and allowed them to handle lumber cheaper than surrounding areas. And as long as they had the stevedores, they did not have to deal directly with the men. If men complained, they usually told them to see their steve- dore. Lumber owners also feared that without the stevedores they would have to deal with the Lumber Shovers Union. Above all, the owners hated to see labor unions come. They saw unions as an evil, bringing higher wages and ruining business. So lumber owners were determined to keep the old system.
Strike-breakers were In June, 1892, the angry workers went on called in
strike. They refused to return to work until the stevedore system ended and their union was recognized. The lumber owners sent out a call for non-union members to replace the strikers. If lumber owners could get the lumber unloaded without union workers, then the strike would collapse and so would the union. The union workers recognized this and decided to stop lumber unloadings at all costs.
The lines were clearly drawn and violence was only a matter of time. It rained too hard during the first week of the strike to unload the lumber. Daily downpours made ponds in the streets and drenched the lumber docks. For each day a ship or barge lay by the docks, owners had to pay an extra fee. As steamships and barges piled up waiting to unload, the owners had to act.
On June 10, the clouds broke and the sun shone down on the soggy, strike-bound village. Workers, watching the owners' move- ments, spread the word of an attempt to unload the lumber next day. In turn, lumber company spies in the union reported plans to stop unloadings.
On Saturday morning, June 11, strikers reported that there were non-union workers at the lumber docks. At 10:30 union leaders held a secret meeting at their headquarters in St. Louis Hall and decided to act. As planned before hand, they sent out the call to union members. By 11:00 a shouting mob of five hundred, waving clenched fists, clubs, rocks, and pipes, gathered in the muddy street before union headquarters. At an angry order from their leaders, they splashed through streets toward the lumber docks.
News of the coming mob passed swiftly to the docks. Police Chief Ryan and eight armed men stood on the docks to protect the strike-breakers. They watched the angry mob swing the corner into full view, filling the street from sidewalk to sidewalk. As the nervous men on the docks stopped working, Chief Ryan ordered his men to defend the bridge leading to the docks.
Violence erupts in the North Tonawanda lumber industry.
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When the mob drew near, he ordered them to halt. But at the sight of the strike-breakers, the enraged mob pushed forward. On the bridge, tightfaced police, guns in hand, waited for orders. Again Chief Ryan ordered the mob to halt. But they broke into a run. They brushed the police aside and poured onto the docks. The police made one last attempt to halt violence by firing into the air. At the crack of the guns, the frightened foreman of the lumber company fired into the mob. The strikers hurled stones and clubs and fired their own guns.
When the confusion and smoke cleared, the company foreman lay moaning on the dock, his face crushed by a stone. Police Officer Kingsley lay crumpled, blood from a stomach wound covering his hands. Officer Miller sat gripping a bullet wound in his right leg. One strike-breaker, found hiding in a shed, was sprawled on the wharf, close to death.
Leaving these docks littered with men, stones, and clubs, the mob marched up Main Street to Island Street. Crossing to Little Island, they put non-union workers there to flight, and then splashed on to another lumber company's docks where they chased out another work gang. By one o'clock their anger had cooled and, fearful of what had happened, they returned home.
How did the matter end?
Militia took over to end violence
In the afternoon an uneasy stillness lay heavily upon the stunned village. But be- hind the scenes lumber owners were moving swiftly. At 1:30 they met at the Sheldon Hotel, donated $1,000 to Kingsley's family, and ordered the sheriff to arrest the strike leaders. They also swore to unload the lumber and fight the union. At four o'clock the sheriff and his deputies arrested nine strikers and put them on the train for Lockport and the county jail.
Gradually the village recovered. Shock gave way to anger. Kingsley, hovering near death, was well liked by the community, and sober-minded citizens were frightened by the violence and bloodshed. Fearing more violence, they demanded that the sheriff protect the village.
On Sunday, June 12, the sheriff ordered out the 25th Separate Company of North Tonawanda and sent a call for the 42nd Com- pany of Niagara Falls. There was a look of grim determination about the smartly dressed troops as they set up tents and began patrolling the docks. The workers gathered, again in an ugly mood, many of them armed. An uneasy truce settled on the village, as people waited for the next attempt to unload the lumber.
Monday and Tuesday were quiet. No move was made by lumber owners or workers. But the village waited for the battle between workers and soldiers. When the owners failed to find workers to unload the lumber, people breathed more easily. With the appear- ance of State Commissioner Donovan from Albany to settle the strike, hopes of avoiding bloodshed grew. Even the troops relaxed and began playing ball.
