Determined to Fight

This article from the July 20, 1877 edition of the Baltimore American notes the attitude of the railroad workers toward any attempted to break up the strike.

DETERMINED TO FIGHT.

The general expression of the freight hands here, however, seems to be that they will persist in refusing to work for the reduced rate of wages, and one of them said yesterday: "We propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." He also said: "We fear to trust anyone but our own members, but we are fighting for bread, and we don't care who knows it. This is only the beginning of the inevitable conflict between capital and labor in this country. We eat our hard bread and tainted meat two days old on the sooty cars up the road, and when we come home find our children gnawing bones and our wives complaining that they cannot even buy hominy and molasses for food. What do we care for interruption to freight or travel when our families have not enough to eat and we are penniless!" It was plain that argument would not avail with men in this state of mind.