The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1898-02-26
ASSAULTS BY STRIKERS
On Men Who Would Not Join Them
in the March to Lattimer.
TEN ARMED WITH REV0LVBRS.

Nv " NbD \ AihSo ShA AhCAo ~ hh
the Crowd-The Sheriff of Carbon
County on the stand.
Wilkesbarre, Pa, Feb. 26.-There was
no session of the Lattimer case yester-
day morning, owing to the illness of A.
w. Washburn, Juror No. IL. The juror
was much improved at noon, and when
court was called to order at 2 o'clock he
was able to take his place in the jury
box and the trial was resumed.
The first witness, George Denek, said
he was working on the dump at West
Hazleton when the strikers came up
= and ordered him to march with them.
He refused. They cut his head open with
a stone and kicked him in the ribs,
bruising him severely. He was in the
hospital for four days.
John S~hulcnberger was forced with
two other men to join the strikers, and
marched with them to Harwood, where
he heard them agree to go to Latti-
mer.
Enoch Howell saw the strikers enter
West Hazleton on Sept. 3. They were
armed with clubs, were noisy and
threatening, and chased several men
into the brush. Otto Reichling, a 16-
yer-old boy at Crystal Ridge, was pull
ed along by several strikers, who said
if he did not march with them they
would knock his brains out. William
Graham, who was driving to Yorktown,
gave a mar whom he did not know a
ride, and the strikers struck the man
in the mouth with a club.
Rev. G. II. Hurst, pastor OF st. Paurs
Reformed church at West Ha2leton,
saw the strikers in that town on Sept.
IN Thnrv .ylapn ovf,,al Hrith plttG,g md
stones, and seemed very determined.
John j. Fidler was sure he saw a striker
with a double barreled gun at West
Hazleton on Sept. 10, and so was NJ.
J. Oswald.
Edward Meier, a constable at West
Hazleton, said that on Sept. 10 the
strikers threatened to AXE him with
them to Lattimer. Ten Of them were
armed with revolvers, and he saw them
fire three shots at the crowd. The
sheriff met them there and told them
to go home, saying the ten days which
the Pardee company had taken to con
slider the ACCESSIBILITY of granting the
strikers demands were not up yet, and
they should wait. The strikers were
much excited, and one Of them picked
up a stone to throw at the sheriff.
The star witness of the day was Mil
ton Sellizer, the sheriff of Carbon coun-
ty. He said he was called out by the
coal companies to protect their prop
erty, and on Sept. 6 had a consultation
with Sheriff Martin, at Hazleton, where
they had proclamations printed and
posted in conspicuous places around the
coal companies various works through
out the region.
ION Sept. g." he said, II swore in
about 30 deputies at Mauch Chunk and
took them to Audenreld. There was no
disturbance there. The mex day, hear
ing strikers were going to make an at
tack on Coxe's breaker at Beaver
Meadow, 1 drove over there and told m
deputies to follow. When l reached
Beaver Meadow I found Sheriff Martin
Ind his deputies there. The strikers
were approaching, and as the breaker
is Just inside the Carbon county line,
1t was my duty to protect 1t. Accord
ingly, 1 called on Sheriff Martin and his
men to act with me, and they did so.
There were 500 or 600 strikers, n they
charged upon the breaker. We drove
them back, using our guns to push
them along, but some managed to get
through our lines into the breaker, We
drove them out. AS the strikers dis
persed one man fired a shot at us from
a revolver. My deputies came up later,
and we remained there until Saturday
night, when the soldiers came"
After an objection by the
wealth he was allowed to tell hat
Sheriff Martins Instructions were. He
said: Martin told them to be very
careful, not to shoot anybody; that We
did not intend to do any harm unless 1t
was necessary to save our lives"
O~berrender, manager of several of the
Coke estate properties, said that fear
ing the strikers would damage the
estates property at Drifton, he sent
on Sept. 6 for Sheriff Martin. The
sheriff reached there on Sept. 8, and
swore IN Sc deputies. Il was placed
at their head" said Oberrender. That
same day a crowd of about 1000 strik-
ers surrounded the breaker They were
armed with clubs, and many carried
reVolVers. They were very excited,
and shouted and waved their clubs.
Several fired in the air, and some threw
open their coats n cried to us, No
fire; you no soldiers; we no 'fraid."
Thu witness told how Sheriff Martin
had instructed the deputies to be very
careful how they handled their weap-
ons, and to shoot no one unless in dan
| Sci VI NlNAl llNtos
job Wagner, oueside foreman at
Drifton, -corroborated this testimony.
Charles Mulhearn said he had been
subpoenaed by the commonwealth,
and was at court ten days, but was
not called because he would not prom
Use to wear that he had not seen n
arms N the strikers at West Halle
ton.
Fred Zerby, superintendent of the
Evansville colliery, ordered his men
home when he heard the strikers were
coming, and when they did arrive he
read the sheriff's proclamation and
dispersed them. The next day he was
with the sheriff at Crystal Ridge and
arrested a boisterous fellow. One strik-
er tried to hit A. p. Plat with a stone.
but Zerby covered him with his revolt
yer, and he deslsted.
Mrs. Mary Faust sail that the strik-
ers frightened all the people so on
Sept. 8 that when they heard the
strikers were coming on the 10th many
families left heir homes and went to
Freeland.
What pleasure is there in life with a head,
- III