The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-07-15
BY ANTHONY r. CANNON.

painful fac simile of the present one |
We wilt now pass over ten cutwarl- |
ly uneventftl years IN the life of Bill, |
which were 10 him years f:2ught with |
event, for during then he changed |
from the jolly devil-me care inebriate
that he was. to a decrepit, gray-haired
grasping and miserly old man, who
was generally disliked for his niggard-
ly habits,
Never after the death of his friend
was the sign of liquor seen upon Kim,
and what was more surprising, he
presented himself at the mouth of the
coal mine one morning. about a week
afterward, as a candidate for a posi-
| tion.
He never paid any attention to the
gihes of those about him in the minc,
who laughed at the incongruoIs idea
of Cousin Bill working. Gradually
the rough fellows came 20 recognize
the fact that he was serious in the
matter, but rot till few monthly pay
days had gone by without shaking his
| resolution in regard to drink.
| He applied himself with avidity to
| evely possible chance of erning
Ccnt-a course which is approved of at
| first by that improvident-as a rule
| class amongst whom he lived, but
which is condemned and labeled pc
| nuriOusnesS as the industrious one
| rises above them in the POSSESSION OF
| worldly goods In the evening and
| upon the days when there was no
work for him in the mine he would
employ his time advantageously work.
ing in the gardens of the wealthy ele-
ment-an occupation in which he pos
sesed no mean skill. and. as a conse-
quence, was much in demand.
1t is a curious fact that when Bill
was his own greatest enemy he en-
joyed the good natured tolerance, II
not the friendship. of the community,
who, after seeing him spend a few
years in the acquisition of wealth,
| agreed en- masse to dislike him; some
because of his avariCe; others for the
reason that he chose to go in rags
when he could afford we'll to wear
good clothes others because he ILL
used himself SO much in his inordinate
greed for wealth as to eat only the
poorest of victuals and carried water
in his bottle to the mine when the
poorest miner carried tea or coffee.
These, and many ,moresuch, were the
reasons given for their dislike of the
man who some years since they passed
with a smile as he wallowed in the
gutter habted in the meanest rags.
lie conversed with few, and was on
intimate terms with no one save the
old priest. Father Wharton, at whose
home he sometimes spent his Sunday
evenings.
The suspension of ~ came, and with
it the horrors which made that year
| mo hi in In lG l,o+ t,;1
little town.
The men at the Starkton- Morse col
liery had been undergoing for years a
steady and systematic reduction, until
driven at last to desperation at the
sight of their children going almost
shoeless to school that they might not
go supperless to bed, and led on by
the deceptive harangues of the willy
labor agitator, they suspended work
and began long and bitter fight
against the relentless operators.
Their brother laborerS at the numer-
Gus other Collieries, although they did
not fare much better themselves, went
out on strike also, in sympathy with
the oppressed ones, thereby throwing
every mine in the vicinity idle. The
operators at oncel SEMI the agents
about the country for the purpose of
gathering together sufficient men TO
work the different mines, nor was their
mission unsuccessful. for by the end of
two or three weeks the Starkton Morse
was in full operation, as was also some
three or four other collieries.
Met thus with defeat on every hand
and Crazed at the cries of their chill
dren for bread, the strikers threw pru-
dence to the winds and resorted to vio-
lonce. After one wild scene of blood
shed and murder the governor was ap-
pealed to, and as a consequence the
militia pounced down upon the little
town to enforce order.
Sad and solemn were the few days
following the riot. Two of the strik-
ers were killed in it, each leaving a
wife and some helpless little children.
Amid the wailing of these they buried
the unfortunate fellows, and dividing
the orphans amongst themselves, who
had already too many mouths to feed,
, they turned homeward with vengeance
, in their hearts.
The presence of the militia tended
to keep them from forming mobs, or
from approaching the different coll
lieries which We're in operation, for
some days afterward, until rumors OF
ueSeIllon from lnelr RANKS Deean 10 De
heard. 1t was said that some seven
: or eight, amongst whom was the mis-
erly old Bill, had gone back to Their
work in the Starkton- Morse at a still
, more reduced wage rate. Upon learn
ing this 10 be true their rage knew nc
bounds, nor was ii directed so much
against the poor fellows who We're
driven to it by the cries of their starv-
ing children, as at the grasping old
miser, whom they believed to he able
l not only to aid the cause by remainine
idle, but TO lend a helping hand tC
l those in need,
r Quietly the word was passed about
I | amongst the strikers to come on a Ger.
5 tain evening to a rendezvous about
one-half mile in the rear of the Stark.
S ton Morse. known as Hunters Glen
= preparatory to combined attack
E upon the blacklegs.
. The evening of the day specified
5 found a desperate and determined
body of men gathered in the Glen
y Some few We're armed with shotguns
G but the majority carried heavy cudg
y els. which they had wrenched from
the surrounding trees, and now were
\ brandishing them in the air watinl
h | impatiently for the word to advance.
Starvation had driven all vestige O
n humanity from their hearts, leavinl
d the brute instinct uppermost, and the.
S were now ready and eager TO dash on
e. the brains of those who stood betweel
S them and food for their children.
d After considerable wranging the!
| q Cd TO "a, hn, tln nIe