The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-10
Whole State Watching the Trouble. BELIEVED ENTIRE GUARD
 WILL BE ORDERED OUT ssTrouble Breeders" Imported Into
 District. Held in Montgomery That strikers Have Made War on Law and Or der and That strongest Re- pressive Policies Should
 Be Adopted.

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 The continued and increased violence in the Birmingham district. where the miners are out on a strike is being watched now by all sections of the State and in Montgomery it is the chief topic of conversation. From the nnea- [ gre reports sent out 1t Is believed that the situation there Is more critical than it has been at any time since the strike started.
 The firing on the train at Blocton. which killed three men and wounded eight others, is regarded as the most serious act of the strike. This is re- garded as more serious than the cases of dynamiting reported or the lynch Ing of a negro charged with dynamit- in9 miners home.
 It was believed in Montgomery yes terday that 1t was inevitable that the entire Alabama National Guard should be ordered to Birmingham. As it is the And Infantry Is the only part of the Guard which has not secn strike duty at Birmingham. Several compa- nies of the Srd Infantry were first put in to suppress the strike. After some service they were relieved by two ar- tillery companies and three troops of the cavalry. These completed their services Saturday when the 1st Ala bama Infantry was ordered to the dis trict.
 Colonel R. B. duMont In command of the 1st is regarded as one of the most efficient officers the Alabama Ma tional Guard ever produced. It is in- teresting to recall that Colonel duMont was put in charge of all the troops du- ring the strike of 1894 by Governor Thomas c. Jones. At that time Col onel duMont was only a captain in command of one of the Mobile compa- nies, but he was regarded as such an eficient soldier that Governor Jones placed all the troops in the district in his command. To do this he was moved over several higher officers and some friction was engendered. but Colonel duMont's handling of the situation was such as to increase his excellent nlili- tary reputation.
 Colonel R B. dnMont.
 During the Spanish-American war Colonel duMont was a Major in com mand of a battalion in the 2nd Ala abana Volunteers. He was not only looked upon as an efficient officer but he enjoyed In an unusual degree the esteem and confidence of the men un- der him. As a general thing the off- cers of the Alabama National Guard concede him nrst place for efficiency among them.
 Ills assignment to the command of the Birmingham troops will be ap- proved by the entire Guard. There is a report abroad that Major Walter A. Thurston of the United States army, retired. who was recently assigned for duty with the Alabama National Guard. will be put in command of the troops of the Birmingham district. Mont gomery officers of the Guard yesterday expressed the hopes that the report was untrue. They declared that such an assignment would be productive of friction among the troops that would greatly impair their efficiency. They aefa av.f cause resentment as well as friction and that the situation would be com piicated. There may not be any truth in the report after all
 There IS one reported phase of the situation there that has not been aI- luded to in the Birmingham papers or in the reports sent out from Birming- ham. As far back as a month ago number of prominent citizens of Bir- minghafn said In Montgomery that the mining organization had brought down from the Couer D'Alene District In Idaho, eight men who helped in the disorders. which eliminated in the murder of former Governor Frank Steunenberg and the trial of the high- est officials of the United Mine Work. CTS on the charge of murder. These men, the report said, were skilled in the use of dynamite, experienced in disorders and not afraid to do violence.
 
 as leaders In various parts of the dis trict It Is not known here that these reports were true, but subsequent de- velopments have confirmed them. Since then there have been frequent ana re- peated attempts to destroy property and commit murder by dynamite.
 Imported Trouble Breeders,
 In Montgomery 1t is believed that the murder. destruction of property and continued acts of violence are due to imported trouble breeders" who have the sympathy and cooperation of the negro miners and the more ignorant and violent of the white strikers. It Is believed here that the authorities at the inception of the strike handled the situation too generally. While 1t is thought that the authorities are now doing what they can to repress all dis orders. it Ia thought in Montgomery that if a strong repressive policy had been lnaugurated in the early days of the strike much of the trouble that has followed would have been avoided.
 The Alabama laws are peculiarly it, ted for the handling of a situation like that existing in the strike zones. The present laws were drawn in the light of the experience the State gained in the 1894 strike. They give the troops complete control of the roads and pas sages and they may prevent any arm ed marchlnss or armed gathering. It is believed that they are sufficient to handle the situation without a resort to martial law which good lawyers say Is expressly forbidden by the constitu- ton of, Alabama.
 valued contribution to the discus sion of the situation is made in the following letter from a former oficer of the Alabama National Guard;
 August 9th. 1908. Editor of The Advertiser:
 The terrible news of the killing of cnndiacfnr nf tha frain