USA > Pennsylvania > Schuylkill County > History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 16
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test of four months' continued suspension of work. The contest was successful in another respect in the Lackawanna region, however, in that the action of other districts in granting the demands of the miners compelled them to grant large increases in wages; hence, the purpose of the strike had been accomplished there, though under a different name.
Mining operations were suspended from April until August, 1870, while negotiations were pending relative to the question of wages. The miners claimed the same wages as granted the previous year on the basis of $3 a ton for coal at Port Carbon, that being the minimum rate. The operators contended that the basis of $3 per ton was entirely too high to enable them to compete with the large coal companies in the Lackawanna region. Both parties consented to the selection of Franklin B. Gowen, then president of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad company, to act as arbitrator, and decide the matter in con- troversy. This transaction was known as the "Gowen Compromise," and resulted in fixing the basis at $3 a ton, but the rate to slide down as well as up. On this basis, the miners received less wages than the operators had offered them some months before, as the average price of coal for the period named in the contract, was $2.45 at Port Carbon.
On the 7th of November, 1870, a committee representing the Anthra- cite Board of Trade and a committee from the Workingmen's Benev- olent association met at Pottsville to arrange the terms of a basis of wages for 1871. An agreement was signed and ratified, on the basis of $2.50 per ton as the price at Port Carbon. This contract was repudi- ated subsequently, by the Miners' union, in order that the organization might join in the strike of their fellow members in the Lackawanna region. A general suspension was ordered by the officials of the association, to commence on the roth of January, and on the 25th of January the delegates of the association in Schuylkill county resolved to adhere to the $3 basis. This violation of good faith satisfied the public that the leaders of the miners' organization were unworthy of confidence, and brought great reproach upon the institution, even from conservative people. The union could no longer be regarded as a protection to labor, but as a medium of oppression to it. The suspension of work on this occasion continued for four months, during which period the territory was in a state of great excitement. All other efforts at a satisfactory settlement having failed, the difficulty was referred to a board of arbitration, with Judge William Elwell of Columbia county as umpire. On the question of interference with the operation of the mines, the umpire rendered a decision adverse
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to the claims and actions of the miners; and in the matter of wages, they established a basis of $2.75. per ton at Port Carbon.
The "long strike," beginning on the Ist of January, 1875, and ter- minating about the middle of June, came as a result of a general reduc- tion of wages, due to a shrinkage of values resulting from the great financial crisis of 1873. Coal depreciated in value in conformity with the general decline in prices of nearly all commodities. A gen- eral reduction of wages was determined upon in all the anthracite region. A decrease of ten per cent. had already been made and accept- ed in the Lackawanna region. The coal operators in the Schuylkill region found themselves confronted with a general demand for a reduction in the price of coal in order to start the furnaces and manu- factories, then lying idle for many months. They formulated a scale of wages which was submitted as an ultimatum. The rates fixed in this proposition were as follows: Outside wages-first class, $1.50 per day; second class, $1.35; all inside work on a basis system of $2.50 per ton at Port Carbon; inside labor and miners' wages to be reduced ten per cent. below the rates of 1874; contract work to be reduced twenty per cent .; one per cent. on inside work to be paid in addition to the basis rate, for every increase of three cents per ton in the price of coal above the basis rate of $2.50 per ton at Port Carbon, and a decrease of one per cent. for each decline of three cents below the basis rate. No maximum and no minimum scale was established in either case.
The wages in 1874, and which formed a basis of consideration in fixing the wages for 1875, had been the following: Miners' wages, $13 per week; inside labor, $1 1 per week; outside labor, $10 per week when the price of coal was $2.50 per ton, and an increase of one cent for every advance of three cents per ton, above the basis rate. These terms were rejected by a committee from the Miners' and Laborers' Benevolent association, and an order issued by the officers of the asso- ciation that work at the mines should be immediately stopped, thus beginning the celebrated "long strike." It was the greatest contest between labor and capital thus far introduced into the United States. It was prosecuted with great determination, and much personal sacri- fice and suffering among the miners. Deeds of violence were com- mitted, and an unchecked reign of terror prevailed throughout most of the period of its continuance. But the strikers now had to contend with a new and powerful corporation not previously introduced into the labor troubles of the coal regions. This was the Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron company, then the leading coal producers of the anthracite region. It was in connection with this strike, and
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the results immediately following it, that this corporation was instru- mental in breaking the power of the Mollie Maguires, as will appear later in this article. It is pertinent to the question, however, to here remark that during the six months' continuance of this struggle for supremacy, the Mollies were continually in evidence, and engineered most of the lawless demonstrations, including murders and incendi- arism. This determined and long-continued test of strength resulted disastrously to the strikers, who were obliged to go to work on the basis offered previous to the suspension; but in another sense, it was a slight advantage to them, in that the depletion of surplus coal affected the price favorably, and the miners working on the sliding scale received from two to six per cent. above the basis of $2.50 per ton. This con- flict resulted in the overthrow of the Miners' and Laborers' Benevolent association, and it was succeeded, in time, by other organizations . of similar import, but under different names. The Knights of Labor and the present Miners' union were the most formidable organizations succeeding those previously mentioned.
