The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1897-09-17
THE HAzLEToN MASSACRE.


country where the greed of plutoc-
racy has goaded to desperation a
starving, ignorant, deceived, inn
ported, turbulent population.
This is no prophecy of ours;
neither is it wish. 1t is not neces-
sary to justify their blind manner Of
striking out against insufferable
wrongs, or try to explain their eX-
cited protests as they come from a
babel of foreign tongues, in order to
condemn their bloody murderers.
There is no law in this country
that allows the massacre of a dis
orderly crowd, because of disorderly
conduct; and that is all these poor
creatures were doing; for the High
Sheriff who claimed to be knocked
down, trampled upon and bruised,
was unable to show scar or a
scratch.
The story is simply this: Tired
of their "insOlence," as their mas
tiers termed it; provoked by their
stubborn disObedience; irritated by
their pleadings for work at living
wages, and eXasperated that the
outside world fed them while they
sacrificed and struggled, their mas
ters, who had deceived them with
fair promises and brought them to a
strange land, gave the order to have
them shot; and hired minions did
their bidding.
1t was as bloody a butte hery as
ever disgraced this country, aud a
Just God, who knows no class or
tribe, will avenge the wicked deed
Commenting upon this crime the
Memphis Commercial-Appeal says:
"That is an ugly story that comes
from Hazleton, Pa. II the miners have
profited by the advice of Debs to save
your money and buy gum there may
be troublesome times in that section.
! The facts seem to be that large num-
Der of miners were proceeding along a
public highway in peaceable manner,
as they had every right to do. The
sheriff of the county, with number OF
armed deputies, rushed out to meet
them, read the riot act to them, and
ordered them to return, which he had
no earthly right to do, and because
they refused to obey his command
ordered his men to fire upon the crowd
which they did, volley after volley
killing a large number and wounding
more. The unfortunate victims, un
armed and unprepared for such ar
assault; believing themselves well
within the law and fully protected by
the flag which is the emblem of liberty
and freedom, were butchCred to make a
holiday for plutocracy, and it was duly
celebrated by a meeting OF coal baron'
and bankers that night. This is nc
picture of fancy, no rhetorical extrava
gance, no fantastic frenzy of a disor
dered or heated imagination, but thu
horrib and immutable facts as told by
the telegraph. 1t is simply appalling
Conservative people may well ask i
this means the beginning oS the end
the fulfillment of the terrible prophec
of the struggle to death between Drawn
and Doodle so often made by exciteC
agitators and so lightly regarded by thu
thinking public. No more distardly o
inexcusable crime was ever COMMITTED
in the name of the law.
"The name of the slain and sacrificed
show that they were foreigners. Hun
garians principally, and this, instead o
/, mitigating the rank infamy of the out
rage merely aggravates it, These mer
were brought into this country in viola
ton of law, under contracts made in
foreign country, to take the places o
American miners who refused to worl
for starvation wages or submit to tn
eXtortions of "pluck me" stores. They
were beguilded hither under false pre-
lenses as the unwilling tools o
: cupidity, and when they were driver
by necessity into resisting the rapacity
of the protected barons and bosses, ant
when they sought by legal and perfect
ly iustihable means to maintain thet
side of the economic conflict by peace
able methods and with such resource
as the civilization of free cOuntr,
guarantees, law and order buckled OF
the bayonet and went forth to engag
in ndiscriminate slaughter.
"WithOut pausing to calculate the in
ternational complications that are likel,
to arise over the shocking incident, tn
manhood and sense of justice of tn
American people should rise up and de
mand that halt be calledin this blood,
work, i'm this hellish carnage. 1t ha
become intolerable. For weeks tn
press of the country has been cryin
} out against the courts for inviting sucl
condition of affairs by their high
handed proceedings in the granting o
, injunctions. AT the request of plutoC
racy the courts have denied to the pee
pie the right of peaceably assembling
the right of free speech, the right o
personal liberty; and some of the tribu
, mails have gone so far as to deny min
listers of the gospel the right to hol,
1 4