York Haven Suspicious of Slavs
It was 1908. Although their families had been immigrants only a hundred years or so before, some York County people weren’t too sure about the new immigrants coming in to work at plants, mills and quarries or to build roads.
These new arrivals weren’t of German, English and Scots-Irish stock like them. They were Slavs, Poles, Italians and who knew what.
In the incident below, from the April 30, 1908 York Gazette, York Haven found out that not all foreigners were troublemakers.
Although not under the influence of liquor, the two Slavs spent part of the evening in their shacks along the railroad and later went to the borough. Shortly before 10 o’clock, the foreigners marched through the streets of the town firing off their revolvers in rapid succession. The high constable immediately appeared on the job and traced the well armed trouble seekers to a stone quarry.
The officer, unarmed as it happened, pounced upon the Slavs in a stone quarry, captured them with their revolvers still in their possession. As suspected, a fight would follow, but on this occasion, the Slavs were the cowards and backed down.
There are many foreigners in the town and it was feared that trouble would follow after the arrests, but at an early hour this morning there was no further trouble. It was said that the fellow countrymen of the Slavs were not in sympathy with the trouble makers.”
Click here to read about German speaking immigrants.
Click the links below for more about crime in York County.
Easy jail break.
Cost of York County crime in 1826.
Cops chase chicken thieves by trolley.
Police round up lots of weapons.
Arson popular in old days.
More police needed in 1857.
