The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-10-14

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{ light and landed in the arms of a
crowd of miners, who seized him and
carried him down stairs to the street.
| Other hands seized the almost uncon-
! scious man and he was dragged into
| the middle of the street. Local police
| men drove back the crowd and carried
! Eyster to the city square, across the
street. EySter was mOtiOnleSs and sup
| posedly dead. The police left him
| lying and attempted to disperse the
| crowd. In a few minutes Eyster was
| seen to raise his hand and wipe the
| blood from his face. Two men sprang
| at him and with the ferocity of tigers
| began jumping on his body and strik-
| ing him on the head with stones. With
yell the angry crowd charged into
| the square to kill Eyster. The police
| charged in a body and fought their
way to the centre of the mob, where
| they took a stand over the PROSTATE
man. A carrier was produced and EyS
| ter was taken to the Buckles hotel. He
had been shot through the groin and is
terribly battered about the head. The
physician states that he has barely
| chance for recovery. The dead miners
were removed from the vicinity of the
stockade to hotels and livery stables
! and the wounded miners were taken
! on litters to the station and taken to
| Springfield tonight.
| One man in the stockade was killed
and eight wounded. There are about
! thirt y-five strong men stationed inside
the stockade tonight, each keeping
watch through a loop hole. The four
towers have been deserted. Manager
Lukens remained at his desk in the
office all night issuing orders to his
men.
Manager Lukens said tonight: 1.-THE
blood of every man shed here is on the
1nr'S To iS al fol 1Sy
side of the law and has no justification
! in refusing to send troops"
A detail of militia at 1915 o'clock
killed eX-Lieutenant of Police Tom
! Preston, of Chicago, at the stOckade.
| He was standing outside the stockade
as guard. The militia gave the by
| standing miners the command to halt
| and Preston stepped back to the gate.
| The militia fired and he was shot in
the stomach. He was carried into the
| office in the stOckade, where he eXpir-
! ed. Battery D, of Galesburg, ILL.,, un
der Captain Craig, arrived tonight
| from Pana.
Springfield, October 12.-The special
train on the Chicago and Alton which
| brought the Alabama negroes from
| Virden, had eight wounded men, all
| deputies, except one, a cOlOred miner,
who were taken to the Springfield city
hospital OF these men one died to-
| IlSH w lHldHl w. OdIIOl1, d. ucpuly
| sheriff. He was shot through three
times. Another train which arrived a
| o'clock tonight, brought up six
J wounded men, who are at st. Johns
| hospitals.
| John M. Hunter, of Pontiac. the pres
| ident of the Illinois district of the Unit
| ed Mine Workers of America, lies at
| the Collins house in a critical condi-
| ton. Mr.. Hunter got on the train
| which hOre the cOlOrpN miners this
| city this afternoon and engaged i'll
| conversation with two of the cOlOred
miners. Some of the deputy sheriffs
| saw Hunter, and when the train was
between north Grand Avenue and the
| north shaft, and was going at the rate
| of eighteen miles an hour, it is eSti-
mated, the deputies attacked Hunter
| and pushed him off the train. A man
| happened along later in buggy and
! saw Hunter lying near the track in an
| unconscious condition and placed him
| in his buggy and took him to the Col
! linS house, where a physician dressed
| his wounds. He is terribly cut about
the face and his ribs are injured. He
| is still unconscious.
Governor Tanner tonight wired the
war department asking if the Fifth IL
linois infantry could not be placed at
his disposal for use at Virden. Colonel
| Culver, the commander of the Fifth.
|
| the regiment to the governor The
| miners are gathered in knots on the
streets but there have been no DEM
| Onstrations.
| CAUSE OF THE DIFFICULTY.
| Chicago, October 12.-The difficulty
at the Virden mines originated April
| I, 1898, when the miners of the fourth
| district of Illinois went out on a strike
| instituted by the Union Mine Workers.
| Trouble followed at once at Pana, but
| the Virden miners remained quiet
| through the summer. The strikers
had asked for 40 cents a ton and Were
| offered 2S cents. Actual disturbances
| at Virden began September 25th, when
| the Chcago-Virden Company, the
principal mine owner at that point,
imported 100 negroes from Alabama.
| When the train arrived with them on
| board il was met by a large body of
| armed union miners who threatened
| 10 shoot the frs negro that stepped
| from the cars. The negroes were final
| 1y prevailed upon to return to the
south and the mines were not operated.
| President T. c. LOucks, of the Chi
cago-Virden Company, then proceeded
| to make preparations 10 get other min
| ers. October 9Th, Sheriff Davenport
y notified Governor Tanner that there
would certainly be trouble and tina
'ate troops were needed to preserve
thu, peace. Governor Tanner advised
the mine officials against importing
mines that he was opposed to the
system that while there was no l.Jw
to keep them out of Illinois, he did not
feel it to be his duty as governor to
use the arm of the state to give pro-
lection to loine owners in operating
their mines with this class Of en-