A. I have never seen any of them that acknowledged having anything to do with making that attack on the troops. They spoke of it as the attack having been made by—well, tramps and roughs they called them. There was a pretty strong organization among the men on the north side of the river to prevent any force coming over to shoot the Pennsylvania boys, or, as they termed them, P.R.R. boys. That is the way they talked about it. They did not propose to have anybody coming in there to shoot them down. That was a pretty thoroughly organized force.
Q. That is, to stop the trains having troops in?
A. Yes; and they were expected in with troops. That occurred in the immediate neighborhood where I live. The whole region was patrolled.
Q. Patrolled by the railroad men?
A. By the railroad men; yes, sir.
Q. Did you learn from these men where the first strike was to be made?
A. No. They talked of it as though it would be a general uprising throughout the whole country. They did not designate any particular place.
Q. You did not get the particulars?
A. I never heard the particular place designated as to how it would start, but simply it would be a strike; that they would all quit work; not work themselves nor allow others to work, and block travel and traffic in that way, expecting as the result it would bring the managers of railroads to their terms.
Q. You travel on the roads a great deal you say, and have a great deal of shipping?