The sun., 1909-11-05
gIRE PICKETS ACCUSE POLICE
LARRATIVE OF MISS ELSIE
COLE, VASSAR GRADUATE.

Ek Women Arrssted-ViOlence Denied.
Hey this mornings mail Police Com
Missioner Baker will receive letter
Which II he reads It carefully will inform
BIN that he has Fight on his hands that
bfomlses to be Of surprising hveliness
And psrsistency. II is the outcome OF
Alleged crimes OF commission and ornis-
I zion by tho police. including the Conmis-
alpner himself. who has omitted to take
bbtice Of offences committed by uniformed
Ind non uniformed members OF his force.
81 The case grows out OF the lockout
~ 900 girls employed by the Triangle
Ghirtwaist Company. whose factory is
~ Washington place near Washington
auare These locked out girls were
6kded in picket duty by a number Of
young women who concern themselves
NTH the condition OF women's labor
u this city, and these women have had
Various experiences with the police.
- SssclnAing in the case Of two OF them
Akrest,
tt Last week letter was sent to Com
Missioner Baker calling his attention
- the complaint OF Miss Helen Marot,
eocretary OF the Trade Union League
~ organization OF women which among
dkher things looks after factory and
Mop conditions. Miss Marot was on picket
duty in the neighborhood Of Washington
Square when she was spoken to by a
Dlain clothes man. She charges that the
plain clothes officer said to her:
~ You uptown scum. keep out OF this
or you'll find yourselves in jail
Miss Marot went to Police Headquarters
and complained to Commissioner Baker
Thin complaint was promptly followed
by Q formal letter of complaint signed
by James p. Boyle. secretary OF the
Central Labor Union OF Brooklyn; Theo-
dore Rillingheimer and John p. Cough
Ian, committee appointed for the purpose
by the Central Labor Union. and Miss
Marot as secretary OF the Women's Trade
Onion League. The matter was referred
by the Commissioner to Police Inspector
DAILY, who gave the complainants a hear
ing on Wednesday, October 27. Moth
ing came of that hearing, hence yester-
days second letter Of complaint. How
ever. in the course Of the hearing, when
the language used by the officer TO Miss
Marot was specifically complained II
10 the inspector, he replied. according
To the testimony of all the complainants
present:
ssls-well, scum might be a nice word
How do know what il means?'
Also. according to the complainants,
they quoted to the inspector decisions
by Mr.. Justice Blanchard that the right
10 maintain pickets is well established
provided. however, that such pioSeting
IA not accomplished by acts expressive
or Implying threats. intimidation. coercion
OF force To this the Inspector is stated
- - hate replied that nevertheless he would
uphold hisi plain clothes men in all the
arrests they made OF working girls or
members OF the Women's Trade Union
League doing picket duty IN the Triangle
lockout case.
That was all that came OF the hearing,
which was closed upon the suggestion
of Miss Marot that she felt that she was
etaking up the inspectors valuable time
without profit. Yesterdays second let
ter to Commissioner Baker resulted.
.. Thus much sun reporter learned when
be also learned from some OF the girls on
picket duty of the activities OF a young
woman in their behalf whom they all
referred 20 as ~the brave lady lis
proved to be Miss Elsie Cole. a graduate
f Vassar and a member OF the Woman's
Trade Union League; When the re-
porter found Miss Cole he asked her If she
was willing to be quoted by name In tell,
ing the story of her own and other pickets'
Experiences with the police.
IF you think 1t will do the slightest
bit Of good certainly ca,u uy,!y you may may use my
she added, You may also say that l am a
Socialist IL you want to.
Miss Cole is not at all what you may
think a Socialist looks like unless you
o tall, 1.-THE, blond young woman with
big fearless blue eyes and who dresses
I'VE have had some amazing expe-
rences with the police, said Miss Cole. and
I am very glad to tell some OF them to
THE Sun. Because in that way perhaps
we can secure hearing in which We will
not be snubbed as Miss Marot was.
About six weeks ago $50 Of the girls
In the shop organized into a union and they
were informed that there would be no
more work for four weeks. The next
morning they saw an advertisement for
girls to take their places. 1t was a plain
case of lockout, and that is what reused
my special sympathy in the case. Not
a girl who has been on picket duty has
We have all warned them not TO be. Yet
ninety -eight of those girls have been
arrested and only eighteen of them dis
charged without punishment.H 3 Magis-
trates Cornell and Steinert, sitting in the
jefferson Market court. have been most
severe. beginning with fines of so cents
and running those up in cases of repeated
charges TO as high as $40 fine. That
soon exhausted the fund the girls had
but they are now receiving assistance
from locals OF electricians. carpenters and
others. y- ...s-.
I'VE also are helping them. and some
other women Interested in such matters
have gone down there in the evening and
done picket work. At first we had 10
deal only with uniformed officers. Cen
erafiy they we're polite and neither rough
with the girls nor with us, nor abusive.
Then the firm appealed to Commissioner
Baker for plain clothes men and ouf
troubles began. The plain clothes men
used rough and abusive language. which
in many cases frightened the girls, or &
that did not succeed they were jostleo
on the sidewalk. Then il the girls per-
slated they were arrested.
III " were not such a real tragedy,
this abuse of their power by the police
some OF our experiences would read like
cokasciy. One Of the leagues volunteers
wnb Miss Marjorie johnson. She was
down there doing picket work when an
of3cer ordered her away. but she per-
sisted and was arrested. On their way
20 the night court the officer said to Miss
Johnson
.anra