The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1907-11-28
Men Working at Badger Brass
Company Assaulted by Mobs
Thursday Afternoon
ARRESTS ON SERIOUS CHARGE
Three Men Formerly Employed at the
Plant are Arrested Charged With
Cruelty Beating Non-union
WOrkmen Thursday

The crisis was reached in the labor
troubles at the Badger Brass works,
just before five O'Clock Thursday
night, when five of the men who had
been at work in the plant were set up
on by members of the union and men
who sympathized with them and ter
ribly beaten. This was not case of
jostlingsthe men off the walk or pas
sing out love pats to show disapprov-
al of their work in remaining at the
benches, but the men were knocked
down, kicked in the head and face
and generallyf maltreated. Three
men were SO seriously injured by the
crowd that they fed back to the fac
physician.there before they could be
taken to their homes.
The injured men were:
William Dorfman, 748 Fremont ave-
nue., deputy sheriff and employed at
the plantjssas a solderer. Kicked IN
the head.and face and badly bruised
about thesbody. Dorfman is alleged
to havesbeen set upon by ten men who
threw him to the ground and took his
revolver and badge of Office. He was
treated at the plant and later taken
home.
Max Fe1dman, solderer, residing at
748 Fremont avenue, was with Dorf.
man, kicked in head and face and
badly injured,
Mike Polachek, 748 Fremont ave.
nue.. Assaulted by band of meu
south of the factory and badly beaten.
Edward sGoosman, 818 Pearl street.
Assaulted at crossing just north of
the factorybsand badly beaten. Fled
to the plant again and was afterward
taken homesin an automobile.
Tom King, residence Park avenue.
Attacked :by men just back Of the
Meiselbach plant and eye BACKED and
face bruised.
The assault on the men occurred
just aftersthe plant had been closed
down for the day and notwithstand-
ing thes0fact that Special Officers
Starr and Britton, recently appointed
by the Council and Constable Everett
were on guardsat the plant, no arrests
we're made and the special officers
claimed gthat they sdid not see the
trouble. The managers of the plant
claim that the assault had been care
fully planned and that the men had
arranged to have little groups at diff
ferent points to assault the men as
they were leaving the plant. The
managers of the plant had been
taken entirely off their guard, as in
the morning cone of them had re-
ceiveds a telephone, supposed ito be
from Mayor German, asking that the
managers of the plant hold confer
ence with the men last night and
it was thought for this reason that
there was no cause to suspect trouble
during the day. The managers of
the plantsnow claim that this notice
was given to them probably by one of
the men and not the mayor IN order
to throw them off their guard and if
possible make the assault an easy
thing.
Mayor German was not in the city
at the time the assault occurred and
none of the members of the police
force save the specials, all of whom
are interested in the trouble, was at
the plant at the time.
As soon as the men had been cared
for by the managers of the plant they
applied to Sheriff Pfennig for aid in
locating the guilty parties and at
midnig hit Thursday night II. Kekst, L.
Kekst and L. Berkowitz were ar
rested by the sheriff on a charge of
being connected with the assault on
the men. The men we're in the coun-
ty jail Friday morning and they we're
submitted to cross examination by
Judge Joseph Clarkson representing
District Attorney Baker and they all
told practically the same story. They
admitted that they we're at the plant
when the men we're assaulted but de-
clared that they did not assault them.
Early Friday morning the stock
holders of the plant went into con-
1GlGuNC With TIC uASlIICl dllOIA Gy W
plan course of action in regard to
the men and it is understood that
starting developments may be ex-
pected before the close of another
week.
In the meantime City Attorney John
c. Slater had been retained by mem
bers of the LABOR unions to defend the
men.
The story of eye witnesses seems to
bear out the claim Of the managers of
the plant that the assault on the men
was deliberately planned, but the
leaders of the union claim that while
the men were assaulted they had
nothing to do with it and that the
assault was not made with the con-
nivance and consent of the unions
Special Officer WV. Britton, who
was among the officers detailed to
watch the plant and protect the men
at work, when seen Friday said: II
heard of the scuf1es but when I got
to the place where the trouble took
place it was all over and when asked
woman who it was that struck the