The Savannah morning news., 1904-12-04
The ILLINOIS WAR
ORTHODOX ENOUGH
1T HAS A CORPS OF LIARS
THAT EQUAL MOLE ST. NICHOLAS
AND THE CHE Foo PRODUCTS.

Many Stories From the Seat of War
Have Been Investigated and
Proven Untrue-st. Louis Core
spondents Could Not Even Find
Bullet Marks, Though Thousands
of Shots Are Alleged to Have Been
Fired at StOckade and Pump
House.
Duquoin, ILL.,, Dec. 3.-After several
months of labor trouble at the Letter
mines in the town of Zeigler during
which many reports of active Skin
mishing have emanated from the rival
camps, the situation there is one of the
most peculiar in the history of recent
labor disturbances. 1t is stated by dis
interested persons, living near Zeigler
that firing has been heard nearly every
night for several weeks in the vicinity
of the stockade surrounding zeigler,
and from the pump house, located at
some distance from the town.
After a thorough investigation, how
yer, staff correspondents of st. Louis
newspapers declare that they have
been unable to find any marks of bull
let's either on the stockade or at the
pump house.
Reports sent out from surrounding
towns that miners and strikers have
been wounded have proved, upon IN
vestigation, to have been incorrect.
The Forces Engaged.
From the latest authentic reports
there are about twenty-five miners en-
camped about four miles from Zeigler.
In the town there are about eighty
miners, eighty-five militiamen and for
ty deputy marshals. including both
state and federal officers.
Immediately upon the establishment
of the union miners camp, reports of
clashes between the union men and
their places begun to emanate from
various sources. Several trains car
rying non-union men to the mines were
fired upon from ambuscade, but there
was nothing to connect the striking
miners directly with the occurrences.
Although generally termed "strik-
ers," the officials of the union author
lied to speak for the men, declare that
they are not on a strike. They say
that Mr.. Letter offered a wage scale
to which they could not agree, and
so they left the mines. They also deny
all knowledge of the alleged attacks on
the town of Zeigler, and while admit
ting that thew have attempted to per-
suade the miners to leave the employ
of Mr.. Letter, they declare that nc
violence has been used.
Attorney PIatt's Statement.
Henry r. Platt, Mr. Letters attorney
sums up the situation as follows:
Our employees have been reduced to
a state of terror by the bushwhacking
which has become a nightly occur
renee. Our stockade and our property
has been fired upon repeatedly, and
there has been one murder which ]
have no hesitancy In saying was the
work of union miners on strike, and in
accordance with the plans of the or
gsanization which holds control over the
strikers. On some nights hundreds OF
shots have been fired from the sur
rounding woods.
THE rapid fire guns have replied
whenever the location of the attackers
could be found. We appealed to the
sheriff of this county for protection
and two companies of militia came in
response to his request for help. There
is every reason from the standpoint OF
justice and law, for the bringing of the
troops"
Representatives of the strikers de-
clare emphatically that this claim
made by the Letter supporters is not
well grounded.