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The 1894 Pullman Strike in St. Paul Lewis, George A The 1894 Pullman Strike and the Death of Switchman Charles Luth Page 14 Fall 2006 Volume 41, Number 3 A Little-Known Railway That Couldn’t The St. Paul Southern —Page 4 Looking west from the Robert Street Bridge, this 1920s photo shows a St. Paul Southern car headed outbound for South St. Paul and Hastings. Between 1900 and 1910 the combined population of these two Dakota County communities increased 38.5%, encouraging construction of the interurban. But the line’s ambitions to build on to Cannon Falls and Rochester went unfulfilled, and it eventually succumbed to automobile and bus competition. Photograph courtesy of the Minnesota Transportation Museum. See John Diers’s article beginning on page 4. History Fall 06.pdf 1 11/28/06 11:25:26 AM RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY Executive Director RAMSEY COUNTY Priscilla Farnham Founding Editor (1964–2006) Virginia Brainard Kunz Editor Hıstory John M. Lindley Volume 41, Number 3 Fall 2006 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY the mission statement of the ramsey county historical society BOARD OF DIRECTORS adopted by the board of directors in July 2003: Howard Guthmann Chair The Ramsey County Historical Society shall discover, collect, W. Andrew Boss preserve and interpret the history of the county for the general public, President recreate the historical context in which we live and work, and make Judith Frost Lewis First Vice President available the historical resources of the county. The Society’s major Paul A. Verret responsibility is its stewardship over this history. Second Vice President Joan Higinbotham Secretary C O N T E N T S J. Scott Hutton Treasurer Duke Addicks, Charles L. Bathke, 3 Letters W. Andrew Boss, Thomas H. Boyd, 4 A Little-Known Railway That Couldn’t Norlin Boyum, Carolyn Brusseau, Norbert Conzemius, Anne Cowie, Charlton Dietz, The St. Paul Southern Joanne A. Englund, Robert F. Garland, John W. Diers Howard Guthmann, Joan Higinbotham, John Holman, J. Scott Hutton, Judith Frost 14 The 1894 Pullman Strike in St. Paul Lewis, George A. Mairs, Laurie Murphy, Richard H. Nicholson, Marla Ordway, and the Death of Switchman Charles Luth Marvin J. Pertzik, Jay Pfaender, James A. Gregory T. Proferl Russell, David Thune, Paul A. Verret, Glenn Wiessner, Richard Wilhoit, Laurie Zenner. 24 Growing Up in St. Paul Richard T. Murphy Sr. Memories of Frogtown in the 1930s Director Emeritus James R. Brown EDITORIAL BOARD Anne Cowie, chair, James B. Bell, John Diers, 27 Book Review Thomas H. Boyd, Tom Kelley, Laurie Murphy, Richard H. Nicholson, Paul D. Nelson, Jay Pfaender, David Riehle, G. Richard Slade, Publication of Ramsey County History is supported in part by a gift from Steve Trimble, Mary Lethert Wingerd. Clara M. Claussen and Frieda H. Claussen in memory of Henry H. Cowie Jr. HONORARY ADVISORY BOARD and by a contribution from the late Reuel D. Harmon Olivia I. Dodge, William Fallon, William Finney, Robert S. Hess, George Latimer, Joseph S. Micallef, Robert Mirick, Marvin J. Pertzik, James Reagan, Rosalie E. Wahl, Donald D. Wozniak. RAMSEY COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Commissioner Tony Bennett, chair A Message from the Editorial Board Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt Commissioner Toni Carter Commissioner Rafael Ortega Transportation is the theme for this issue’s two main articles: a history of the short- Commissioner Janice Rettman Commissioner Jan Parker lived St. Paul Southern electric interurban railway, and an exploration of the social Commissioner Jim McDonough and economic implications of the1894 Pullman strike in St. Paul. The latest addition David Twa, manager, Ramsey County to our series, “Growing Up in St. Paul,” presents a lyrical account of childhood in the Frogtown neighborhood in the 1930s. And a book review introduces a significant com- Ramsey County History is published quarterly by the Ramsey County Historical Society, pilation of the letters of Bishop Loras, who sent priests from Dubuque in the 1850s to 323 Landmark Center, 75 W. Fifth Street, St. minister to the population of the new Minnesota Territory. Paul, Minn. 55102 (651-222-0701). Printed in These articles, with their varying subjects and approaches, illustrate the different U.S.A. Copyright © 2006, Ramsey County His- torical Society. ISSN Number 0485-9758. All ways this magazine addresses its mission to preserve and highlight the many facets of rights reserved. No part of this publication Ramsey County history. We hope you will be able to contribute a little extra this year, may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced through our annual appeal, to strengthen the financial base that allows us to present without written permission from the pub- lisher. The Society assumes no responsibility such great material on a continuing basis. for statements made by contributors. Fax 651- 223-8539; e-mail address [email protected]; Anne Cowie, web site address www.rchs.com. Chair, Editorial