The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-02-04
SHOOTING OF THE STRIKERS.
WITNESSES FOR THE STATE SAY TT
WAS UNPROvOKED.

The Miners Marching in n PeaceabIe
Manner When Confronted by the
sheriff and His Deputies-First
shot Fired From the Left of the
Line and FusiIade Became Generar
as the strikers stampeded in Re-
treat.
Wnkesbarre, Pa, Feb. S.-Taking of tes-
timony in the trial of Sheriff Martin and
his deputies began to-day i'm the Luzerns
County Court.
Attorney NIcGahren presented the case
for the commonwealth. Mr.. McGahren
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 deputies made threatss
that one Of them said: IN bet Til drop
six of the strikers Another said: {
hope we get chance to take pop at
some of them
Mr. McGahren then described the Shoot
ing.
Andrew S. Ever was the first witness
called. Witness saw the sheriff draw his
revolver and heard it snap, and then the
shooting commenced.
The second witness was John MahaIa,
who was at the time of the strike the
president of the Harwood Local Union OF
the United MineworlSers of America He
told OF the meeting where ID 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 mem
being unarmed. At West Hazleton thew
& htff ba aba
them to disperse- Mahala protested that
they were breaking no law. whereupon
one OF the deputies grabbed the Americans
flag he bore and tore il in halves
The sheriff." he said. pointed his re-
volver and threatened TO shoot The dep
uties pushed us around with the muzzles
OF their guns and swore 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 Hazleton
demonstrated 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 borough as much as we liked The
sheriff and his deputies then boarded the,
cars and we marched on toward Lattiner.s'
The 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
Charles Guscott, principal of the I,atti-
mer school, building about GOO yards from
the scene Of the shooting, said he was
teaching school when he heard an unus,iaf
noise and going to the window he found
that number of men, some eighty, were
alighting from an electric car They were
deputies. lie saw the deputies line up to
the side of the road and form with rifles
ready.
The strikers were by this time some two
HYqA WA
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 %
dozen or so formed sort of half circle
around him. He did not hear the sheriff
say anything, nor did he see him read any
paper.
A minute after the line first stopped
those behind pushed ahead to see whac
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, IF you don't
come back we will shoot you too
The fellow jumped back into the line,
and almost Immediately after the witness
heard shot 1t came from the left of
the line of deputies. A moment later two
the volley. As soon as the volley was
fired the strikers ran in all directions. Be
tween the road and the school house fif-
teen men fell struck down by shots fred
after The volley. He saw one man shot
and killed while running at full speed az
a distance of 100 yards from the road The
shooting continued for some two or three
minutes Witness did not see any of the
deputies leave the line and run after the
strikers to shoot them. He knew num-
Der OF the deputies and saw them plainly
just before the shooting occurred. Guscott
will continue tomorrow.