The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1904-06-08
MINE OWNERS DUST PUBLIC Of
FIciALS AND INSTALL MEN
OF THEIR OWN CHOICE.
BOTH FACTIONS kRKING FOR FIGHT
UNION MINERS DETERMINED TO
RESIST ANNOUNCED PLAN
TO DEPORT THEM.

| q night OF terror comparative peace
| prevails throughout this great gold
camp, but conditions are still of vol
canic nature and nobody believes that
| the trouble Is yet ended. Thirteen
deaths have resulted from the dyna-
| mite outrage at independence, several
| of the injured are in critical condi-
| ton and two men were killed and
| eight wounded in the subsequent riot
| ing in Victor
During the rioting Roxie McGee and
| John Davis were killed and j. II. Reed,
| Joe Findley, Fire Chief Murphy, Peter
Chrisman, Fred Studebaugh, Peter
| Calderwood, Arthur Parker and James
| McKelvel wounded.
A thoroughly organized vigilance
committee. composed of mine owners
| and their employees and sympathizers,
| has taken charge of the government OF
Teller county and large squads OF
armed men are patrolling the district.
These men are ostensibly acting under
orders of Edward Bell, the new sheriff,
who is large property owner and an
outspoken opponent of the Miners un'
ion. Sheriff Henry NJ. Robertson
Resigned Under Compulsion.
He was forcibly taken to the head
quarters of the Mine Owners asSocia-
ton and his resignation demanded.
At first he refused to resign, but when,
finally, a coil OF rope was thrown at
his feet he weakened and signed the
resignation which had been provided
for him. The first act of Sheriff Bell
was to take away the star OF Under
Sheriff j. Knox Burton. Then he ap-
pointed twenty-five deputies, to which
force large additions have since been
made, and later he disarmed the union
officers who had been appointed by
City Marshal Michael O'Connell of
Victor Meantime O'Connell had Wis
tied the mine owners headquarters.
i'm which about thirty armed men were
assembled, and demanded that they
surrender their arms to him. he was
forcibly elected and, after being de-
posed from Office by Mayor French,
he was placed under arrest. Many OF
the other regularly chosen peace ofli-
GERS of various towns in the district
also have been deposed and some OF
them locked up, with about 200 union
miners who were arrested after the
rioting in Victor. The sentiment of
the mine owners, as voiced by G. G.
Hamlin, secretary of the association.
is that all union miners
Must Be Driven Out of Camp.
His declaration that the time had
come to purge the district" started
the rioting ut the mass meeting In Vic
tor, called to discuss the dynamite
outrage at independence.
1T Is up to you to drive these scoun-
drels out" Hamlin had declared.
whereupon Alfred Miller, union man
who had been sworn in as deputy sher-
LII, raised his rifle and inquired,
Whom are you referring to-"
Miller's rifle was seized and the
shooting began which resulted in the
killing of Roxie MCGEE, a nonunion
miner, and the wounding of six other
persons, one of whom, John Davis.
also a nonunion miner, died few
hours later. The first shot was fired
by some one in the crowd. This was
followed Immediately by two rife shots
from windows of Miners union hall.
A man standing in the door of the
union store, II Is said, also fired into
the crowd with a repeating shotgun.
| OuCIlu DCll 1dilSu Oh VIC ioeai Nohl
pany of the state guard to assist in
preserving order and in arresting the
men In the union hall. Soldiers were
stationed on the roof OF the building
opposite the hall and from this point
OF vantage fired into the door and
windows of the hall A scattering
Fire Was Kept UP by Both Sides
for twenty minutes, at the end of
which the miners surrendered. Only
three wounded men, Calderwood, Par
ker and McKelvel, were found In the
hall and there were no casualties In
the attacking party. The uninjured
men in the hall, forty In number. were
all placed under arrest and all books
and documents of the union were
seized. During the night further ar
rests were made In Victor, Goldheld
and Independence. The union stores
I'm Victor and Goldfeld were wrecked
and the stocks scattered in the streets
by a mob. This was not countenanced
by Sheriff Bell or others In authority.
A bloodhound brought from Trinidad
took the trail Of the person who ex-
ploded the dynamite at Independence
and followed IL from Bull hill TO the
Colorado Springs wagon road. Detec-
tive Robert Sterling OF the Mine Own
ers' association then declared that he
was convinced he knew who caused
the deadly explosion.
A posse OF 400 deputy Sheriffs,