Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1903-04-04
MINERS PLOTTED TO KILL
Startling Story Of the West Vir-
GINA Strike.
CHARGES MADE BY PRISONER
The Serious ACQUISITIONS Against Officials
and Members Of a Local Of the Nine
workers Union,

charleston. W.. Va. March rs
George coon. q local miner now con-
fine in the Fayette county Jail. await
ing trial on tlie charge OF burglary.
has made an affidavit, wherein lie
discloses i'm alleged plot on the part Of
members Of a iocai Mineworkers Union
to murder certain prominent Loop
Creek and Piney operators who have
been most active in breaking up the
strike.
Justus Collins, Deputy, United
States Marshal ID. w. Cunningham.
Samuel Dixon, Jane Sterrett and N.
4. Davis are the men named in the
affidavit to have been selected to be
killed unless they Withdrew their po-
sition to the strike.
Following is Coon's affidavit
"George Coon upon his oath says
that he is a member Of the %organizd-
non known as the United Minework-
ers of America that ne is a resident OF
the Town of Atkinsonville, Raleigh
COUNTY,, w. va biidb l0 10 ih0A 1h'A
and has two children: that he belongs
to Local No. 1866. at AtEinsonville.
that ". A. Wood is the president
of the local, John Lillv vice president
and Miller secretary that the local in
December, 1902 had about 60 or so
members; that at one of it's meetings,
held December % 1902. il was decided
among the members that the strike of
the miners for recognition must ne
won, and that in order to do so it was
necessary to get rid of some of the
leading operators who were most ae-
tive in fighting the strike.
THE "DEAD LINE
"That it was also decided that Jus
tus Collins, Samnel Dixon. James
sterrett. NJ. 7. Davis. operators, and
some other Operators. the names of
whom affiant does not now recall. and
ID. w. Cunningham, United States
deputy marshal should be killed unless
they withdraw their opposition to the
strike: that it was decided to give
Them until the lst Of April and if they
continued in the fighting of the strike
what the lodge called the dead line
should be made not later than the
18th day of April before which last
named date the said parties were to be
killed that the method decided upon
for making way with said parties was
rs follows:
THAT the members should decide
nv lot as per the anarchist plan of des-
ignating the parties TO do the partic-
ular act: that a member when selected
was TO make way with a particular
person and that enough should be
nominated for that purpose TO get rid
of the number of persons who had
been decided were necessary to be re-
moved in order to make the strife sue
oessfuL
TO USE LONG-RANGE GUNS.
"Whea the memhors were 50 desig-
mated they were then under ohliaa-
tions to carry out and perform the
duty assigned to tiem that they were
to buy a lot OF the improved long
ranged globc-sjghted guns that shoot
the steel jacket bullets SO that the par
ties could be killed at a distance of
from a half to Il mile away and that
nv secretIng themselves in the proper
places these men could he killed and
it would be next to impossible to
catch the party who did it; that W.
\. Wood president made this motion
and informed the local that it was
generally understood throughout the
other locals of the district that thls
was the n thing TO do and would
have to be done unless terms were
agreed upon that it was also discuss
cd and agreed upon; that it was also
discussed and aivised by quite num-
her of members who were present,
some of whom took the ground that
the sooner done the better, while 9TH
ers took the ground it would be better
TO first give them "a chance to come to
terms. but the time fixed was not la
ter than the 18th of April, 1903. 1t was
also stated that if the said Collins and
Dixon were out Of the wav they would
have very little trouble with Loop
Greek district.
1.-The names Of those present VINO
atfiant remembers are as follows: w,
A. Wood. John Lilly, Miller, Pearl
Stcver, Penn Stover. Will Read. Frank
Hull, r. E. Patterson. Joe Billings,
Ebert Evans, James Deal, Jack Cox,
Pike, Henry Jamison. Kelley, Monk
and V. p. Nelson