The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1875-04-07
THE IRREPREssIBLE CONFLICT IN
OHIO.

The newspapers contain reports of an
affair between whites and blacks at
Straitsville, Perry county, Ohio, the oc-
currence of which in any Southern State
would have raised such clamor in
Northern and Southern Radical circles as
has rarely ever been heard. Gen. Grant
would have made it the occasion of
promptly dispatching Z. S. troops to the
scene of disturbance and issuing procla-
nation warning ''the rioters" to disperse
within five days or less time Sheridan
would have been quickly on the ground
to announce to the ''banditti" that he was
''not afraid :" the wires from one end Of
the country to the other would have
tingled with thrilling reports, and all
Radicaldom would have fairly reveled in
the delights of frst-class sensation.
The sum of the affair is that the mines
at Straitsville, Ohio, were worked by
white and colored men; that difficulty
which very soon became an affair of race
sprang up, and the blacks were badly
beaten and driven from the mines
But we will let the accounts speak for
themselves
COLUMBUS, ONO, March 19-The
! troubles among the coal miners at Straits
Vile have recommended in good earnest.
/ On Wednesday several c0lored nliTers tCere
attacked By achite miners and brutalLy beaten.
| Upon being warned to leave, McClurg
and family and twenty-five colored miners
departed for Logan. Mr. Mitchell, fore
man of the company, acas yesterday giuen
fce hours notice to Leave the toiCn, 1Chieh he
did, and arrived in this city to-day, &C
companied by Mr.. Harbaugh, another
employe of the company. Mr.. Mitchell
says that FIVE or six men carrying guns,
entered his Office at noon yesterday and
made violent demonstrations. They
threatened to club him With their guns,
J and one man pointed a cooked gun at
| him and threatened to shoot him. They
gave him five hours notice to get out of
town. Fearing to go to the depot, he
took the horse-road across the country to
Logan Harbaugh left Straitsville this
morning.
A special to the Cincinnati CONNER
cial, two days later, reports:
COLUMBUS, ONO, March, 21.-Ap-
prehension is expressed that an effort of
| the colored miners to return to their
work in the Troy mines, aoiH be resisted to
the Shedding of blood. Meanwhile the
executive officer of the other three mines
has arranged affdirs with his miners, who
are whites, and complacently telegraphs
to Gov. Allen, as follows, the point of
which consists in the application:
LOGAN, Ono, March IS, 1874.
To Gov. Allen:
'"There is now no need under the law
of Executive interference at Straitsville.
l was there yesterday and to-day; the
only thing that can produce fresh outbreak
aOouId be an attempt to force back the negroes
there, qChich aUo,tld be most lnaCise, and lead
to much bLoodshed and destruction of prop
erty" j. ID. MARTIN.
The sum Of it is that the white miners
were determined not to tolerate the negro
miners in the same neighborhood with
themselves that they attacked and
drove them off with slaughter, together
with the men who had employed, and
were supervising, them; that the return
of these colored miners had been forbid
den, and would, if attempted, produce
another outbreak ''and lead to much
bloodshed and destruction of property"
Now, for the cause. Ii is thus stated
by the Cincinnati Commercial:
''The issue is made up squarely, and
can not be avoided or evaded, because the
proprietor of certain mine employed ne
gro operators We know of no reason in
law or in fact that forbids it, nor any
reason why negroes have not the same
right to earn their living in the Straits
vile mine that white men have"
The whole trouble, then, originated in
the fact that ''the proprietor of certain
mine employed negroes" and the loyal
men of the original freesoil and ever
faithful Union State of Ohio would not
stand it! The amazing feature of the
affair is that it attracts so little consider
alton in Radical circles. The case is al
tered. 1t is their white line bull that
has gored the inofensive African OK this
time. There is no occasion for the
heather to rage when body of colored
men are driven off from their work in a
Northern State because their presence is
offensive to the white operatives, but it
is terrible crime for white men, as in
the case of Vicksburg, to repel a negro
mob who have come with guns in their
hands and sacks on their shoulders, to
murder and pillage whole community.
An Honest Judge.