The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-08-29
Not to Settle Strike But to PrG-
 serve Peace and Order
NON-UNION MAh IS KILLED
Governor Sends Ills Secretary With Troops and lnstructs Him to Ex-
 plain That They Will Have
 Nothing to Do With Strike.

Charleston, W. Va, August 2S.-Gov- ernor White has ordered the second reg iment of the West Virginia national guard to the New River district not, as he says, to settle the strike. but to pro- tect life and property. Colonel Morrison, at Parkersburg. was given orders early in the morning to call cut his regiment and proceed by special train to Thur mond, which will be headquarters. The cause for this action by the government is the appeal of Sheriff Daniel of Fay cite county for assistance on the ground that citizens refuse to respond to his summons to act as deputies to enable him to execute the orders of the court, and on his declaration that he is power- less to protect life and property He communicated with the governor yester- day when his deputies were fired upon in the vicinity of Red Ash where they were evicting miners who are strikers and who are in arrears for rent.
 Excitement at Bluefied.
 Bluefleld, W. Va, August 2S.-There is considerable excitement on Crane Creek and Simmons Creek over today's shoot ing by strikers. This morning John Ruble, a blacksmith employed by the Sagamore Coal and Coke company, was shot by striking miners and killed. Re- ports were current during the day that number of guards had been killed and wounded by the strikers but investiga- ton proves that Ruble was the only man killed Ruble, in company with Barney Shumate of this city, who had been em- p1oyed as a guard left the company store to go to a point on the works to stand guard as the company feared a visit from a mob. Enroute they were fired on and Ruble fell. Shumate was armed with rifle and opened fire on the miners, who after their first volley ran. None of them have been arrested. The non-union men who took the strikers places are terrorized and good many of them are leaving.
 w. H. McQuail, president of the Tur- key Gap Coal company was fired at through a window, but was not hurt. A number of guards have been engaged and are being rushed into the field to give protection to the men who want to work tomorrow.
 Governor White Explains.
 Charleston, w Va, August S-Regard- ing his action in sending militia to the New River district, Governor White to- night gave out the following statement:
 T ordered the troops sent because the sheriff of Fayette county made formal demand in writing upon me and came in person to see me, stating that he was powerless, with posse comitatus, to control the situation and keep the peace and preserve persons and property in Fayette county from violence and de- struction, because repeated attempts at assassination had been made several men had been assaulted and wounded and con- ditions exist owing to the topography of the country and the numerous opera tions which made it impossible for him to effectively repress disorder. He de- manded aid to keep the peace and order, and from investigation made by me and the outbreak yesterday at Red Ash, felt it my duty to respond to the call.
 q have instructed my private secretary, who accompanies the troops to the New River coal fields to explicitly state to all concerned that the militia Is sent only to suppress lawessness and to protect life and property and not for the purpose of breaking the strike, nor to act in any sense as guards or policemen for any coal operator My purpose is to enforce the laws of the state.
 '.In addition to all this l have given verbal and written instructions to the commanding officers to exercise a wise discretion in preserving the peace and protecting the persons and property from violence and destruction, at the same time requiring that they be firm in main- taining peace and order"