Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-10-30
A STRANGE CASE.
Agents of Colorado Coal Com
panies Arrested.
-Ihey Are Charged With Unlawful AS
semb ing and Are Placed Under
Bonds for Appearance.
The Circumstances of thu AfaIr-A Damlni
for Coal Mine o ,aritIv s-Ths State
Ran gers In Action.


An arrest on the charge Tp1lawfu'
assembling was probably never ffssszI
Texas before yesterday.
But three of them were made yester-
day, and the officers are on the lookout
for other parties wanted on the same
charge. &
Yesterday one G. c. Cohen went b9i
fore County Attorney Ben Ayres and,
MADE oath that statute of the state had
been violated, whereupon the warrant
for the violators was issued.
The complaint is against r. II. Smith,
alias Bob Rogers, Frank Under lew
Thomas Lawson, F. S. Smith, Bob
Griever and S. J Larkin.
The information says that these parties
with force and arms did unlawfuIly
meet together with the intent to ali each
other by violence and by persuasions and
by intimidation and by fraud and by
false representation, to Illegally deprive
the Texas and Pacific coal companies, q
corporation, of its right TO mine and re-
move coal, and to otherwise do and
transact its legitimate business, and
TO disturb the said Texas and Pacific
coal company in the enjoyment of
its said rights and privileges; that is,
the said Texas and Pacific Coal company
vas then and there lawfully pursuing
the occupation aud employment OF min
ing and removing coal, and the purpose
of said unlawful assembly AMI the intent
of the said parties in engaging therein
was then aud there to prevent the said
Texas ard Pacific Coal company from
pursuing SAID occupation aud employ
ment, and to Interfere with Its sud occu-
patton aud employment.
Shortly after the warrant had been
issued Deputy Sheriff Joe WItcher ar
rested Mr.. F. s. Smith of this city and
placed him in the county jail.
Mr.. s. j. Lark!n was arrested at
Weatherford by four state rangers, who
boarded the east bound Texas and Pacific
train at that point and found their man
on board and with him twenty eight
miners from the Thurber coal mines.
r. II. Smith, alias Bob Rogers, who is
a negro, is probably i'll jail at Thurbur,
as he was there yesterday.
OF the other parties complained of,
Frank Vanderdew, negro, ls still at
large; Thomas Lawson, who was at one
time superintendent for the Texas and
Pacific coal company, is still at large In
this city Che lives here), and Bob
Griever, colored, is in the Tarrant
county jnil, having been arrested here
yesterday afternoon.
The trouble of which this Is the culmi-
nation has been long time brewing.
Ia order TO keep sufficient force with
which to carry on operations, the Texas
and Pacific coal company has from time
10 time sent TO the northern coal mining
centers aud secured operatives, whom
the company has induced to move, and
brought here at no little expense. Many
of them are negroes, but they are all
good miners, and they came here to
better their condition.
But lately the Texas and Pacific coal
company have suffered the loss of q good
many hands, who as the result of offers
of better situations in mining localities
in Colorado and other states to the
Northwest, have left the Thurber mines
and crippled the company more or less.
The first noticeable exodus was of
twenty hands, who about six weeks ago
,,Esptto Washington. Soon more fol-
lowed. and then more, until 1t became
apparent that the business was being
worked Systematically.
The arrests made Yesterday are the re-
suit of efforts to checkmate the work OF
their Colorado competitors by the Texas
aud Pacific Coal company.
q Messrs. Smith aud Larking were given
their liberty yesterday evening upon
making Lond for $500.
Mr.. F. S. Smith, agent of the Colo
RADIO coal and iron company, and Mr..
S. j Larkin, agent of the Colorado fuel
company, said that Us far as any uulaw-
full assemblage WAS concerned, II was all
bosh. Mr.. Larkin says that he learned
that twenty miners were III Fort Worth
who were on their way to Rock Springs,
Wy. He asked them il they would work
for his company and they said they
would gladly. Not only this, but
there were number of miners
at Thurber who were dissatisfied
and they could also be employed.
MIR. Larkin told the miners to let their
employ them. IN response to letters
sent by the miners number of men came
here and were sent TO the mines. Mr..
Smith learned from these miners that
others at Thurber desired TO leave, and
he employed them for his company. The
only representations made were that
seventy cents per ton was paid and that
the vein of coal was seven feet thick.
The men could do SO we'll at those prices
that they decided to make the change of
location.
The gentlemen above mentioned have
friends in Fort Worth who willingly
went on their bonds, and they wers'
promptly bailed. al