Details
[PINKERTON DETECTIVE AGENCY]. Typed document 19 November 1877, Report of "Operative E. J. D." submitted by Pinkerton Philadelphia office director Benjamin Franklin to E. B. Sturges, Esq. 4 pages, 4to, on stationery of Pinkerton National Detective Agency.
A PINKERTON SPY AMONG THE COAL WORKERS OF SCRANTON: "THE BOYS ARE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR DETECTIVES AND THEY THREATEN TO KILL THE FIRST ONE THEY CAN CATCH."
A report from a Pinkerton spy working among the coal and steel workers of Scranton, Pennsylvania, sent to a company lawyer in 1877. That was a banner year for the Pinkerton Agency. The violent railroad strikes in Pittsburgh in July were followed by armed clashes between coal workers and hired gunman throughout the Lackawanna Valley, especially in Scranton. The Agency used spies both before and after sending in the heavies and here is a report from one such operative, designated only as E.J.D., who describes the mood of the town after a gun battle. "Evans the boss Shoemaker stated that he was up the avenue at the day of the shooting....He saw some men who were as pale as ghosts and trembling with fear." E.J.D. was working hard to infiltrate himself among the town's steelworkers, but feared exposure. One night he overhead three men on the street talking about him and eyeing him suspiciously. "I kept my eye on them and gave them the slip. When I arrived at my room I found that operative T.H.G. had been threatened by another, or probably the same crowd, who were on the look out for him to lynch him...I don't know how soon my own turn will come as the boys are on the look out for detectives and they threaten to kill the first one they can catch..."
A PINKERTON SPY AMONG THE COAL WORKERS OF SCRANTON: "THE BOYS ARE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR DETECTIVES AND THEY THREATEN TO KILL THE FIRST ONE THEY CAN CATCH."
A report from a Pinkerton spy working among the coal and steel workers of Scranton, Pennsylvania, sent to a company lawyer in 1877. That was a banner year for the Pinkerton Agency. The violent railroad strikes in Pittsburgh in July were followed by armed clashes between coal workers and hired gunman throughout the Lackawanna Valley, especially in Scranton. The Agency used spies both before and after sending in the heavies and here is a report from one such operative, designated only as E.J.D., who describes the mood of the town after a gun battle. "Evans the boss Shoemaker stated that he was up the avenue at the day of the shooting....He saw some men who were as pale as ghosts and trembling with fear." E.J.D. was working hard to infiltrate himself among the town's steelworkers, but feared exposure. One night he overhead three men on the street talking about him and eyeing him suspiciously. "I kept my eye on them and gave them the slip. When I arrived at my room I found that operative T.H.G. had been threatened by another, or probably the same crowd, who were on the look out for him to lynch him...I don't know how soon my own turn will come as the boys are on the look out for detectives and they threaten to kill the first one they can catch..."