The L'Anse sentinel., 1900-05-05
SURGEONS EVIDENCE.
Idaho Miners Told to Join Union or
Get Out-Non-Union Men
Fired Upon.

DR.. Hugh France, surgeon by profess
sion, coroner by election, and acting
sheriff of Shoshone county, Idaho, by
the disqualification of Sheriff Young,
was a most interesting witness before
the military affairs committee in Wash
ington. He was an eyewitness of the
Wardner mining troubles of last April.
AS a surgeon he attended both the
union and non-union miners of the
Bunker Hill and Sullivan, and of the
Last Chance companies. The men vol
unfairly voted that he should treat
them, and they paid one dollar per cap
ita per month for such treatment, in
cluding care and expenses in his hos
pital.
DR.. France said "that about the mid
die of April notices were posted con-
spicuously about Wardner, bearing the
signature of M. A. Flynn, committee
man. to the effect that all employees Of
the Bunker Hill and Sullivan should
forthwith join the miners union. or
get out. This notice struck terror into
the hearts of the community and put
and end to business. The people knew
that they might expect clash of arms,
or at least an assault made by the
miners union, and the county officers
were appealed to for protection, which
they were utterly powerless to afford"
The witness saw the attack by the
union men upon the employees of the
Bunker Hill and Sullivan in the early
morning of April &c. "These employ
es," he said, "were prevented from go
ing to work and the armed mob pro-
ceeded to Blacks boarding house,
where non-union men were living, and
raided it. Shots were fired. and the
non-union men were driven through
the town" He said he was warned on
the morning of the goth that the Can
yon Greek miners were coming down
in force to destroy the Bunker Hill
mine. He saw them arrive and carry
out their fiendish designs. Afterwards
he attended one or two Of the men who
were injured in that fight.
Quite a discussion was caused in the
committee on motion to print in the
record the petition of some thirteen
hundred business men and residents
of Shoshone county asking for the con-
tinuance of the federal troops and the
maintainance of martial law in the
Occur d. Alenes. The democratic mem
bers objected strenuously notwith-
standing the willingness Of the repub-
lican members of the committee to
have the names reproduced in type.
and. so far as possible, in fac simile.
Representative Sulzer (dem.) produced
two affiduvits, which, he said. would
prove that some Of the signatures to
the petition had been forged. Mr..
Capron quietly eXanained the aflidavits
and informed the committee that they
were not even signed by men whose
names were attached to the petition.
and therefore. as they proved nothing,
they were quite irrelevant.
Another, witness was William II,
Stimson, a)plumber. who related the
circumstance of an appeal having been
made to him. as county commissioner.
to afford protection to the Bunker Hill
and Sullivan. He did not see the sheriff
or his deputy until the following day.
and then he was informed that all was
quiet at Wardner. The testimony of
other witnesses, however showed con-
clusively that at this time the mob was
in possession Of the tramway of the
mill and had already done acts Of vio-
lence. The witness told the circum-
stances of his impeachment and dis
missal from the Office Of county COM
missioner on an information fled in
court by the attorney general Of the
state on the ground that he had not
performed the duties incumbent upon