The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-29
MILITIA NOT NEEDED
DISTURBING ELEMENTS COWED
BY AN IMMEDIATE SHOW
OF FORCE.
CONFLICTING STORIES TOLD.
UNION MEN DENY THE CHARGE
THAT THEY THREATENED
NoN-UNIoN MINERS.

| SPOKANE, WASH, Oct. 28.-The threat
| ened trouble in the Coeur d'Alenes ap-
pears to have been nipped in the bud. All
| is quiet now and the citizens in the min
| ing towns seem to think that trouble will
| not result. Public sentiment is strong in
favor of crushing out any lawlessness and
the officials declare that the time has come
when men must be protected in honest
work.
When the special train from Mullan
| reached Wardner last night 800 ar,Aed
men responded to the bugle blast and
| waited for the order to march to the mines.
AS there was no trouble the order was not
| given. Colonel Morrow mustered in a
company of militia at Mullan to-day,
many being miners.
Members of the Miners Union declare
that their committee did not order the
men in the Hunter mine to join the union
or leave the country. Citizens declare
they did and that the threat was not car
ried out because of the prompt show of re-
sistance on the.part of the officials. 1t is
believed this will have a salutary effect, by
! showing that the first attempt at violence
will be Immediately put down by armed
| forces. Superintendent Curran OF the
Hunter mine said to-day:
"a committee called upon me on Fri
| day and wanted TO know if 1 had any
| objections to its members talking with
men employed in the mine. I told them
| no. They then went up to the mine. The
next day, while I was away on business,
the committee went up to the mine again.
| When [ returned l went up to the mine
and told them that the mine was of low
| grade ore and | could not afford to have
the men kept from their work and that 1
! thought the one visit granted them was
sufficient to transact their business. l
| then ordered them off the premises.
son Saturday afternoon Mr.. Boyce
| called on me and asked if l had any obiec-
tions to my men joining the union. l re-
piled that all the men employed in the
mine were free to act for themselves as
any free American citizen should be-that
| had no strings on them"
State Senator Edward Boyce, National
organizer of the Federation of Miners,
who accompanied the committee from the
Miners Union that waited upon the men
in the Hunter and Morning mines, made
| the following statement tonight:
1.-THE members of the committee, seven
l
Hunter mine on Friday and solicited them
to join the union. At that time Superin-
tendent Curran ordered them off the prem
ises. On Saturday the committee, accom-
panied by myself, went to the Morning
mine. I asked Superintendent Larson if
he had any objections to our interviewing
the men, and he said he had nothing to
say one way or the other. We then So
| l,a;k 70 80, h. H.
them the DEMENT'S of organized labor
and telling them we would keep
the hall open from o'clock to
$50 P. NJ. on Sunday, in order to give both
the day and night shifts an opportunity to
join. We then returned to town, where
we heard that Superintendent Curran
would not allow any of his men to join the
union. 1 went to interview Mr. Curran,
and told him we had heard that he had
said that any of his employees who Joined
the union would be discharged, and asked
him if it was SO. He said: 4 don't give a
d-n what they join That ended the
interview.
'On Saturday evening, after the inter-
view with Curran, we talked with the men
again. They said that on Friday he had
told them that if they joined the union
they would be discharged, and on Satur-
day had informed them he would not work
a mixed crew, but wanted them all to Join
the militia, as he could get plenty of guns
from Governor Mcconnell. The best OF
good nature prevailed, and some of the
members of the committee took dinner
with the workmen at the Morning mine.
OF the committee of seven all nationalities
were represented. We are going to repeat
this action right along, peaceably soliciting
men to join the union, and this is the
only warfare we intend to wage"
A man named Edlund was found on the
railroad track a short distance from the
Gem last night badly beaten and bruised.
He said he met some men who asked him
where he was going. He told them he
was from Montana and was gong to get
work in the mines. They asked if he was
a union man and he said no. They said
he must join the union if he expected to
get work. They went away, and in a few
minutes returned and beat him, robbing
him OF all he had. There is no proof that
the robbing was done by union men except
, the mans own statement.