Board 2 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY History Fall 06.pdf 2 11/28/06 11:25:26 AM The 1894 Pullman Strike in St. Paul and the Death of Switchman Charles Luth Gregory T. Poferl he 1894 Pullman strike had explosive consequences across the United The Death of Charles Luth States. St. Paul experienced the effects of the strike because it was both St. Paul, Minnesota, was a major a union town and a railroad city. In particular, the strike and its impact transportation hub and a significant T center of activity for the 1894 Pullman on the residents of Minnesota’s capital city were reflected in the daily and Strike. Over a dozen railroads operated weekly coverage of the events surrounding the killing of Charles Luth, a mem- in the Twin Cities, dominated by James ber of the American Railway Union (ARU), by a “scab,” Charles Leonard. The J. Hill’s Great Northern Railroad, which death of Charlie Luth, his burial, and the trial of Charles Leonard provide a had just completed building to the Pacific fascinating study of the political, religious, and social divisions within the city coast the year before. Major shop and that crystallized around the strike. yard facilities in St. Paul employed thou- sands in jobs such as engineer, switch- man, conductor, and brakeman. Typi- cally, these workers belonged to one of several different craft unions, but in 1893 the American Railway Union (ARU) was formed with the goal of uniting all rail- road workers, regardless of craft, into one big union.1 In April 1894 the leader of the ARU, Eugene V. Debs, went to St. Paul to lead the ARU’s first strike against the Great Northern Railroad. The successful action that Debs organized in which the railroads chose arbitration over a possibly damag- ing strike was a celebrated victory, since it came after huge setbacks for labor in the depression years of the early 1890s. It was also significant because it armed ARU members with the confidence and momentum to vote in convention to sup- port the Pullman strike. By June 1894, when the ARU refused to handle Pullman sleeping cars, the union had over 150,000 members across the country. This total significantly surpassed the combined membership of the railroad craft unions. The working class in St. Paul strongly supported the Pullman strike. Numerous reports document testimony from “scab” train crews of having verbal abuse and rotten produce poured on them by citi- zens gathered on the bridges spanning the local railroad tracks.2 At the urging of A sketch of Charles J. Luth from the December 22, 1894, edition of the St. Paul Herald. Cour- some ARU locals, supportive merchants tesy of the Minnesota Historical Society collections. and proprietors of small businesses, such 14 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY History Fall 06.pdf 14 11/28/06 11:25:28 AM as boarding houses, refused to deal with St. Paul’s Lowertown and had raised their these replacement workers. On the eve- children Catholic. Considering that the ning of Saturday, July 14, when the strike Luth family was German Lutheran, Char- was being crushed by federal troops lie may have had to take “instruction” in throughout the country, two officials of the Catholic faith from a priest before he the Chicago, Saint Paul, Minneapolis, could marry Pauline. Had Charlie been a and Omaha Railway Company walked convert to Catholicism and a member of up St. Paul’s Rosabel Street (today’s Wall St. Mary’s, in all likelihood the funeral Street) to a small boarding house, the La- would have been held there and Charlie borer’s Rest Home, at the corner of Fifth would have been buried in a Catholic and Rosabel streets (located near the cemetery. When Pauline died in 1952, her present-day Farmers Market). According funeral was held at Sacred Heart Catholic to later trial testimony, their purpose was Church on St. Paul’s East Side, but she to persuade the operator of the boarding chose to be buried in the nonsectarian house, Margaret Hansen, to take in ten Oakland Cemetery so she could be close or twelve of these “scabs” employed by to Charlie. Mary Blomgren, who married the Omaha.3 As they walked north on one of Pauline and Charlie’s grandsons Rosabel Street, Charlie Luth, a striking Margaret Hansen. Photo by August E. and spent time with Pauline from 1946 to switchman who had been employed by Hansen, St. Paul. Photo courtesy of the 1952, recalled that Pauline never lost her the Saint Paul and Duluth Railroad, rec- Minnesota Historical Society collections. love for Charlie. Once during a visit to ognized the two officials, Charles Leon- Charlie’s grave, Pauline told Mary: “This ard and Bert Nash. cession marched to the east side of down- is my home!” As reported in the Daily Globe, wit- town, where they met another group of The Reverend Hermann Fleer of the nesses testified that Luth and his com- mourners, including members of the In- German Evangelical Church agreed to panion, another striker named Joe Cox, dependent Order of Foresters, a fraternal preach the funeral sermon.
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