Q. State, Mr. Thompson, what knowledge you have of the riots and means taken to suppress—I do not know the fact that you are called to prove particularly, but go on and state it?
A. I just say this: That during the time of the riots, I was chairman of the police committee of the city of Pittsburgh, and that on the evening of Saturday, the 21st of July, I was up at city hall. The mayor had called a special meeting in order to enable him to employ additional police, and he employed the policemen round about the city hall at that time to deliver the notices, and we had a meeting on Sunday morning, at ten o'clock, and authorized the mayor to employ as many additional policemen as he deemed necessary for the emergency. That was all that the police committee had authority to stop.
Q. What time was that meeting?
A. On Sunday, the 22d of July, at ten o'clock.
Q. You then authorized him to employ as many police as he deemed necessary?
A. Yes; for the emergency that was all we could do. Afterwards that evening I was at city hall, and Colonel Howard—I do not remember the number of his regiment—
Q. The Nineteenth, I believe?
A. I think it was the Nineteenth—asked me to call a meeting of the councils. At that time, on account of the absence of Negley, I was president of common council, and at his instance I called a meeting of the common council, and also issued a call, in the name of Mr. Aiken, president of the select council, for a meeting of the select council the next morning at ten o'clock, for the meeting to authorize the payment of any expenses that might be necessary for the purpose of suppressing the riot. We had a meeting next morning, at ten o'clock, and authorized the payment of whatever expenses were necessary for that purpose.
Q. Did the mayor increase his police force after that, to your knowledge?
A. I know before that time the policemen had been reduced, on account of want of appropriation—had been reduced one half—and he sent out notices for all the discharged policemen to come in and be sworn in as additional policemen. That was Saturday, and on Sunday morning there were some of them there, but not many of them. There were a good many of the police refused to serve on account of being employed for an emergency. They said if they were to be employed for the balance of the year they would serve, but if they were to be employed for a few days, to go into this fight, they would not act. That evening—that Sunday evening—there were several residents down in the Fourth ward, in the neighborhood of the Duquesne depot, employed a force to guard the Duquesne depot there that night. It was said there was going to be an attack on it, and they had a guard around it to protect it that night—to prevent the rioters from setting it on fire. There were two men arrested for making an attempt to burn it. I believe they were tried and convicted afterwards for attempted arson.