SYDNEY TRAMWAYS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14283, 4 August 1908, Page 5

SYDNEY TRAMWAYS

STRIKE LEADERS DEALT WITH. REINSTATEMENT REFUSED. ■. Press Association-By Telegraph-Copyright. ri . . SYDNEY, August 3. Tlic Chief Commissioner has refused to ,• sanction the re-employment of the TramL way Executive, mid 25 men who were .prominent in inciting the strike. , Tho following graphic account of what 3 occurred on the day on which the strike "was declared is published by tho Sydney 3 Morning Herald; — 1 As the men left the Masonio Hall, their f first precaution was lo remove their limn- . bcrs and badges from tJiedr caps. They then walked down C'oulbum street towards George street, following the executive, who were bound for the Trades Hall. At George I street. matters of interest held them, how- ' over, and they melted among a crowd of 1 civilians, numbering many thousands, who ' were gathered round the stationary cars 1 in the' middle of the. roadway. A mass of 3 seething humanity swayed 'forwards and backwards, entirely blocking all vehicular traffic at the junction of Goulbum and 5 George streets, and extending on the one 1 side, lo .-tho' railway, and, on the other, • over the brow of Brick Geld Hill. - The 'meeting point of these two streets J was the centre of the storm, and the crowd 5 bustled .and shouted condemnatory remarks at straggling sub-inspectors, ticket exanii--3 ners, aid clerks who'attempted to fill the places of the strikers. , ' AN ANGRY MOB. 3 Two office'rs of the department had taken | their places on the leading oa.r faoing. toc wards tho railway station. Immediately 1 the pack of. rabid sympathisers put, their 3 threats into action. . One of tho officers was 3 scisrad, pummelled, spat upon, and tin-own ; off'the car. Then tho crowd became a j mob, and disorderly persons became rioters. f Cries of " Smash him, kick him," resounded i iii a chorus, intermingled with oaths arid cries that made a , pandemonium. The , rioters assaulting one man secured a bucket i of water and threw it over him. They ovori ran the cars and pulled the trolleys off . the cable. Anothor 'departmental officer, suwo- ; this timo by a policeman, made his ap- , pearanee'. Then tho orowd gave tongue , aga'in. Every conceivable insult was hurled at tho man. He stood at tho levers, stern ■ and pale-faced, but resolute. And while i somebody refixed the trolley cormeotidn he : stood there facing-', a hundred infuriated . mon,' who surged around the oar, bias- ' phemed at him, and spat. His face was : white now, but no less resolute. Unable to intimidate him tho pack let loose the missiles ; wnth which they had provided themselves. Several eggs broke- on tho ca.x- , front and walls and on his body, over which their nauseous contents .fell. And still he held his post, Then one of the crowd jumped on the oar-front and felled him with a blow, while another jumped on tho side of | the car, arid the two belaboured him as ho lay prone. Even among the spectators who as an excited body , were not- tender in their feelings, wcro heard cries of indignation and shouts of '.'You cowardly brutes." FLYING EGGS. Presently a couple oi constables mado a belated appoaraaico, and tho officer J getting on his feet dazed, •'. seized his lever and' held it upraised to protect himself. But his attackers 'had 'dropped back into the orowd. Tho hail of eggs was renewed. No longer pale, but flushed with heat, anger, indignation, the driver still 'stood to his post, opened the lever, and the car started. It did not get far. Someone dragged the trolley off' again, and- until it was fixed the shower continued. A possee of constables then pushed their way through the crowd to the car, tfnd got jostled nastily in doing so. . Under ' their protection tho 1 trolley was fefixed,. and tic car finally got '• off. A roar from the men near the next ' ear, and then moving fists proclaimed that anothor man was ieady for duty. Tho, 1 scene was now remarkable. George street from Bathurst street to Anthony Horderns 1 was one huge crush of people. On tho bal- ' conies, at every window, on the shop awnings, on lorri«3, on the very tops of i tho cars themselves wore spectators. It mihave been'some gladiatorial contest they were watching. TROLLEY; CORDS OUT Suddenly one of the obliquely sloping trolley arms flew up* into the perpendicular with -a clang. Then another and another, and as they did, cheer after cheer broke forth. Somebody had out tho cords which held them down. The mob wero looking I very dangerous, and eonseqcunlly tho appearance of. the second driver without police protection seemed to bo foolhardy. There was a deplorable scarcity of policemen, andjlicse who wero there'had gono forward with the first car, in order to see it out of tho daugor area.. No sooner had tho driver taken hi 3 position on tho oar than an egg hit him full in '.the face, aad then a rain of missiles burst, around him, But ecrgs and oranges were not 'sufficient to satisfy the mou, though thoy were hurled in dozens. A bottle was thrown, and just missed the man by an inch,' It crashed through the .window front. .A man with' a billy-can full of apples, 'witch ho had evidenly bought to take'home, became so frenzied -that he picked them out one by one and hurled them at the solitary-figure on tho front of the car. And yells and cheers, told when an applo or orange found its mark, or when an egg" bespattered its object, Tho leaders oi the mob grew hoarse in their cries of rage as tho driver, forlorn and battered object as he ■looked, would not leave his post, It was little wonder that tho driver quailed beforo the outburst, and when tho police arrived was too overcome to move tho ,lever. COLLISION WITH A DRAY. Then another departmental officer, evidently unstrung by the scene, jumped forward, and in spite of the angry faces lifted at the very.edge of the car front, released tho brake. Immediately tho tram slid forward on tlie downward' grado, pushing tho crowd aside. Luckily no one was .injured, but one man hndito hang on to the front, clamber round tho side, and get off. Before tho car could be stopped it ran into a dray carrying barrels of tar, but it had not much way on, and tho brakes were applied quickly, so that no damage was done. While tho car was stopped, a youngster in dungaree pants v and a waistcoat, clambered up tho back, unhooked the trolly amid Ilia cheers of the mob, and out, tho rope. Djirinpr tho dolay the fusillade broke forth again. The driver by this timo was a piteous sight. On his forehead a smear of bleed showed whore one of the harder missies had hit; down his face, all ovor liis clothes, and on his hands were sticky yellow smears of egg. FUSILLADE OF FRUIT. Another driver grasped the handle and ottempted to run tho gauntlet of the crowd, but he was met by a frontal attack in the shape of a volley of offensive though harmless missies, suoh as over-ripo apples, bread, and fruit skins, while another youth jerked the polo of the car off tho wire. Onco again he attempted to get the car in motion, but an apple struck him on the shoulder and burst, the fragments besmattoring his face. This was followed by a loaf of bread, which had been soaked in water, and which burst -like a bomb on tho conductors chest. On attempting a third start a large piece of wood flew past tho driver's ear, and smashed through tho glass front of tho car. He never wavered, however, but stuck to his post. After some time the ear proceeded about a hundred yards jxist Gotilourn street, and was followed by car No. 346, in charge of a sub-inspector. Inspector M'ln-tosh, of tho Police Department, with several constables, was making a futile attempt to dear the way for the cars, but the crowd would not bndgo from the line, and continued to pelt the quondam drivers with whatever came to their Ihands. Oar No. 346 eventually moved olf. but a bystander sprang on the back of the car, and apparently applied- the brakes, for tho ear immediately canio to. a sudden stop. Inspector M'lntosh and a constable immediately grasped the offender by the collar, and it was evident that an arrest would have been made had not the crowd rushed to the assistance of the man, and torn iliim from, the hands of tho oflioers of tho law.' In the bustle that followed tho strike-aider boltod down Goulburn street, and tlie crowd closed vound the police, and prevented pursuit. During the souffle tho inspector used his silver-mounted riding crop freely on the iheads of the rowdy element, but- without effect, and tho breaches of the law wore so numerous in the vicinity at the time that the police wore u.nablo to leave thoir posts to follow the escapee. Shortly after this incident Inspector Porks, who was attempting to drive a car i down Georgo street, received a worm reception from the crowd. Ho made several

