The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1902-08-30
Subscription 81 50 Per Year. n AavaasC
Az OUTRAGEors coNpITIoN

TO feel thankful away down. deep in
our hearts that We have no citizens
so void of feeling a. to Toe willing to
sacrifice human life for the sake OF
carrying point of but small impor-
lance. \ gentleman, writing from
Wilkesbarre, Pa. gives us the fol-
lowing startling description of the
condition of affairs m that section of
the Country.
comparatively few persons seem 70
be aware of the outrages which have
been prepetrated againsN merchants.
professional men and women and
children under the guise of assisting
the strike.
Threats of reprisals have in re
cent months brought about a reign
of terror. Parents OF dying children
have been unable TO secure medicine:
girls, upon their marriage eve. have
found their characters blackened and
their prospective husbands frighter-
ed away; clergymen have received
mysterious threats as to what would
happen if they dared preach their
convictions; women have seen the
front of their houses placarded
with offensive notices and guards
placed upon their verandas to bright
ened away visitors because their
husbands felt obliged TO work in or
der to keep starvations from their
loved ones; merchants have been or
dered not To supply the needs ofhun-
dreds OF customers under penalty OF
the loss of all their trade.
Scores of milkmen throunhout
the district have had their business
destroyed because they refuse 10 AL
low unions TO tell them who could
be served with milk. and i'm some
towns dozens of families were found
unable TO secure food from any store.
although they had money with which
TO pay for it.
An engineer of this city was paw
ing for his little house upon the i'll
stalmert plan when the miners strike
was declared His three children
were all sick. and to support them he
remained at work. He was not a
member of the union While he was
at work behind one of the stockades
his youngest child developed diphtL-
eria. \ physician was called in and
hastily wrote out a prescription, tell
ing the mother that great haste was
necessary. rs the mother left the
house she was hooted by crowd
At the village drug store the man in
charge said he did not dare fiji the
prescription for her. She started Tor
another drug store. and man ran
ahead OF her and warned the drugrist
that he must not aid her. as her
husband was a non-union man. She
visited five stores in vain and than
hurried home to beg the doctor to
get the medicine for her. A. he
started out he was told that
he must never enter her house
again, or his business would be
broken up. Before he could So
cure the medicine, through third
party, the child died.
ITO combat these outrages the
Citizens Alliance has been organized
and has already 25,OOO members
scattered in different towns ofthe an
thracite region, and about 200 pro-
secutiOns have been successfully con
Quoted. Mr.. J Ridgway Weight. the
leader OF the Alliance in Wilkesbarre.
says:
1.-The outrages that Rave been
wrought near here are past belief.
You could write any story that the
limits of your imagination could
conceive and yet fall short of the
truth. Widows OF men with brilliant
war record have been bounded to
death. Sons who have striven to
support aged mothers or crippled
brothers have been beaten. their
houses set on fire and their friends
subjected to ev Y conceivable humi-
liation >"
Now isn't this a beautiful picture
OF American liberty? We talk and
boast OF our free Country, our free
institutions and our personal liberty
but if ever there was a time in onr
history when brave men should act
and act quickly, it is TO day.
The American Cor gress will spend
almost an entire session in deyisino.
ways and means by which to govern
the poor Filipinos and forget that
right here at home there is crying
need for immediate action on their
part.