The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-02-08
WITNESSES ON STAND
ONE SHOT. TWO SHOTS AND
THEN \ VOLLEY.
MANY STRIKERS SHOT IN The BACK
School Teacher Guscott Gives Connected Oes-
cription of the Quiet Approach of the
Strikers and of the Unproyoked
Action of The Sheriff,
Action Of the Sheriff.

tin and his deputies began this morning
in the Luzerne county curt
When court opened District Attorney
Martin made a motion that the jury be
taken to Lattimer, to view the scene Of
the shooting, but as this would occupy
the entire day. the court denied the mo
ton. saying the jury should be able to
get an idea of the situation from maps.
Attorney McGahren, then presente
the case for the commonwealth, after
which Andrew Silver was called.
He is a Hungarian, but speaks excel
lent English.
He proved the death of Mike Cezlak
saying that he saw him lying lead on
the road at Lattimer with a bullet in
his head. Witness said he saw the sher-
if draw his revolver and heard it snap.
and then the shooting commenced and
the witness dropped to the ground to
avoid being shot. Witness said there
Was first one shot, chen two and then a
yolley.
The second witness was Ohm MahaIa.
who was at the time of the strike the
President of the Harwood local Union
of the United Mine Workers of America.
He told of tire meeting. where it was
agreed to march to Lattimer, at the IN
vltatiOn Of the miners there: his cOun-
seis of peace, and the start and the mex
day. all the men being unarmed. Wit
ness was the flag bearer. At West
IL zafton thav a,o Sto,,,,aJ Nv tl,a cha,,
if, who ordered them to dispense. Ma
hala protested that they were breaking
no law. ~wherelpon one Of the deputies
grabbed the American flag from him
and tore it in halves. Continuing. the
witness said:
The sheriff pointed his revolver. and
threatened to shoot. The deputies 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 intWo
! places.
Then Burjess Jones. of West HALE
ton, demonstrated with the sheriff. say
ing that he could keep the peace withou
using any Weapons: that he had conf
dence in us. and would let rs march
through the streets Of his borough as
much as we liked. The sheriff and his
deputies then boarded the cars and W
marched on toward Lattimer."
Witness was in the rear of the crowd
when the shooting commenced. BY til
time he reached the front the shooting
had ended. He saw ten de3d men AM
a number of wounded ones lying in the
. road.
Rev. Father Richard Aust, pastor of
the st. Stanislaus Polish Catholi
church at Hazleton, chairman of the
I prosecuting committee, was called t
prove that many of the strikers We're
shot in the back. He had buried thirteen
Of the dead and looked after 4 numbe
Of the wounded.
Rev. Carl Haueh. pastor Of the Luth
cran church at Ereeland, said he had ex
aminel several and found all Of them
were shot in the side or the back.
Il boarded a car he said. (which
brought ten Of the dead and a lot of the
wounded from the scenes of the shoot
ing. There was 4 pile of rifles in a cor
ner. | said to one of the deputies.
Frank Clark, 1 am afraid of some Of
| them falling and exploding You nee
not be afraid he replied, they are nj
empty now"
Charles Guscott, principal of the Lat
timer school, a frame building about
six hundred yards from the scene of the
shooting and III full view of all that took
place on the eyentful tenth of September
at Lattimer, said he was teaching
school when he heard an unusual noise
and going to the window, he found that
a number of the men, about eighty
We're %alighting from an electric car.
They were deputies.
Miss CoyIe. his assistant. also watched
them. and while their attention wa
thus riveted. the pupils also rushed for
the door and got outside. He saw the
deputies lineup across the oad an
then not satisfied with the position they
moved over to the side of the road and
formed there with rifles ready. The
strikers were by this time coming over
the brow of Il hill two or three hundred
yards away. They were marching five
or six abreast and We're quiet and Or
derby. Witness could not see that they
carried They approached
slowly and as they drew near the shcr-
if advanced to meet them. AS he
reached the first man. Il dozen or so
formed a sort of half circle around him.
He did not hear the sheriff say anything
nor did see him read any paper. \ min
ute after the line first stopped those be
hind pushed ahead to see what wa
! going on and got ahead Of the sheriff.
At that moment one of the deputies out
of TIE line advanced ten or twelve PAGES
rs if he was going to leave the other
DEPUTIES. w~herenpon one shouted:
If Won Go not come back we viii
shoot You, too
The fellow jumped back into the lin
and almost Immediately after the wit
ness heard Il shot. 1t came from the
left Of the line of deputies. A moment
later two more shots were fired, and
then came the yolloy.
rs soon as the volley was fred the
strikers ran in all directions. Between
the road and the school house, fifteen
MON foll Str11cI- lQun IL rhA4-- G--l