Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-10-13
RACES IN CONFLICT,


| CONTINUED FROM FIRST PAGE)
OF the winchester (such laborers beint
| drawn largely. IL not entirely, from ,hs
criminal class. ex-convicts, VINO iearheo
| their trade while doing terms IN the penn
! Tertiary OF Alabama). after. having pee"
! fully advised, and having full understand,
| ing that the landing of such imported
Iaborers would precipitate riot.
DUE WARNING GIVEN.
II had wired them that II they brought
| these imported laborers they would 90
so al their own peril. and under the cir
cumstances would be morally responsible
! and criminally liable for anything that
! might happen. The killed and woundeo
are largely idle miners, who were on the
outside The others were hired guards
who were brought along by the coal COM
pany. Most, II not all, Of them were non
residents Of Illinois. There Is no means
Of learning their names or Whereabouts
for the reason that they declined to give
them out, knowing. perhaps, that they
are criminally liable for murder. as they
had no permission from any officer In
Illinois authorizing or deputizing them to
act as deputy marshals or deputy sherins.
BLOE ON lftb . La E
"These evaricious men have so far for
gotten their duty to society as TO bring
about this blot upon the fair name of our
state having gone far enough-yes. TOO
far-as they had fair warning from me,
by wire and telephone, that the importa-
ton Of labor which brings to our State
an undesirable class of citizens had TO
stop. And / say now TO such and all
others, that this Is a thing Of the past;
that 1t shall not be tolerated in Illinois
while / am Governor.
COMPANY GUILTY OF MURDER.
These men, the president and officers
of the company, who precipitated this
riot by the bringing in OF this Imported
labor, are guilty of murder, and should
be- and I believe will be, indicted by the
grand jury Of Macoupin county, and tried
and convicted for this heinous offence
ORIGIN OF DIFFICULTY.
CHICAGO. October 12-The difficulty at
the Virden mines originated April l. 1893,
when the miners Of the Fourth District
Of Illinois went cut or a strike Instituted
by the United Workers. Trouble
followed at once at Pana, but the Virden
miners remained quiet through the sum-
mer. The strikers had asked for 40 cents
a ton and were offered rs cents. Actual
disturbances at Virden began September
18th, when the Chicago-Virden Company
the principal mine-owner at that point,
imported one hundred negroes from Bir-
mingham, Ala. When the train arrived
with them on board II was met by a
large body of armed union miners, who
threatened to shoot the first negro that
stepped from the cars. The negroes were
finally prevailed upon to return to the
south, and the mines were not operated.
ADVICE AGAINST IMPORTATIONS.
President T. S. Louck, OF the Chicago
Virden Coal Company, then proceeded to
make preparations to get other miners.
October 9Th Sheriff Davenport notified
Governor Tanner that there would GER
tainly be trouble, and that State troops
were needed TO preserve the peace. Gov
ernor Tanner advised the mine officials
against importing miners-that he was
opposed to the system-that while there
was no law to keep them out of Illinois,
he did not feel it to be his duty, as
Governor, to use the army of the State
to give protection to mine-owners in
operating their mines with this class of
employees
THE COMPANY'S THREAT.
Superintendent Lukens, according to
Governor Tanner, replied that the mines
would be run at all hazards: that the
company would employ such labor as
they saw fit; that they would import
this labor and operate the mines with 1t,
even If they had to do 1t at the point of
the bayonet and the muzzle of the Win
chester. No troops were sent.
The next day MIR. Louck notified the
Governor that his mines would be ope-
rated and demanded the protection of
the State. The after had been brought
before the State Board of Arbitration,
and that board decided in favor of the
miners, but held that an injustice had
been done the Chicago-Virden Company.
DISPUTE WITH GOVERNOR.
From this point the trouble has been a
dispute between Governor Tanner and the
mine operators. carried on By telegraph
and other means of communication. TIE
Governor steadily refused to call out the
State troops, and charged the operators
with importing eX-convicts and an unde-
srable class of workmen.
The operators declared that the men
they desired TO bring to their mines had
been chosen for their ability and their
capacity 10 become good citizens. They
also said they were willing to take back
the strikers at the scale of 2S cents
mines at the exorbitant demand of 40
cents. The mines, it is claimed. are all
operated within the State law.
Sheriff Davenport wired the Governor
saying that he did not want to enforce
laws that would bring foreign labor into
the State and offered to resign rather
than undertake the task.
ORGANIZATION AGAINST NEGROES.
one hundred miners reinforced the Vir-
den miners armed TO prevent the negro
miners from going to work. Manager
Lukens. of the Chicago Nirden Company
swore out a writ of injunction against
thirty-four of the leading strikers. These
men had run out of town four ex-police-
men who had been hired by the operators
The strikers had not displayed violence
against others until they began 10 sus-
pect that more negroes were to be brought
in.
CAVALRY ORDERED OUT.
CHICAGO, October 12.-Colonel Young,
of the First Illinois Volunteer Cavalry.
received orders tonight to report at
Springfield Immediately with Troops A, b.
c. and ID, of his command. These troops
will leave at II o'clock tomorrow morn
ing. and from Springfield will be hurried
TO Virden.