ORIGIN OF THE MOLLIE MAGUIRES.
This question has never been fully settled, though historians have exhausted every resource in the search for reliable information con- cerning the origin and purpose of this peculiar organization. The majority of writers agree that the nucleus of the American contingent came from Ireland, and were here closely identified with, if not actual members of, the society known as the Ancient Order of Hibernians. However that may be, it is an open question whether the honorable and benevolent society of Hibernians feel themselves specially honored in being thus associated with the most lawless organization of men who ever cursed the soil of the American continent. It is evident, however, that the men who comprised this lawless band were of Irish birth, and that most, if not all of them, came here direct from the Emerald Isle. They came from intimate contact with the landlord and land agents of Ireland, and transferred their prejudices to the coal operators and the bosses from whom they derived their subsis- tence. They were taught from infancy to regard capital as the com- mon enemy of the laboring man and which was never used except as an instrument of oppression. In some instances these oppressions were real wrongs, and a culpable injustice to those who complained; but in many cases the grievances were imaginary rather than real encroachments upon their rights, of which designing wretches took advantage in inciting deeds of violence. The most horrible crimes were committed, and the perpetrators permitted, in some instances,
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to go unpunished through fear of a like fate to the informer. But the organization was so systematically arranged that the unscrupulous members could establish an alibi whenever the safety of an individual member was threatened. Dastardly outrages were committed with impunity, and the life and property of "marked" individuals were in constant jeopardy. Dewees the historian says of them: "The Mollie Maguire of the coal region comes into existence without cause or pretense of cause in the past or present history of this country. Standing the equal before the law of any man or set of men in the land, his rights guarded and even his prejudices respected, he becomes with fiendish malice and cold blood an incendiary and assassin; a curse to the land that has welcomed him with open arms, and a blot, a stain and a disgrace upon the character of his countrymen and the name of the land of his nativity."
It seems that the Mollie Maguires were an outgrowth of the Rib- bonmen, or auxiliaries to that society, which was organized in Ire- land during the early part of the last century for the purpose of resist- ing the landlords and their agents in the enforced collection of rentals. They effected this organization about the year 1843, and the name chosen was probably adopted because, in the furtherance of their interests it was often necessary for the members to disguise them- selves, the better to get the advantage of those whom they sought to wrong. There is no question in the public mind as to the nation- ality of the Mollie Maguires, and the time, place and conditions of their organization, are a matter of little consequence. But the assump- tion of some historians that they were members of, and supported by, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, is a reflection upon an honorable and law-abiding public organization which should not be made with- out the best of evidence that the charge is a just one. The national convention of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, at their annual meet- ing in New York, in April, 1877, took very decisive action in relation to the Mollie Maguires. This convention denounced them in the strong - est terms, denied their membership in the fraternity, and with a view to protecting the character of the association, cut off from member- ship the entire territory in which they were operating. The counties of Schuylkill, Carbon, Columbia and Northumberland were excluded from participating in the affairs of the order by this sweeping reso- lution.
But lawlessness and crime had existed in the coal regions since 1848, and the early depredations were afterward identified as the work of the Mollie Maguires, since they employed the same methods of warning their victims then as later. These warnings were crude
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drawings of coffins, pistols, skull and cross-bones, and vulgar notes declaring their demands upon the persons addressed. They were variously signed, one time being under the name of "One of Mollie's Children," and the next "Black Spots" or "Buck Shots," etc. But little attention was given to the early exploits of the lawless band subsequently known as Mollie Maguires, other than to seek the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators of crimes committed. The mys- terious names appended to the "notices" did not then attract special attention. But the increasing demand for coal during the early years of the Civil war brought a miscellaneous class of foreign miners into the country, to take the places of the many thousands who were absent in the army. There was great demand for laborers, and among those who responded from across the seas were the worst classes of a floating population. It soon became apparent, however, that a lawless spirit existed here, and when, in 1862, an enrollment for the purpose of a draft was ordered, the formidable and dangerous character of this spirit was made manifest. Assaults, arson and murders were com- mitted, and the officers of the law were powerless to apprehend or punish the perpetrators of such crimes. Coal operators were warned to suspend operations until the discontinuance of the draft, and mine bosses and miners were warned, at the peril of their lives, to not dis- obey this peremptory order. Murders, incendiarism and open riots became more frequent and bold, and but little attempt was made in the way of concealing these crimes. At first it was believed that opposition to the enrollments and drafts upon the part of this lawless element had inspired much of the lawlessness and crime that prevailed during the war; but when the war was over, and crime seemed to be more rampant, the people awoke to the fact that an organization existed among them which was more formidable and dangerous than they had hitherto suspected.