The strike was settled On Wednesday, June 15, Commissioner Donovan called both sides to a meeting at the Sheldon Hotel. Workers presented complaints. They demanded that lumber owners do away with stevedores, recognize their union, and raise wages to the levels of the surrounding areas. The lumber owners agreed to fire the stevedores and split their wages among the work gang, but they put off agreeing to recognize the union. That evening, the union accepted the lumber owners' offer. The strike was settled. The 42nd returned to Niagara Falls and the 25th disbanded. Peace once more settled upon North Tonawanda, and a grateful community gave public thanks to Commissioner Donovan as he left for Albany. And since Kingsley was recovering, the threat of jail for union leaders passed.
In July, people of North Tonawanda read with sympathy of the bloody Homestead steel strike in Pennsylvania and labor violence elsewhere in the nation. But gradually the coming campaign for President crowded labor violence from front pages. By the end of July, the Democrats had nominated Grover Cleveland of Buffalo for President. The Republicans re-nominated Benjamin Harrison, and the Populists, or "People's party" of workers and farmers, chose James B. Weaver of Iowa.
The election of 1892 goes to the Democrats
In Niagara County the chief election issue was the tariff, a tax on foreign goods entering the United States. Republican business- men were afraid foreign goods would undersell their own. So they wanted a high tariff to raise the cost of incoming foreign goods. The Democrats, on the other hand, wanted a lower tariff to reduce the price of goods bought by workers and farmers.
The last week in October saw the candidates fire their final shots in the campaign. Democratic newspapers charged that the Republicans were interested only in the rich and did not care about the working people. Although Democrats whipped up a few rallies, sounded bugles, beat drums, and waved flags, their campaign was a calm one. Even the few insults they hurled at Republican leaders lacked enthusiasm.
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The local Republican newspaper, the Niagara Falls Gazette, on the other hand, made an all out effort for high tariffs. Just before the November election, the Gazette made a direct appeal to workers to vote against Cleveland and lower tariff. The Gazette printed in- terviews with local business leaders. Businessmen said that the high tariff was the reason for the good times in Niagara Falls. They also pointed out that if cheap foreign goods flooded America, the work- ers in America would lose their jobs.
Victory-minded Republicans closed their campaign with a huge night parade. The parade was organized at the Park Theater where speakers whipped up crowds with fighting speeches. Finally the parade was ready, but the marchers had to wait an hour for the Lockport group. While they waited, the rain that had begun in the afternoon turned into a steady downpour. At last the rain-soaked Lockport Republicans arrived. Then the paraders slogged through rain-darkened streets, their torches drowned out, and their faces, necks, and clothing drenched by the cold, driving rain.
Election day dawned clear and chilly and voters straggled through puddles to voting centers. Republicans gathered in confi- dent groups, sure of victory. But when the votes were counted, Grover Cleveland and the Democrats had swept the whole county. Stunned Republicans received the news in staring disbelief.
Republicans win the heated election of 1896
Grover Cleveland had not been long in office before the Panic of 1893 gripped the nation. The Panic, however, made only a passing swipe at Niagara County. North Tonawanda was again the scene of labor trouble. In spite of agreements the year before, lumber owners kept the stevedore system and refused to recognize the Lumber Shovers' Union. And this time lumber owners brought in Polish immigrants from Buffalo and broke the strike. But no vio- lence erupted ; workers held out until hunger and debts drove them back to the lumber docks.
What were the results of the Panic of 1893?
The Panic of 1893 had far-reaching political results, even in Niagara County, which was not hard hit. Elsewhere in the nation, workers and farmers without jobs or farms blamed their hard times upon eastern business and banking firms. In bitter hate, they joined the Populist party. They planned to win the 1896 election and change the value of money to make it easier for people to pay debts. This would smash the stranglehold business had upon them. Busi- nessmen feared a change in the value of money and fought the
Populist party. So the coming election of 1896 loomed as a do or die struggle between labor and business. Niagara County also took part in this struggle.
The campaign for the Presidency opened in the summer of 1896. Republicans chose William Mckinley, the dignified Governor of Ohio, as their candidate. The Populists sided with the Democrats, who gathered at Chicago to name their candidates. At the conven- tion, a young man from Nebraska stepped to the speaker's platform. After his thunderous speech attacking money values which favored eastern business, the frenzied crowd chanted "Bryan! Bryan! Bryan!". And the Democrats and later the Populists nominated William Jennings Bryan to lead the crusade for cheaper money.
