Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-10-15
TANNER DEFENDS HIMSELF.
Says 1t Is Sometimes Necessary to En-
force Laws Not Yet


SPRINGFIELD, ILL, Oct. 14.-Governor
Tanner tonight gave out a lengthy inter-
view to the Associated Press regarding the
situation at Virden and his attitude on the
importation of miners into the state. He
said
My position has been, from the begin
ming. and I am now more positive in that
position, emphatically against the impor-
tation Of labor into Illinois, not from the
Southern states alone, but from all other
states, because such a pernicious system,
as 1 have said before, necessarily brings
to our state and dumps upon society an I'M
desirable class of citizens and do not pro-
pose If / can help 1t, that the state of
Illinois shall be used as dumping ground
for the criminal and idle classes of other
countries or other states.
IF one, two or three, or even larger
numbers, come to our state in the proper
order and in the ordinary way, seeking
honest employment, and the mine owners
see fit to employ them. 1 will give them
all the protection necessary to peacefully
operate their mines.
THE Chicago-Virden company has been
an intentional lawbreaker; has sent an
agent to Alabama, and, by false pretenses,
Induced negroes to come here, loading
them on the trains like cattle. locking the
and procuring the services of armed guards
from detective agency, and invading the
state in an illegal manner
The governor says if he had been ap-
prised of the coming of the train he should
have met it at the state line with the ca-
tional guard and disarmed and made pris-
oners of every man bearing arms.
He charges the owners of the Chicago
Virden mine with firing on the miners first,
and with being lawbreakers and criminally
responsible for the .bloodshed of Wednes-
day, and their detectives and guards as
guilty of murder. He says he believes they
should, and will be, indicted by the Ma
coupin county grand jury for murder.
Referring to the action of Captain Craig
in searching the train which bore the ne
gro miners back to Virden last evening,
the governor said that Captain Craig had
exceeded his authority, and that he had in
structed Colonel Young, now commanding
at Virden, not to interfere with the opera
ton of the trains, nor to invade them, but
only to prevent the unloading of imported
laborers, which unloading would at once
bring about trouble. He continues:
LAS said in the beginning, it is not my
purpose, nor has it been from the first,
to discriminate against the negro. The ne
gro has the same rights under our laws and
constitution as all other classes and nations
alities. What l am opposed to is the per-
nicious system of importing labor.
Perhaps, in placing an embargo upon
imported labor am little in advance of
statutory enactment. However, sometimes,
in the interest of society, it becomes neces-
sary to enforce a law in advance of its
statutory enactment.
Many good people, perhaps, think that
l should have sent troops to Virden before
this difficulty occurred. Had l done So
would have been using the state as an
agent to further the interest of the mine
landed they would have dispersed the idle
miners and of course, the avaricious mine
owners could have landed their imported
labor without difficulty, thus accomplishing
their end"