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THE BLOODY FIRST
July 30, 1902 would be the
date that the Lithuanian-dominated First Ward of Shenandoah,
Pa. would earn its nickname as "the Bloody First Ward".
It was on that date during the mine strike (which started in
May, 1902) that tensions erupted into death and mayhem. Joseph
BEDDALL, a local hardware store owner, went to assist
his brother who happened to be a county deputy sheriff. Thousands
of miners and their supporters were demonstrating near the Railroad
station when the angry mob turned on Mr. Beddall. He was assaulted,
kicked, and beaten "almost to jelly." The Shenandoah
police were summoned and desperate fighting ensued...bullets
began to fly. In fact, one bullet shot over the head of my great-grandmother,
Victoria RASIMAS ALEX(INAS) as she looked out of her saloon
window.
The newspapers blamed all
the trouble on the "foreign" element which had settled
in Schuylkill County. The National Guard was called in by the
Governor of PA to restore order. The length of the strike led
to near starvation conditions for these Lithuanian ancestors.
The riot in the ethnic enclave of the First Ward of Shenandoah,
PA on July 30, 1902 resulted from labor's demand for an eight-hour
workday for the coal miners. Three persons were killed and over
thirty were injured. The Pennsylvania National Guard had to be
called out by Governor STONE. The streets of Shenandoah
were soon after patrolled by soldiers riding on horseback, brandishing
rifles and bayonets. The town's doctors were kept busy. One physician
alone removed eighteen bullets from the wounded. The state's
Fourth and Eighth regiments were stationed on the streets of
the predominantly Lithuanian and Polish neighborhood until the
end of October, 1902. At first several of the townspeople would
throw stones at the troops but the citizens and the soldiers
gradually became accustomed to one another and violence was kept
at a minimum. The 1,500 soldiers set up camp at Columbia Park.
Cavalry trooper Stewart CULIN
gave a sympathetic view of the situation in Shenandoah. When
he arrived with his troops he was impressed by the cleanliness
of the population..."The miners were quiet and undemonstrative...the
women were barefooted, in calico dresses...the styles and patterns
of dress differentiated the Polish from the Lithuanian women...swarms
of children played about with absolute freedom...nearly every
other house appeared to be a saloon bearing foreign names."
The trooper later befriended the pastor of St. George's, Father
ABROMAITIS, who explained to him that the Lithuanian spoken
in Shenandoah was influenced by Poland, Russia, and Prussia which
resulted in three major dialects. The August 5th, 1902 edition
of the "Miners Journal" covered the large funeral for
Joseph Beddall, who was beaten to death by the angry mob near
the railroad station in the First Ward. It gave little mention
of sympathy for the other victims of the riot. The paper referred
to it as "another drunken brawl by the foreign element"
broken up by troops. The troops considered the southern end of
Shenandoah to be the toughest part of town and government officials
confessed to the General their inability to cope with the out-and-out
insurrection. This required two companies of infantry to be stationed
in the southern section of town. A deputy sheriff gave the following
version of events during the hearing that followed: "On
July 30, 1902, at about 5:00 pm, on my way home, my attention
was directed to crowds collecting and men running in large numbers
to the east of me towards the Lehigh & Reading R.R.
I went over towards them and
heard a number of men yelling "scab." I asked assistance
of the citizens to persuade the men to disperse. I passed on
up towards Emerick Street and the crowd followed. My attention
was then drawn to three men who followed me up the railroad to
the depot. The crowd kept repeating "Scab," and other
offensive words. I turned and saw three men whom I did not know.
They proved to be Mr. GOOD, Mr. HENNER, and Mr.
VAUGHN, who worked for the railroad. Mr. Good told the
crowd that they were not scabs but the crowd surged forward.
A member of the crowd tore open a bundle from one of the men
and revealed a dinner pail and overalls. Immediately the three
men were pounced upon and knocked down. Stones were thrown at
them; they were beaten and kicked violently. Immediately I revealed
that I was a deputy and began to read them the riot act. I heard
someone yell out "To hell with the sheriff....we must kill
the scabs." I then drew my revolver and fired twice in the
air over their heads. The crowd did not fall back but continued
to press in and beat the three men. I then began firing again
and the crowd retreated. I and the three men hurried to the railroad
depot. The crowd continued to throw stones and the numbers increased
to the thousands. They howled and yelled like fiends and threw
rocks through the windows. I held the crowd at bay until the
police arrived. With their assistance we got into the train and
departed town under a hail of rocks and bullets. Two hours later
I learned that my brother, Joseph Beddall, a hardware store owner,
was beaten to death coming to my assistance."
Jay R. Zane |
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Saturday, 23 August