W hat tactics did the Republicans use to win?
Big business poured The following campaign was one of the most money into
hysterical in the history of Niagara County McKinley's campaign or the nation. Church, government, and in- dustry, in Niagara County and throughout the nation, looked upon Bryan as a man bent on destroying Ameri- can liberties. Fearful of Bryan's election, they threw their wealth and power into the struggle. Many businessmen in Niagara County gave heavily to the sixteen million dollars spent for Mckinley's campaign. They also supported the 18,000 speakers sent throughout the nation.
Against this mighty flood, Bryan stood practically alone. He had less than three hundred thousand dollars for campaign ex- penses. And he was forced to make ten to twenty speeches a day on his personal campaign. Bryan got little support in Niagara County and the East. His main support came from work-worn prairie farmers. But what they lacked. in numbers they made up for in emotion. At their political rallies they sang hymns and whispered prayers for Bryan. They pictured him standing bravely against the raging flood of eastern power and wealth. Their rallies usually ended with the chant "Bryan! Bryan! Bryan !".
Many newspapers and factory owners supported Mckinley But their cries did not reach the city strongholds of big business. In Niagara County, and throughout the East, people supported Mckinley. In Buffalo, 30,000 people paraded against Bryan and the "popocrats," as his followers were called. Worried about Bryan's election, business leaders, doc- tors, lawyers, and other professional men marched for the cause of McKinley. In Niagara Falls and Lockport, newspapers joined the ranks of McKinley's supporters. They covered front pages with
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In March of 1892 the villages of Niagara Falls and Suspension Bridge become the City of Niagara Falls.
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appeals to workers. Some mill and factory owners in Niagara Falls threatened their men with the loss of their jobs unless they voted for McKinley.
Five days before the election, Republicans staged a giant torch- light parade in Niagara Falls. In the chill October night, they organized at the Main Street armory. Matches sputtered, torches flared, drums and bugles sounded, and the parade moved through the city, headed by the 42nd Separate Company.
Although some community leaders feared that destruction hung by a thread over their heads, the parading workers seemed less worried about Bryan. And while marching for the cause of indus- try, they shouted :
Riff, raff, ruff! Riff, raff, ruff! Mckinley, Mckinley : he's hot stuff.
But there was a violent note to the parade. Several of the few popo- crats in Niagara County hurled stones at the McKinley men. They sent one to the hospital and injured others. Except for this, the community considered the parade a great success, and looked upon it with pride. By the time election day rolled around, Niagara County was at a feverish pitch of excitement.
When election day dawned fair and mild in November, voters flocked to voting centers. The Niagara Falls Gazette office, and other places throughout the county, had doors wide open so citizens could follow the election returns. As voting results streamed in, noisy crowds milled about news centers. By early evening, returns showed Niagara County had gone overwhelmingly for Mckinley. People paraded happily through the streets carrying torches and shouting and cheering. As the hour grew later, taverns and saloons did a roaring business. Crowds marched city streets until dawn turned the eastern sky gray. Then the tired merrymakers gradually made their way home to bed.
The day after the election, newspapers carried headlines : "Mc- Kinley and Prosperity; The Country is Saved." Reporters, to find out how the people felt, quizzed business leaders on election results. Businessman after businessman heaved a sigh of relief at McKin- ley's election.
Gradually the excitement died down and Niagara County turned to the task of industrial growth. To businessmen, the election was overwhelming public approval of big business. Even North Tona- wanda seemed to recover with the news of Mckinley's election, and factories there started hiring more men.
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Tragedy mars the Pan-American Exposition
How did the exposition excite Niagara County?
Rumors and war set the stage The wild election of 1896 passed into history and new excitement caught hold of Niagara County. Rumors of a gigantic exposition filled the air. Nations of North and South America were to take part. Each nation planned a building to show its life and products. Special buildings of art, music, and science would also be part of the exposition. The central attraction would be a tower of lights using electricity from Niagara Falls. But when and where the exposition would be held remained unsettled.
In June, 1897, the Pan-American Exposition Company was formed in Buffalo. After searching widely for a place to hold the exposition, the company finally decided upon Cayuga Island in what is now Niagara Falls. As a fitting honor for such a great under- taking, President Mckinley hammered the first stake in a brief ceremony on August 26. Before the company could swing into construction, however, the Spanish-American War erupted and construction was delayed.
