The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-02-25
THR STRIKERS RIOT0US.
Strong Evidence for the Defense in
the Wilkesbarre Trial.
FORCED TO MARCH TO LATTIMER.

A Number OF Witnesses Testify Tha
| They Joined the Ranks Only to Pro
tccs Themselves From Assault ant
Threats of Death.
Wilkesbarre, Pa. Feb. 25.-The de-
| fense In the Lattimer case introduced
lot of witnesses at the session yes.
terday to prove the riotous conduct o.
the strikers in the region prior to the
shooting. They were heard rapidly, ant
their evidence was concise and to the
point.
The first witness, William II. Gard.
ner, said that he ran from his house
when the strikers came. but they
saw him and pursued him. He said
that five shots were fired at him, one
passing through his coat.
August Hillside testified that he was
eating his breakfast when his house
was surrounded by strikers. One man
with club stood over him while he was
eating and told him to finish quickly
II he did not want to be hurt. When
he had finished they made him march
to McAdoo. There they tried to find
Superintendent Jones, and thinking he
was In a house to which a woman re-
fused them admittance they threatened
to burn 1t down. She finally let them
go through, and they searched for
Jones' but could not find him.
Peter Rinker of Silver Brook, said
one Of the strikers had told him that il
any English people went back to work
they would be killed.
Rudolph Heinzman saw several FAM
lilies driven out of their homes at Sill
yer Brook by the strikers. Witness was
caught and compelled to march with
the strikers.
Robert Airey testified that he saw a
number of McAdoo strikers start for
Harwood to stop the breaker there.
They were armed with clubs and iron
pipes.
William Long, superintendent of the
Silver Brook coliery, testified: "On
Sept. 3 I heard the strikers were COM
ing over to our coliery, and knowing
they had injured some men in some
washerles nearby told our men to go
home as fast as they could. The strik-
ers rushed into our breaker, and with
their clubs broke about 800 window
panes. They then stopped the engines
and blew the whistles. They also broke
the windows of the blacksmith shop.
When tried b stop them one of them
struck at me with a big club. I slip
ha Ial = s,f
my shoulder instead Of my head, as
had been intended. They also chased
lot of men into the woods"
Charles Meikrantz was captured by
the strikers and compelled to march
with them. He escaped, and being re-
captured was beaten with club. Henry
Gustln warned off the strikers with a
pistol when they tried to make him
march with them.
Richard John, engineer at the Beaver
Brook colliery, was compelled to stop
his engine under threats of being
hurt. He feared that If he resisted a
lot of men In the mine would be killed.
Giovanni Turpini, an Italian fruit
peddler, said his wagon was stopped
by big crowd of AIcAdoo strikers,
fruit.
Wlliiam j. Hays, outside foreman at
the Lehigh Valley colliery No. l, at
Yorktown, said that the McAdoo and
Honey Brook strikers raided his COL
liery on Sept. 2, and forced out his men.
All of the 1856 tenants Of the company
were in a state of terror.
Levi Bellit, of Yorktown. said: Zone
of the Italian strikers threatened to
run knife into me if I did not join
them. 1 marched little way with
them, and then escaped"
oliver Smith was at Cranberry when
the Harwood men marched through
the town en- route to Lattimer, on Sept
10. The Cranberry foreigners Joined
them, and four of these pursued and
captured a man who was running
away and beat him severely.
Dennis McGovern, of Yorktown, was
forced to join the McAdoo strikers at
Yorktown but ran away, jumped in
wagon and escaped, but not before one
of the strikers had struck him in the
face with a club, cutting his mouth
and breaking come teeth.
Superintendent Joseph McFarlane, of
the Evansville colliery. told how the
McAdoo strikers had driven out the
men there, with many threats and
much display of force. Many of the
men were compelled to join them. The
whole neighborhood, he said, was ter
roriZed. Allen Weir, manager of the
store at Evansville, told the
same story.
John McF'adden, boss at Evansville
stripping, said he and his men were
by the strikers. and stop
ped work without any resistance. The
strikers then forced them to march
along for several miles, guarding each
Of them closely. and threatening them
with injury If they tried to escape.
William Kershaw was surrounded by
a lot Of strikers and told he had to
march along with them. He refused,
and one of them tried to pull him
along. He slipped from the mans
grasp and ran home. A big striker,
armed with club, came rushing after
aim. They grappled, and Kershaw was
being overpswered when his dog, Tige,
sprang upon the man and bore him to
the ground. This gave KershaW a
chance to escape.
Henry Matthews was chased away
from his work at Evansville by the
strikers.
William Colkin, of Evansville, was
called out of his house by six strikers
armed with clubs, who threatened to |
brain him If he did not march along
With them. He went as far as West
IaZleton.
Dennis Mckinley, a conductor on the
Lehigh Valley railroad coal train at
cranberry, was stoned and badly cut !
~ the strikers and forced of his train |
1t the point of a miners needle"
On Sept. 2 Samuel Barlow, at Nc
Adoo and Ebervale, saw 200 armed
strikers stone the breaker, flourish
heir knives and shoot revolvers. On
sept. they drove the Ebervale men
tut aud attacked the Office there, and
ried to assault Superintendent John
scott. who was obliged to draw a re-
l.. lit.