The complete record of crimes committed by the Mollies throughout the anthracite coal fields would be something appalling, while a recital of such a category of crime and bloodshed would only gratify the morbidly curious. The history of their depredations covers the four counties previously named in this chapter; and when the "removal" of an individual was decided upon, strangers were called from a disant locality to commit the deed, and thus they were enabled to establish an alibi for those known to have had grievances, real or imginary, against the persons "removed." The Mollies usually, though not always, acted in conjunction with the strikers, as well as being instru- mental in causing or promoting riots and criminal depredations when the miners were at peace with their employers. They were so thor-
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oughly organized and disciplined that they controlled elections in some of the townships and boroughs, and wielded a strong influence in the politics of this county through dictation and intimidation. They thus secured a greater control of public officials than the public was willing to admit. At first the depredations of the Mollie Maguires seem to have been committed in a spirit of revenge, but as time passed without serious conflict with the officers of the law, they became bold and fearless in committing robberies in connection with their mur- derous assaults. The most terrible record of their crimes appears during the years following the failure of the "long strike," when the power of the labor organization was broken, and continued until their own organization was overthrown by the shrewd conniving of of a detective. The Miners' Journal of March 30, 1867, says that fourteen murders were committed in Schuylkill county in 1863, four- teen in 1864, twelve in 1865, five in 1866, and five in 1867 up to the date of the paper quoted. From that time until the close of 1867, occasional outrages and several murders were committed; but during 1868-71 there was no murder that attracted attention to the Mollie Maguires, except one dastardly outrage in Carbon county in December of the year 1871. But from the close of the year last mentioned until the organization was subdued, a reign of terror existed in this county which had not been exceeded in any previous year. Riot, arson and deadly assault were the order of the day, and the officers of the law seemed to be powerless in apprehending the perpetrators.
The Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron company owned large and valuable tracts of mineral lands in the county and were the prin- cipal producers of coal in the anthracite region. Their business was seriously disturbed by this reign of terror, since no mine boss or super- intendent was safe from the stealthy and merciless attacks of the Mollie Maguires. To incur the ill will of one of their number employed in the mines was equivalent to signing the death warrant of the offend- ing official, and no one knew how many of his employes were identified with the Mollies. As a means of self-defense, and the protection of business interests, the above named corporation, through its president, Franklin B. Gowen, conceived the idea of employing a detective to secure information which would ultimately bring the lawless organi- zation to justice. Thus far detectives had failed to obtain any clue to the secret workings of this order, and the members openly boasted of their ability to control, in defiance of law, the mining interests of the region through the terror which they inspired and the political influence which they wielded. It was, therefore, a rather uninviting task which was to be undertaken. Mr. Gowen applied to the super-
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intendent of the Pinkerton detective agency, and a plan of action was decided upon which was ultimately successful. An Irishman was selected for the work who came into the field representing himself to be a fugitive from justice, having, as he said, committed some crime in New York, and he desired seclusion as a means of evading the officers of the law. He frequented the haunts of the Mollie Maguires, and made himself agreeable to everybody as a good-hearted, reckless dare-devil. It is said that he "literally sang, drank, danced and fought himself into popularity with the rough men with whom he mingled." He made his headquarters at Pottsville for a time, and here formed the acquaintance of a Mollie who was one of the county commissioners, upon whom he passed himself as a member of the order and a fugitive from justice, and by whom he was introduced and rec- ommended to the body master at Shenandoah. He went to that town in February, 1874, and finding that town the stronghold of the Mollie Maguires, he made Shenandoah his headquarters during his entire career in the coal regions. At first he secured employment in the mines, but finding that employment interfered with his detective work, he abandoned it, and accounted for his ability to live without work by saying that he was a government pensioner. To some whose "good opinions" he specially sought, he represented that he was a "shover of the queer," a term implying that he was passing counter- feit money. Hc repeated his story about being a fugitive from jus- tice, and that he dared not write to his body master at Buffalo for evidences of his membership, but proposed to be initiated again. This proposition was assented to by the body master at Shenandoah, and on the 14th of April, 1874, the initiation took place.
