The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-05-12

BRAZIL, IND, May l0.-The miners
strike has assumed adlferent phase from
that which it presented on Wednesday,
Yesterday and this morning it began as.
Stunning the VIOLENT character, eliminating
in a raid by over a hundred strikers upon
the men employed at the mine Of Ehrlict
& Brothers, at Newburg, two mile west o
here. The raiding party left here at abou'
ga. NJ, having been called and instructed
in what was wanted OF them as early as
one o'clock. The detail was REGULAR,
made, and the men accepted the duty as a
matter Of course, which at once impressed
one that they had Mollie Mcguire Socie,
ties, or something akin to them, organized
here. The miners have claimed that nc
such organizations existed; but it is now
asserted they are organized, and that the
society is called the knights OF Labor, and
is quite general throughout the county,
being a sort OF a substitute for trades
unions.
1t binds its members with an oath, and
the penalty Of betrayal is death. Nine.
tenths OF the miners employed in this dis.
trict are said to be members Of it. The
organization, it is said, is under the con.
troll OF a Central Committee, who style
themselves Delegates. This Cerntal Com
mune is presided over by q man OF some
capacity. He presided over the meeting
last night, and insisted that the men at
Newburg should be oYerawed this morn
ing. His power is absolute with the COM
mittee, and through them absolute with
the members OF the Society. There could
be no Obedience more implicit than that oil
this morning, when n hundred miners,
without food and who had lain down like
men expecting a forced march, got up and
walked three and five miles in order to be
on the ground before the men entered the
mine.
When they reached Eewburg they were
almost tamished, and after raiding a
boarding house near the Ehrlich mine
they then captured the dinner buckets Of
the men who were ready t 90 to work.
The delegation was not large enough to
overawe the neighborhood, or they would
not have had TO return to-day. The men
in the EhrllCh mine had discussed the nc.
ton Of yesterday, aud quite a number Of
them, anticipating the action Of to-day,
had decided to quit II ordered to do so.
When the raid vas made this morning
Mr.. Ehrltch met the gang and order
ed them not to enter upon his premises,
and they withdrew TO a grove near by,
where they mel with the men from his
mine. II should be borne In mind that
Ehrlich had complied with the demands
Of the miners, and was paying them the
full amount which they had fixed as their
ultimatum. The raiders, after getting
these miners into the grove, demanded
that they take q vote whether they stay
out or not.
At this, some OF the workers said they
were getting all they asked; that they had
a well.ventilAted mine; that they needed
the work, and had no reason or desire to
quit. The other party charged that Ehrlich
was filling the contracts Of other opera
tons, which is denied, AS the only contracts
out are for block coal, while the coal in
this mine is bttumihous. No direct threats
were made, but the language OF the talk
was, "You ran come out II you want to,
and you had better want TO-" As a result
Of this conference, avote was taken, which
resulted in thirty.eight votes TO come out
and twenty-five to stay in. The twenty.
two men who voted to stay in say that
they will begin work on Monday morning,
but they will probably be orerNwed BY
that time.
Alarge majority OF the miners are In a
starving condition, and many OF them are
soliciting aid from the public outside OF
their organization. The people generally
seem to be in terror OF the miners.
While the miners resisted a reduction
in their wages by leaving the mines, they
had some Of the sympathy Of the public,
but when they refuse 10 allow members Of
their society TO work for men who we're
willing TO pay the wages demanded, they
lost much Of that sympathy. Governor
Williams cannot interfere IN the matter
until the Sheriff calls on him, so thatit
looks now IS II It would have TO reach
blows before the end comes,
The average shipments from points In
this district when the mines are working
are one hundred and fifty cars, For forty
days they have not exceeded fifteen cars
per day. Business Is Frustrated, aud all
classes are suffering.
Acts OF violence toward iew individuals
were INDUCED in night before last, but as
the men against whom they were directed
have complied with the demands OF the
strikers they are not likely TO be repeated,
though 1t Is feared that the ltteo o. Elder,
the active anti. Unionist, isin danger.
k.k -..a H. en- = ill L.