The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1904-08-21
Commander of the State
Militia Defends His
Vigorous Actions.
Says Deportation of Min
erS Was the Only
Possible Step.
Points Out That Only
One Man Has Been
Killed by Soldiers.

~ long odds the most picturesque
- figure developed by the recent
civil war I'm Colorado is Sherman
NJ. Bell. adjutant general Of the
Colorado National Guard. brigadier
general and commanding officer in
the field during the worst OF the
troubles He has won national rep
utation as a fearless, implacable extra
pator Of disorder and crime, as the
man who was at once the pride and the
despair of the governor and the con-
sentative people whose battle he WIS
fighting. who set up his own will in an
absolutism 10 which both striker and
mine owner were compelled to bow, : no
defied courts and threatened TO put
judges in the bull pen. who declared ''ha-
beas corpus is no Eood-what you fell
lows need is a pOst-mortem.
This remarkable young man of thirty
three. son of an Illinois farmer. West
ern ranger. who never took a drink or
placed money on a card, good bad
man." hired for his nerve, and prowess
to run to earth had men. Rough
Rider trooper. whose discharge uapeTs
bear the Endorsement; "Camest man in
a regiment Of game men.-Th- Roose-
Welt" stands straight in six feet Of mus
Gle and nerve.
A Dark, Stern Man.
He parts his black hair in the middle.
flashes his great dark eyes this way
and that as he talks. drOops the cor
ners Of his wide mouth in that way in
stinctive with fighting men, swears like
q pirate. but without vulgarity or irrev-
erence. talks much of himself and his
exploits with a candOr which rises
above mere 'braggadocio,' and speaks
Of danger. killings. battles. in the low
sweet voice you viii often hear from
the man who not only seems but is dan
gerous II crossed.
General Bell was asked recently TO
tell something Of the troubles he had
been through. how he felt about them.
and what he could say of it all to East
ern readers. He slowly replied:
We've simply been doing what
had 20 do, and having done our bust
ness I can't say that I have any Tar-
ticular feeling about it one way or an
other. And furthermore. I don't care
d what the East or the South or the
West or any other man thinks Of It
For years the business men and employ
ers Of this State had been buying a lot
of labor grafters to be good and not
kick up fuss with dynamite fuses and
six-shooters.
II Was Too Expensive.
In time there got to be too many
of EN-; It was too expensive So
something else had to be done. Up
at Cripple Greek il got to be like this.
We had to get ont the troops or decent
men had to get out of the country. Guess
we can't be blamed for doing the for
mer. because it's a pretty nice country
10 live in. and a man hates to run off
and leave a mine worth a few millions
just because some fellow living down
the gulch has a grUdge against him and
is an expert in the use Of guns and
giant powder. We couldn't get patent
on the method we finally adopted to fix
things. either-that OF deporting the
rednecks. because the federation had
worked it for years, beating up non-un-
ion men by the hundreds and running
'em out OF camp. 1t seems to make n
difference and bring out a big squeaI,
though, when you gore the OK that's
been doing all the hooking.
When I went up there and took pos
session Of the whole layout early last
September everybody was frightened to
death. All the local officials we're mem
bers Of the union.
Unions Were Supreme.
THE unions were running the
place II a business man opened his
mouth he was boycotted All sorts
Of unions bossed all sorts Of bust
ness. A barber wanted to get married
and they beat him up and postponed
the ceremony because he was gong 10
ride ia a non-uuion hack They used 20
20 around the grocery stores and say:
'YOuU have TO discharge that clerk,
cause ne amt "A member Of the union:
and youH have to hire this man, cause
he is The old clerk gathered up his
traps and left and the new man went &c
work right there on the spot.
''The mine owners were scared too
] told en- to 90 ahead and open up theil
mines and-I would protect them. PLENTY
OF men wanted TO go to work. but they
were afraid Of being mashed up. I Sent
for the union leaders and served motto,
on them we were going TO have a squar,
deal-no beating up. no picIeting-anc
that IL behooved 'em 90 walk pretty
straight
zone day walked over toward the r
Paso. where some nou-union men wer,
working. There was a fellow standing
there with his hands in his pockets
took side look az him as ] went along
Suddenly 1 turned and jumped right uJ
20 him What are you doing herc2'
asked. Just thinkin.' ne replied. Wei
you want 20 be id careful what vot
think when I'm around ] said. 'Cr IT
throw you in You see. 7 wanted 'eu
20 know ] meant business.
Whole District Aroused.
when they killed those two men fl
the indicator the whole district wa
aroused. Then they got a real toucl
of martial law. They were up agains
#. sure. and they didn't like it, / jus
threw out some Of my men and sur
rounded a lot Of them 80 quick they wer
surprised like. / arrested siXty-fvc o
the leaders and put them I'm the bul
pen.
well. then they started up that IA
beas corpus business. and 7 told 'ou
that wasn't any good-that what the
needed was not habeas corpus. but post
mortems. Sheriff Robertson. the fed
erationist. who afterward hiked out o