SENDING U.S. TROOPS AGAINST PROTESTERS IN 1894
I'm getting a little ahead of myself in Sorrento's history, but given the events of the past week, I thought it would be informative to revisit the disturbances that occurred around the country in 1894 and the connections to Sorrento. As I watched commentators look back on prior civil unrest in America the focus was on the racial violence of the 1960s. Of course, our country has a long history of civil disobedience and its attendant disorder that typically follows when authorities step in to restore order. President Cleveland faced circumstances 126 years ago similar in ways to the events of today and chose to send US troops against citizens of his own country.
In the midst of an economic depression in 1893 & 1894, Jacob Coxey led a group of hundreds of unemployed men from Ohio to Washington DC to fight for improved public works, employment opportunities, and better pay. It was among the first mass protests in Washington DC and Coxey's ideas to have the Federal government put men to work on public projects were well ahead of his time. Known as Coxey's Army, the protest began peacefully, but his movement inspired other unemployed workers to take action. There were many incidents around the country involving thousands of followers that led to violent confrontations with local authorities.
In April one of these encounters in Montana took another turn. A group of unemployed mine workers massed near Bozeman and commandeered trains. Montana Governor John Rickards wired Washington DC asking for Federal help to control the outbreak of violence that his local law enforcement could no longer manage. President Cleveland and his cabinet agreed to authorize the local garrison at Fort Keogh to confront the rioters. After chasing a train with 350 miners, the Federal troops successfully brought the group under control peacefully.
In April one of these encounters in Montana took another turn. A group of unemployed mine workers massed near Bozeman and commandeered trains. Montana Governor John Rickards wired Washington DC asking for Federal help to control the outbreak of violence that his local law enforcement could no longer manage. President Cleveland and his cabinet agreed to authorize the local garrison at Fort Keogh to confront the rioters. After chasing a train with 350 miners, the Federal troops successfully brought the group under control peacefully.
By the time Coxey's Army arrived in Washington DC by late April it was relatively small numbering only 500 people. But what worried authorities were the number of local people, of all backgrounds and races, it attracted. Bystanders swelled to over 10,000 people when Coxey arrived at the US Capitol on May 1, 1894, to present his proposals. They were met by a force of 1,500 US troops and police who clashed with the crowds and arrested Coxey.
Two weeks later in Chicago, several thousand workers at the Pullman Railroad Car Company began a "wildcat" strike. The workers were protesting the policies in the company's town, described by its owner George Pullman as a workers paradise. Surrounding his company's plant south of Chicago, Pullman provided clean housing, stores, churches, and parks all at rents he claimed were reasonable for the workers. During the depression, Pullman felt compelled to cut the salaries of his factory employees, but unfortunately, he did not provide a similar reduction in rents in his company town.
The events of this era, especially the Pullman strike have been written about extensively. If you are interested in reading more, Jack Kelly has recently published a book, "The Edge of Anarchy" which covers the Pullman strike and Coxey's Army in great detail.
The events of this era, especially the Pullman strike have been written about extensively. If you are interested in reading more, Jack Kelly has recently published a book, "The Edge of Anarchy" which covers the Pullman strike and Coxey's Army in great detail.
Pullman's company was known for both its sleeper cars and its luxurious private railroad cars, which were the private jets of their time. In addition to manufacturing, Pullman's other main moneymaker was the commissions he made in the sleeping car business. Rather than selling these cars to railroads, he operated these as concessions and made money on the sale of beds to overnight passengers. The famous Pullam porters were paid a very minimal wage and were expected to survive on tips. So while his manufacturing business may have been affected by the economic downturn, his overall profits were not suffering given the profits he was making in the sleeper car business.
Escalating tensions between the Pullman Company and the workers union, American Railway Union led by Eugene V. Debs, continued through June of 1894. Debs asked the company to arbitrate the salary issues for the workers at the Pullman plant. George Pullman refused all demands made by the union to adjust the rents he was charging or to rescind the wage reductions he had instituted.
