Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1900-10-19


Galleries of the Lehigh Coal and
Navigation Company-Indication
of strike settlement.
Lansford, Pa. Oct. 16.-About 1900
men and 60 women and girls marched
Is miles from the South Side HaZleton
region during the night for the Pan
ther Creek yalleqy, where they expect
ed to close all of the ten collieries of
the Lehigh Coal and Navigation COM
pany, but just as the weary march
ers were nearing their destination
Tuesday morning they were met on
mountain road by three companies of
infantry and at the point of the bay
onct were driven back four miles to
Tamaqua and dispersed. Another
crowd of 500 strikers from the north
side of Hazlcton also marched here
and succeeded in closing the COM
pauy's No. coliiery at Nesquehoning,
near Mauch Chunk, before it was
scattered The presence of the sol
diers was entirely unexpected and the
strikers were much crestfallen that
they failed in accomplishing the OBJ
ject OF their long march.
Those who took part in the march
were strikers from McAdoo. York
town. Bunker Hill and Silver Brook,
from the south side of Hazleton, and
the Freclaud, Drifton, Jeddo and
Beaver Meadow strikers from the
north side. The women and girls all
came from McAdoo. which borough is
the only one in the IIazleton region
which has organized female marchers.
Five carriages containing newspa-
per cores ondents who had been
trailing along at the rear of the pro-
cession were requested to take the
lead 50 that they would not interfere
with the plans Of the strikers. Fol
lowing the newspaper men came the
two conveyances containing the Me
Adoo women and then followed a long
line of IIungarians. Italians, Poles,
Slavs and English-speaking mine
workers.
Face to Face with Soldiers.
At a point half a mile from Coaldale
there is a sharp turn in the road and
"a the newspaper men rounded ii there
came a command of halt and about
80 feet i'm front of them stood a solid
row Of soldiers who were stretched
across the road with bayonets fixed.
Sheriff Toole Of Schuylkill county, was
with them. The commander of the
troops speaking 10 the waiting crowd,
said:
In the name of the people OF Penn
sylvania, | command you 10 disperse
and TO return whence you came The
strikers began to protest that they
could not be stopped on public high
way, and many of them showed dis
position TO resist the soldiers. The Of
ficer in charge of the troops, however,
kept his men in position and the strik-
ers, seeing that the soldiers evidently
meant business, slowly began return
ing toward Tamaqua.
Driven slowly Back.
"Mother" Jones' who was in the
crowd. vehemently protested against
the action Of the troops in stopping the
marchers. but she was shut of and or
dered to move on. The McAdoo women
had to be almost pushed along, so slow
" did they walk. They continually
ieered at the soldiers, calling them all
kinds of names, and threatening them
with punishment if they should dare 10
visit McAdoo. 1t took from three
o'clock until after six TO drive the
crowd back 10 Tamaqua.
One CoIIiery Closed Down.
While all this had been going on the
north side marchers had everything
their own way in the Nesquehoning
valley. They reached there after two
o'clock and succeeded in persuading
enough men 10 remain away from the
Lehigh Coal d Navigation company's
No. colliery TO compel its shut down.
Gen. Goblin sent two companies of sol
dicrs over there and soon had order re-
stored.
superintendent ". ID. Zehner, of the
company. stated 10 a representative Of
the press that if Sheriff BriSlin, of Car
bon county. in which the colliery is To-
Gated. had performed his duty in
proper manner the Nesquehoning col
liery would not have been shut down.
Mr.. /ehner said the remaining nine col
lieries Of the company are working,
most Of them full-handed.
UnruIy Marchers Arrested.
Tamaqua, Pa, Oct. 16.-It is re-
ported that a number of unruly
marchers were arrested by soldiers at
various points along the march, but
nothing definite is known here as the
men, if arrested. were picked up in
the darkness along the mountain
roads and either sent TO lockups or re-
leased with n warning.
spoil Reception.
Coaldale. Pa, Oct 1G.-The local
union of the United Mine Workers
met at four o'clock in the morning
snd prepared 10 welcome i'm body
the marchers from Hazleton and
vicinity, but the soldiers got here be-
fore the strikers and dispersed the
meeting, ordering the men TO their
homes.