attempts to send his ear along, but' the pole wae continually being slipped from tho who. His efforts came to an abrupt conclusion when a handful of an offensive substance., hurled by an unknown hand, found. -' i-ostitjK plaoo on tho side of his face, and toll slowly down over his collar and vest. Similar incidents to these were happening at every turn, but it was a >iotio*ablo fact that the men <m strike were more moderate, inlheattitudethi'ithooutsidere. A. rowdy ( element, consisting mainly of larrikins, was responsible for most of tho violence per- ' petrated. ! MOUNTED CONSTABLES ATTACKED, The whole .--cene was one of wild exciteL ment, and though more police came along ' in drills and drabs, for fully two hours the ! mob practically held sway. The. police ' did their duty manfully, but were powerless to do more (rum guard ono car and' • the driver. And they could not always do ■i that, Tilioy themselves suffered from the ' fusillade. During the melee two members. » of the mounted constabulary arrived on foot. ) Immediately there were cries. They ■were j then seJ upon by tho mob and roughly - handled, and everywhere they moved a t hundred fingers pointed straight at thorn > the while a chorus of voices vociferated in i tones of indescribable hate. At one time [ the mob rushed in and captured' one of I them, whereupon ihcy beat and kicked him ■ spitefully, but other members of the force | coming to his assistance rescued hhVi." , Finally the rage of the mot burnt itself r out to some extent, and\ some semblance of control was .regained by the police, but , it was after 1 p.m. before the care were [ really on the move. i LOCKING THE WHEELS. ; When the first, of the idlo cars in Pitt • street, near Anthony Hordern's, was, started by an officer from the department, a metallic crash was heard. The car was stopped immediately, for it was feared that a breakdown had occurred. An inspection'. re- ' vealcd nothing, and tho car was started' , again. Then it was noticed that tho tailing ear was dragging with •_ locked 1 wheels, Another '.inspection was made, and 1 it was found that a heavy iron rail, about ' 3ft long, had been placed in tho. spokes : of the wheel, and had jammed, it. The 1 crash had been caused by the impact .of this rail on coming into a locking.position 1 when the car started. The other 'cars wore • similajly examined and no fewer: than- ; five had these iron lengths inserted in the wheols. .