While all railwaymen unions were not cooperative with Debs' fight for the Pullman workers, he was able to convince many other unions not to handle trains that included Pullman sleeping cars. Train traffic across the country began to slow, and with it the commerce it supported -- food supplies, passenger movement, and the US Mails.
In Washington DC, Democratic President Grover Cleveland and his cabinet were facing yet another major crisis at the beginning of the Summer. Among the members of the cabinet were Vice President Adlai Stephenson, Secretary of War Daniel Lamont, Attorney General Richard Olney, and Lieutenant General John Schofield. Each of these men played important roles in confronting labor tensions that Summer and had direct ties to Sorrento.
Lamont is probably best known, with his family originally coming to Sorrento when it first opened in 1888. Given the uncertain events unfolding in the country in 1894, Daniel Lamont decided not to leave Washington to take his family to Sorrento that Summer. Instead, they would stay in their house on Lafayette Sq. down the block from St. John's Church.
Long-forgotten, however, was that the Vice President and Chief Justice Fuller made their first trip to Sorrento that year with their families. The Vice President had purchased land in the resort in the 1880s and was a close friend of the Fullers.
The Vice President and his family rented the house directly across the street from Frank Jones' estate, near where the Wise's house sits today.
While the Chief Justice would stay in what today is known as West View which at the time was owned by General Greely.
Richard Olney, in addition to being Attorney General, was a lawyer for the railroad companies and continued to sit on the boards of numerous rail lines. He was the long-time counsel for the Boston and Maine RR owned by Frank Jones of Sorrento. Olney and Jones were also well acquainted with George Pullman who also served on the B&MRR board. With violence rising and attacks on trains continuing, Olney, with the backing of the railroad owners, convinced Cleveland to allow him to petition the courts for an injunction against the union and Debs to end the strike. On July 3rd despite the injunction, the union refused to back down. Over the objections of the Governor of Illinois, Cleveland ordered Federal troops in Chicago to confront the strikers under the guise of moving the US mails.
The following day, General Schofield sent a dispatch to the generals in Chicago ordering them to "prevent the obstruction" of US mails. While not the first time a US President had called on Federal troops to put down a labor strike, it was the first time action was taken without the consent of the state government. An excellent account of the political battle in the Cleveland Administration was written by Thomas Craughwell in his book "Failures of the Presidents." It excerpts Schofield's order to his commanders in Chicago.
In the days that followed riots broke out throughout Chicago and other areas of the Midwest with thousands of workers burning buildings and railroad cars. 15,000 Federal troops would confront the strikers and fired on the unarmed protesters killing at least eight men. While the violence slowly ended in Chicago it spread to other areas of the country and eventually involved violent clashes between union supporters and local authorities in 10-15 States West of Chicago. Throughout July hundreds more were injured or killed in the violence.
Eugene Debs was arrested as a result of his leadership in the Pullman strike and was jailed for a short period. His prosecution would eventually lead to the famous 1895 US Supreme Court decision - In re Debs - in which Chief Justice Fuller would vote with the majority siding with the government in its fight to regulate interstate commerce and "ensure the general welfare of the public."
By the end of July with the labor confrontations largely ended and the Pullman strike broken, the railroads returned to normal operations. Meanwhile, in Sorrento, the families of the Chief Justice, the Vice President, and General Schofield enjoyed the splendors of Maine. The Chief Justice entertained General Schofield in Sorrento, while the Fuller and Stevenson daughters enjoyed a dance at the hotel.
The Lamonts would of course return to Sorrento the following Summer after the Pullman strike. The Fuller's too enjoyed their first summer in Sorrento and would return every year thereafter until the judge's death here in 1910. The Stevensons, who evidently enjoyed their first stay in town through the end of September of 1894, however, would not return. Their daughter Mary Stevenson would die of tuberculosis the following year. As to General Schofield, I do not know if he ever had a home here but he does appear to have visited Sorrento often while staying in Bar Harbor at The Malvern Hotel on Kebo Street.
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