This unique character was James McParland, who assumed the name of James McKenna, by which he was known throughout his career in this locality. He visited the different mining towns in the county, and laid careful, systematic plans for his perilous work. He kept in close touch with his principal at Philadelphia, and with Mr. Gowen, who alone knew him in his true character. McKenna soon became possessed of the signs, grips, passwords and toasts of the Mollies to the extent that he could prove himself anywhere, and under all circumstances. This knowledge he used for the overthrow of the institution he had sworn to defend, and for the betrayal of confiden- ces which nothing except this knowledge would secure. The generous reader must decide whether the maxim, "the end justifies the means," is applicable to his case. By means of treachery and deceit, and the constant acting of a lie, he succeeded in securing confidences, and even the innermost secrets of those whose lives he sought, and ultimately
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secured, at the bar of justice. McKenna assumed to be one of the worst of the class of out-laws with whom he was associated, assisted them in their nefarious work, and daily communicated an account of their proceedings to those whom he served. Of the morality of his course every one must judge for himself. He served a just cause, and prevented the execution of many a well-laid plan for the destruc- tion ol life and property, notwithstanding which, the blackest record of criminal history in this country was enacted during McKenna's sojourn among the Mollies.
The career of this band of cutthroats and robbers was similar to that intimated in the preceding pages of this chapter, except that they became emboldened by success in evading the law, and by con- stant accessions to their ranks. Their political influence was growing with the increasing strength of the organization, and they became more dictatorial in shaping political results in the county. Each of the political organizations sought the support of the "Irish vote," and this particular portion of it was for sale; hence the party offering the most money, and the most flagrant promises of immunity from pro- secution, were successful in controlling it. This statement should not be construed to mean that all men of all parties were corrupt, but that there were men in all parties, then as now, who would sacrifice almost any principle to party success, while the Mollies had permeated every political organization, and even had more than sympathizers in them.
McKenna's medium of communication between himself and his employers was established through Captain Robert Linder, nominally of the coal and iron police, who was also a Pinkerton detective, and thus headquarters was kept fully informed as to the proceedings in the field, and the methods by which threatened people could be saved from destruction. In this manner many calamities were averted, though the aggregate was constantly increasing. It was during an earlier period of this region of terror that the legislature established the criminal court referred to in a previous chapter; and while it was made applicable to several counties in the anthracite coal fields, it came into existence on the petition of fifty citizens of this county. A special police law and an act providing for jury commissioners were also enacted at the same session. The operation of these laws was violently opposed by the common pleas judge and some of the county officers, who sought to impede their execution by ignoring the juris- diction of the criminal court. The constitutionality of these laws was finally established in the supreme court.
McKenna exhibited a remarkable degree of industry, perseverance and determination, in the midst of surroundings that would have
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appalled a man of ordinary courage and fortitude. His findings were. preserved with scrupulous secrecy until such time as the whole grue- some story could be laid before the world from the records of the courts. This came in due time, and the detective appeared in court as the principal witness against a number of murderers who were convicted on his testimony and corroborating circumstances. The first arrest on evidence secured through McKenna's investigations was made at Storm Hill, in Carbon county, and this was the "beginning of the end" of Mollie Maguireism in the anthracite coal fields. A murder was committed on the 3d of September, 1875, and the arrest of the two perpetrators of the crime was made soon afterward. The former policy of proving alibis was attempted, but the prosecutors were so well provided with evidence that the perjured witnesess were defeated in every attempt in behalf of their comrades in crime. The first con- viction on evidence secured by McKenna occurred on the first of Feb- ruary, 1876, when Michael Doyle was convicted as one of the murder- ers of John T. Jones, at Mauch Chunk. Soon afterward six men were arrested and lodged in the Pottsville jail, charged with the murder of policeman Yost, of Tamaqua, and a few days later two others were incarcerated for the murder of Sanger and Uren, at Raven Run, and thus the work of arrests and prosecutions proceeded as rapidly as had the work of the criminals during the preceding years. At the trial and conviction of Doyle, his partner in crime, one James Kerrigan, and who was arrested with him, turned "State's evidence," and corrob- orated most of the evidence introduced by the prosecution. But the Mollies were not satisfied that. Kerrigan had furnished all of the testimony against Doyle, and soon suspicion rested upon McKenna, and his assassination was decided upon. The men who were to kill him were selected, and by assuming a bold and defiant demeanor in the face of his appointed assassins, and stoutly protesting his inno- cence, he escaped the fate which apparently awaited him. The recital of McKenna's experiences when assuming to be a Mollie, his almost miraculous escapes, the tales of horror which he recited, and the evi- dence which he gave, occupied the time of the court for four days. The most rigid cross-examination failed to discover a flaw in his tes- timony. Much of Mc Kenna's narrative was irrevelant to the question at issue, but was permitted without objection because of the public interest in the subject. The court was organized with Judge Cyrus. L. Pershing presiding, with Judges Green and Walker and Associate Judges Kline and Seitzinger constituting a full bench. George R. Kaercher was the district attorney.
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