The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-04
Evidence Submitted Tending to Prove
Sheriff Martin and His Deputies
Started Out to XIII.
TESTIMONY OF PREACHERS
WHO SAY THE VICTIMS WE'RE SHOT
WHILE RUNNING AWAY.
Incidents OF the Fatal VOIIey De-
scribed by Charles GuscOtt, Prin-
cipaI of the Latimer school.

WILKESBARRE, Pa, Feb. 3.-Taking of
testimony in the trial OF Sheriff Martin and
his deputies began to-day in the Luzerne
County Court. Attorney McGahren pre-
scented the case for the commonwealth. He
told how the strikers had started to march
from Hazleton to Lattimer. and about the
deputies boarding the cars and going to
intercept the men. I'VE will prove he
said, that at this point some of the iepu-
ties made threats; that one of them said,
III bet III drop six of the strikers. An
other said, L hope we get q chance TO take
a pop at some of them Mr.. McGahren
then described the shooting. He completed
his opening address at Ills o'clock.
Andrew Silver was the first witness called.
He is a Hungarian, but speaks excellent
English. He saw Mike Cezelak lying dead
on the road at Lattimer with bullet in his
head. Witness saw the sheriff draw his re-
volver and heard it snap, and then the
shooting commenced. The defense at
tempted to show that the witness had been
engaged in terrorizing men who did not
want to strike to such an extent that they
were forced to join the strikers through
fear Of injury, but the court would not al
low it. Later the defense asked the wit
ne IS if he had not been engaged in or known
of sundry cases of violation with the strik-
ers as the aggressors on the day of the
strike. This the witness denied.
The second witness was John Mahala,
who was at the time of the strike the pres
ident of the HARDWOOD Local Union of the
United Mine Workers of America. He told
of the meeting where it was agreed to
march to Lattimer at the invitation of the
miners there his counsels of peace, and the
start the next day, all the men being I'M
armed. At West Hazleton they were
stopped by the sheriff, who ordered them
to dispense. Mahala protested that they
were breaking no law, whereupon one of
the deputies grabbed the American flag he
bore and tore it in halves. The sheriff
pointed his revolver and threatened to
shoot" he said 'The deputies pushed us
around with the muzzles of their guns and
swcre at us, and one struck John Eustis
twice with his gun, cutting his head and
breaking his arm in two places. Then
Burgess Jones, of West Hazeton, remon-
strated with the sheriff, saying he could
keep the peace without using any weapons
that he had confidence in us, and would let
US march through the streets of his Dor
oUgh as much as we liked. The sheriff and
his deputies then boarded the cars and we
marched on toward Lattimer." Witness
was in the rear of the crowd when the
shooting commenced. He saw ten dead men
and number of wounded lying in the road
TESTIMONY OF CLERGYMEN.
Rev. Father Richard Aust, pastor of ST.
Stanislaus Polish Catholic Church at Hazel
ton, and chairman of the prosecuting COM
mittee, called to prove that many Of
the strikers were shot in the back. He said
bo haI Cd of
but could not tell in detail what their
wounds were. He had buried thirteen of
the dead.
Rev. Carl Hauser. pastor of the Lutheran
Church at Freeland said he had examined
several and found all of them were snot in
the side or the back. 81 boarded a car
he said. (which brought ten of the dead and
a lot of the wounded from the scene of the
shooting. There was a pile of rifles in a
corner. l said to one of the deputies, Frank
Clark, L am afraid of some of them falling
and exploding. You need not be afraid
he replied. they are all empty now .
Charles Guscott, principal of the Lattimer
School, building about six hundred yards
from the scene of the shooting, said he was
teaching school when he heard an unusual
noise and, going to the window, he found
that number of men, some eighty, We're
alightng from an electric car. They were
deputies He saw the deputies line up to
the side of the road and form with rifles
ready. The strikers We're by this time some
two or three hundred yards away. They
were marching five and six abreast, and
were quiet and orderly. Witness could not
see that they carried any weapons. AS they
drew near the sheriff advanced to meet
them. AS he reached the first man a dozen
or so formed sort of half circle around
him. He did not hear the sheriff say any
thing, nor did he see him read any paper.
The minute after the line first stopped those
behind pushed ahead to see what was going
on and got ahead of the sheriff AT that
moment one of the deputies stepped out of
the line and advanced, whereupon one
shouted: eff you do not come back we will
shoot you, too' The fellow jumped back
into the line and almost Immediately after
the witness heard a shot. 1t came from the
left of the line Of deputies. A moment later
two more shots were fired, and then came
the volley. AS the volley was fired
the strikers ran in all directions. Between
the road and the schoolhouse fifteen men
fell. struck down by shots fired after the
volley He saw man shot and killed
while running at full speed at a distance
of one hundred yards from the road. The
shooting continued for some two or three
minutes The witness did not see any of
the deputies leave the line and run after
the strikers to shoot them. He knew num-
Der of deputies and saw them plainly just
before the shooting occurred. Guscott will
continue tomorrow