The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1897-08-18
TOWN INVADED.
Rock Island Modern Woodmen
Descend ON Fulton, Ill
They Attempt Removal Of Headquar-
ters tn Their own Cfty-A street
Battle Ensues and Many Per-
sons Are Badly Hurt.

Fulton, ILL.,, Aug. 14.-Sanguinary
strife between the citizens OF Fulton
and Rock Island has resulted in the Sc
rious injury of II men, minor bruises OF
fully so others and the calling upon
Gov. Tanner TO send troops at once TO
this city. He replied that he would not
do SO until morning, If at all. Riot and
bloodshed early Friday evening for
second time marked the efforts to re-
move the headq quarters of the Modern
Woodmen of America from this city to
Rock Island.
Invaders from Rock Island, 500 in
number, were repealed after a fierce
conflict, but at midnight news was
brought here that steamboat is on the
way from that city with 400 more on
board. Upon receipt of this informa-
tion the sheriff, despairing of the power
of the local authorities to prevent fur
ther bloodshed, called upon the gov
ernor to send militia here at once. The
reply in substance was to send further
advices at daylight.
shots Freely Exchanged.
During the fierce strife just before
shutdown guns, revolvers, clubs, stones
and other weapons were freely used.
Many shots were exchanged, but hap
pity without any fatal results. Clubs
were welded with vigor by both sides.
and the air was filed with hurting
missiles. When the combat ended VIC
tory rested with Fulton. After the
bloodshed was over the list of wounded
was made up as follows:
FultOn's Injured.
City Marshal William Bennett, skull frac-
tured; injury believed to be fatal.
James Carrier, cut about head and arms.
l.. D. Plank, decorations OF the scalp.
Edward Bare. cut and bruised skull
Jacob Stromberg. cut about head ana
arms and badly bruised.
w. +. Flanagan. seriously cut and
bruised about the head and body
G. Miller, Lyons, Ia: cut on head
Walter Fowler. head and arm cut.
Al Spencer, face cut.
A. Mannheim, dangerously cut on head.
Rock Islands Wounded.
]. p. Casey. of Moline; severely injured on
L. " Eckhart
B. Winter.
Ted Msslay. injured in one side
James Mulcahy. cut on right eye.
Engelhart Schmidt, probably fatally in
jured head cut and otherwise hurt.
John Bells, cut on head.
Con O'Brien, Davenport; cut on mouth
and face torn.
Many Rock Islanders were hurt but
none fatally. They refused to give names
and would not talk about their defeat.
Invaders Under Arrest.
Toward the end Of the conflict scores
of young residents of Fulton FASTENED
to where the Rock Island special train
was standing on the Burlington track
and tore up the rails both north and
south of it, so that the train could not
move. This was done in order TO give
a last battle ground in case the invaders
proved victorious, but it gave oppor-
tunity to the officers of the law to place
the vanquished under arrest. AS the
Rock Island men fastened back to the
train they quickly grasped the situa-
ton, but they were powerless to do any
thing. Their leaders counseled them
quietly TO submit, and they did so un-
der protest. Twenty-Five of them, in
Guiding j. G. Johnson, attorney-gen-
eral of the order, and w. b. Mitchell,
engineer of the train, were placed in
jail, while the others were searched,
their weapons taken from them and
their names written down before they
were aIlOWeu 10 ledNe
Cause of the Trouble.
The unfortunate affair is the culmina-
tor of the long-exsting fight between
the town of Fulton and the Modern
Woodmen of America over the location
of the head office. The head camp has
three times in succession ordered that
tie Office be moved to this city-first at
Omaha in 1892. again at Madison, Wis,
in 1895, and last at Dubuque in June
last. The action Of the Omaha and
Madison head camps was declared void
by the supreme court, in passing upon
injunctions sued out by the Fulton peo-
pie, on the ground that the head camp
proceedings were held outside of the
state, but the last legislature of Illinois
made all the necessary amendments
legalizing such action as was had or
might be hereafter had outside of the
state. Acting upon this, the head camp
at Dubuque reaffirmed its former action
and located the head office at Rock
Island. Notwithstanding this, the Full
to n people secured two injunctions
from the master in chancery. These
were dissolved Friday by Judge Gest.
Thinking. therefore, that the legal OBJ
stacles were removed. the Rock Island
delegation, under General Attorney
Johnson's charge, went to Fulton with
the view of bringing the records to
Rock Island and putting an end to The
controversy.
Adopt ConstitutionnI Amendments.