Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-10-13
QUIET IN YlRDEN
Coroner's Jury Will Endeavor to Fix
Responsibility for Yesterdays
Killings at the Mines.
OPERATORS MEN DISARMED
Ten Men Dead and 20 Wounded Crowds
Gathering in Town Miners Signals
Started the Fighting with
General Firing.

UeuoTal firing
Virden, ILL.,, Oct. 13.--The town is quiet
today, Two Gatling guns of the Gales
burg battery on the public square and
an infantry sentry on each corner are
about the only evidence of yesterdays 8
riot outside Of the O'Neil home. In the
front yard of this house stand five
black COY cred coffins, on each of which
is the simple plate engraved SAT rest. +"
Under the lids are the mortal remains
of the five victims of yesterdays battle
at the stockade of the Chicago Virden
Coal Company. They are: Ernest Kit
terly, Ellis Smith and Ernest Kreutner,
of Mount Olive; Ed. Wetz and William
Blue, of Springfield Coroner Hart has
impaneled jury and will endeavor to
place the responsibility of the shooting.
Colonel Mcknight, of the governors
staff, accompanied by Adjutant Gen
eral Reese, at midnight visited the
stockade Of the Chicago Virden Coal
Company and served formal notice on
Manager Lukens that the soldiers
would visit the stockade today and dis
arm all the inmates. Colonel Mcknight
says no objections Were offered to this
proposition, and he expresses the opin-
ion that there will be no further out
break Adjutant General Reese ex-
poets troops A. b, C and d, of the 1st
Illinois cavalry, and four companies
Sons of Veterans from Rockford, De-
kalb, Oregon and Maccomb today
Miner Bradlev's Opinion.
General Bradley, leader Of the del
egation of sixty miners from Mount Oh
i've, returned home today with the re-
mains of the dead Mount Olive miners.
II think this has been one of the
most Internal outrages ever perpetrat-
ed on the laboring public" he said.
Our men were shot down like dogs.
Our men had orders not to shoot unless
fired upon. l do not expect further
trouble in Virden for the present, but /
cannot answer for the future, for there
is day of reckoning coming when the
labOring men will be given bread in
stead of bullets"
There is feeling among the people Of
the town not connected with the mines
that the Virden miners are not respons-
ible for the tragedy.
One citizen said the trouble had been
caused by outsiders. A striking Incl
dent is the fact that in yesterdays
bloody work not single Virden miner
was killed and only one slightly wound
ed.
Detectives and Deputies Disarmed.
Captain~ Charles A. Fervier, COM
manding company 5, Sons of Veterans,
from Elgin, ILL.,. with part of his men,
entered the stOckade at s o'clock this
and disarmed the detectives
from st. Louis and the local deputies
employed by the operators. They Of
fered no objections.
Manager Lukens said: "The trouble
yesterday was not of our making. The
strikers simply surrounded the stock
ade. There must have been at least
l 200 miners. They opened fire. and the
fact that we only had one man killed
and six slightly wounded, I consider
There were thousands of shots
fired. For some time the shots were
at the train. After 1t pulled
out the strikers turned on us. We re-
turned the shots. I never supposed
such a thing would result when we
brought the negroes here"
Lukens would not say whether he
would import other negroes when the
soldiers leave.
List of Killed and Wounded.
The following is the list of casual
ties:
Dead-Miners, Edward Walsh, Frank
Bilyeu, Albert Smith, Joseph Kitterly
Ernest Kautner, A. II. Brennaman, Ed
Greene, Will Harmon, Joseph Baston;
deputies, d. H. Kiely. A. W. Morgan
Preston. Wounded-Miners
Anse Anekel, Gustave Weisep, Ed. Up
ton, Thomas Jennings, Joseph Hainea
Joseph Punk, George Punk, Joseph
Shrimp, John Swan, Joseph Reicker,
Albert Smith, Bart Tiger engineer; ].
F. Eyster, superintendent of company
store; w. A. Clarkson guard; Civine
Ryan. negro: deputies, William Mes
ser, James Palmer, Patrick McNair,
Henry Grigstall, o. ]. Snyder, James
Mcintyre, J. w. Moonan, P. ]. Hanan,
J. H. Smith.
Manager Lukens gives the following
official list Of the killed and wounded
within the stockade:
Dead-A. w. Morgan, Thomas Pres
ton, Chicago; wounded-James Sick
leg Frank WILDER, Thomas McEntee, J.
w. Noonan p. H. Hannah, J. w. Smith
and P. Gutgesell. from the train. Q.
Snyder received seven buckshot wounds
and his condition is serious. After q
careful investigation the list of casual
ties remains 10 killed and 20 wounded
j. F. Eyester, superintendent of the
Climax Trading Company, an estab-
lishment controlled by the Chicago-Vir-
den Coal Company, was severely beat
EN- in the scrimmage yesterday. Crowds
began to congregate today in the vicin-
ity Of the public square. The people,
however were kept moving by the SOL
diers patrOlling the streets.
Fired the First Shot
NJ. Turner, one of the guards sta
toned in the yards south Of town to an
nounce the approach Of the train carry
ing the negroes, says he fired the first
shots yesterday as a signal to the main
body of miners. They had agreed. he
says that 10 shots fired in rapid suc-
cession should be the signal that the
train was approaching. Turner says
he fired in the air and the men on the
train answered with a volley into the
crowd, whereupon firing became gen.
eral,
Men are swarming into Virden upon
every train and highway today, most
of them miners, but they come into
town unarmed.