The site was changed When the company finally started building in 1899, the exposition site was changed to Buffalo, north of Delaware Park. For two years stone masons, carpenters, painters, and laborers worked at the site. They cleared trees and constructed roads, bridges, buildings, lakes, and even an emergency hospital. Slowly the Pan-American Exposition arose from old woodlands. Magnificent stone and marble buildings with graceful gardens covered acres. Buildings of stucco with red tile roofs added a Spanish flavor to the exposition. Elaborate bridges crossed streams and man-made lakes, and the tower of lights reached far into the sky. By spring 1901, everything was ready.
In May, 1901, the exposition opened with band music, speeches, and hundreds of flags floating on the wind. Diplomats from many nations, governors, exposition officials, and community leaders attended the opening. Amid the splendor of the exposition, they freely congratulated each other. After the opening ceremonies, crowds moved about the grounds, wandering through buildings, pointing, touching, staring, and spending money.
In the months that followed, many from Niagara County flocked to the exposition, especially at night, to see the breath-taking tower of lights. Gay crowds from Lockport boarded special trains to the exposition. Four trains from Niagara Falls made a daily round trip
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to the fair grounds. For many months, the exposition was the main topic wherever people gathered.
How did President McKinley's visit end in tragedy?
Minor mishaps greeted the Presi- dent's first days
The high point of the exposition came with President McKinley's visit in September. In spite of wildly happy crowds, an air of tragedy surrounded the President. Days be- fore his arrival, agents guarding his life swung down from the train in Buffalo. With the aid of Buffalo police and a company of army regulars, they planned for the safety of the President.
But with all their planning, Mckinley narrowly escaped serious injury on his arrival. On Wednesday, September 4, the President's train rolled into the station as cannons by the tracks boomed a twenty-one gun salute. But the cannons were too close to the train. Waiting crowds watched in horror as the pressure from the explo- sions shattered train windows and sent glass flying into the President's car. The sight of Mckinley and his wife stepping from the train unharmed brought cheers from the crowds. Along the way to his rooms at the John Milburn house, Mckinley smiled and waved to the people. The following day the President was busy at the exposition. He spent the morning and afternoon reviewing troops, giving speeches, and shaking an endless number of hands. In the evening Mckinley and his wife stood in wonder before the tower of lights that brightened the sky.
On Friday, September 6, the President's program called for a visit to Lewiston and Niagara Falls. Mckinley and his party left aboard the "Presidential Special." Railroad officials halted all other trains. As a further precaution, switchmen were on special duty along the way to see that the Presidential train reached Lewiston safely. In Lewiston, as the President was leaving the train and greeting officials, secret agents sifted through the crowds. Then Mckinley strolled to the old Gorge Line trolley for a trip along the lower rapids to Niagara Falls. The President's party, in an observa- tion car, sped along the edge of the churning rapids. The trolley slowed as it passed the flag-draped Devil's Hole and Whirlpool sta- tions, and Mckinley waved to the waiting crowds.
At 11:15 the trolley crawled out of the gorge at Niagara Falls. The waiting crowds burst into a roar when the President climbed into the first of a long line of carriages. Drawn by white horses, the President's carriage moved between lines of cheering people on the way to the Falls. The only tense moment came when the horse
of one of the military escorts slipped and fell upon him. At the Falls, the President's carriage clattered out onto the bridge to Canada to give him a better view of the tumbling water. Returning from the bridge, they drove to the garden entrance of the well- guarded International Hotel. Mrs. McKinley, tired and worn from the hot sun, went inside, but the President toured Goat Island.
The party returned to the International Hotel for a cold lunch. In the ballroom, the President and his party sat down at rose- decorated tables set with elaborate china. They chatted pleasantly and listened to music as the white-gloved hands of waiters flickered about the tables, serving broiled softshell crabs and Philadelphia squab. The only disturbance was an attempt by a mild-looking young man to enter the hotel without a pass. The President knew nothing of this, nor did the police think it important until later.
At 2:00 P.M. members of the President's party inspected the Niagara Falls Power Company. After seeing his wife on the train for Buffalo, Mckinley joined them. At the power house, agents allowed no one to pass into the building until the President had left. At 2:50 he boarded the train for the Pan-American Exposition. As the train rolled along, President Mckinley heard the rhythmic click of train wheels for the last time.
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