The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1891-09-11

could do nothing to prevent the mob
from carryingouttheir threats. Prompt
and decisive action must be taken or the
State is Inundated Nearly all citizens
of Anderson County around mines are
in sympathy with mob. Hope you will
act promptly, because this move, if sue
cessful, endangers all other branch pris-
ons. You can wire sheriff of Anderson
County at Clinton.
l then sent the following tele-
gram to the sheriff of Anderson
County, so as to verify the message
received from the superintendent
of prisons, and ascertainif the sher-
if was unable to preserve peace:
Can you enforce the law against mob?
Do you need military?
In about an hour the following
telegram was received from the
sheriff:
In this case. I am unable to enforce
law, Need help.
Before receipt of this, l had or
dered the commissioner of labor to
go to Briceville by the next train
and endeavor to quiet the disturb
ance, so that it would not be nee
essary to send out the militia.
| After the requisition of Sheriff
Rutherford was received, it was de-
cided to send help Immediately to
the sceneof the trouble. Adjutant-
General Norman was ordered to
place two military companies at
Chattanooga and one at Knoxville
under orders to be ready to go to
Briceville. At 8.45 p. m. [ left
Nashville. The two companies at
Chattanooga joined meatthat place
and on the morning of July 16 l
reached Knoxville where [ was
joined by the Knoxville company.
Here the car containing the con-
victs was attached to the train, and
with the above mentioned compa-
MES l proceeded to Briceville. At
Clinton, Anderson County, 20 miles
from Knoxville, [ found Mr.. Ruth
I erford, the sheriff, awaiting us, and
the militia were then deputized to
act by him. Briceville was reached
! about IL o'clock noon, the convicts
returned to the stockade, and the
deputies placed in position to guard
them. 1 was invited by a commit
tee of miners to go down the valley
. to point where a meeting Of min
! ers was being held. I there ad-
dressed them in plain terms, telling
!, them that if they had grievances
they should appeal to the law-mak-
ers Of the land, and should not en-.
: deavor to take the law in their owr
! hands, and by mob violence carry
: out their purposes; that the right
or wrong, justice or injustice of the
lease system was not the point a
issue, but that they had defed the
! State in open insurrection, and tina
q law and order must and would bt
o enforced and preserved at any cost
After | had finished, Mr.. Merrill
q the chairman of the meeting, pre-
q sented the grievancesof the miners
which for the first time had beer
h made known to me. He spoke il
6 substance as follows:
4 do not blame the Governor for tax
Il ing this position, for he has sworn to en-
!, force the laws, and as an honorable mai
= he is bound to do so. would do so my
- self if 1 were in his place, but the Gov
Q ernor does not fully understand all tn
+ facts in the case as well as we do. II
V does not understand or appreciat
II the number and full extent of all on
grievances. 1t is well enough to tai
: about obeying the law. The mine own
70 ers and operators can violate the law
IS with impunity, and all the miners ca
II do is to submit to the injustice heape
4, upon them. The Governor says the la,
n is against wrong, but why is not the la
- enforced when the operators do wrong
- In the first place, scrip is issued to til
miners by the companies they work fol
le and then the miner must submit to
e, discount of 20 per cent. on this scril
st Is this not violation of law?
g. The miners should be paid in lawfI
D. money, and then they should have th
l. right to spend it when and where the
:: !: please, or they are not free men.
l. When the cars that are loaded by IL
e. miners in the darkness of the mine al
Or weighed outside at the tipple mi
Of away, the proper amounts should be pr
O. on the sheet, for the miner, far away
the mine, knows nothing about IL
weighing The law says the nine
shall have a check-weighman, but IL
IL company said, eff you have chez
80, 10 I ,,,,,,