Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1910-12-29
ANOTHER OUTRAGE
At LOS ANGELES
Plant of the Llewellyn Iron
Works Wrecked by Explosion
of Dynamite.
WAS FIGHTING CLOSED SHOP
Officials Do Not Hesitate to Blame
Labor Union-Latter Siren
uously Denies Resorting
to Violence.
WAS FIGHTING CLOSED SHOP

Los Angeles, cal. Dec. 2j.--Tho plant
Of the I.lewellvn Iron works was partly
wrecked early to-day 10y an explosion
presumably Of dynamite Tho company
has long been prominent in the fight
against the closed shop in this city and
Is involved in the metal workers strike.
| and the police are working on the theory
| that the effort to destroy the plant grew
| out Of labor troubles, Union officials in
dignantly deny the mputation.
Last October Il men were killed by an
! explosion which destroyed the plant Of
| the Los Angeles Times That paper had
| been a strong opponent of the closed
union shop and it proprietor declared
| his belief that that .'as the cause for
the explosion and Wholesale murders
No one has yet been brought to justice
! for that crime
In view of the Times disaster. this
morning explosion created cxtraordin-
airy Interest. 1t caused no deaths. but
slightly injured j. L.. Asbury, n watch
man. who WAS seated in the office about
| 30 feet from where the explosion Went
off. lie was buried unGcr mass of
| debris but was dragged out by Police
man Cahill who was in front Of the Of
|
a cut on the right hand and an abrasion
Of the scalp and face Ashury was I'M
hurt
HEARD CRACK LIKE \ WHIP
II saw flash and heard a report like
the crack of a whip" said Policeman ca
! hill, land next the front of the building
seemed to Crumhle and the air seemed
| fun of debris | called out: IL there
any one in the buildinE?' and heard
cry for help. I found Asbury and dragge,
him from under the ruins"
The metal workers strike went int
effect June I. 1t has been characterized
by great bitterness on both sides Tn,
strike was called originally to enforce
demand for an eight-horr day for al
metal workers ard Il uniform wage o
| 20 cents an hour. The struggle was pre-
cipitated by a notice from the men en-
gagged in the metal trades in San Fran
cisco that the employers there had made
concessions to their employees on condi
ton that they should not thereby b.
placed at n disadvantage in competition
| with non-union Los Angeles firms. ON
Gals of tho Llewellyn company bcliev,
that the supposed effort to destroy thel
plant is the outgrowth of their differ
ences with labor, and the police ar
working on this theory. John Llrwelyn
secretary of the company, said:
LAYS IT TO THE UNIONS.
There is no doubt In my mind that thi
effort to destroy our property is due t
the fact that we are standing on on
rights to "un our business in our ow
Il I.N oh 20
understood as intimatinG that the me
who were working in Los Angeles am
went out In the metal workers stri
are responsible for it. do not thin
they have had anything to do with il
believe it is the work of men who d
not belong here, who for their own ma
licious ends are willing to commit an
kind of crime
Fred c. Wheeler, president of the 10
Angeles Central Labor council said:
THE fact that the Llewellyn Iron work
is in warfare with organized labor is n
that our enemies need to endeavor to la
this outrage at our door. Every tru
friend OF the cause of labor knows tha
: violence INJURIES our cause more than thoe
against whom it may he directed
ITO those. who would seek TO taste
! upon us any responsibility for such
crime. we of the Los Angeles lahc
council are able to make answer by d,
tying any one to point out any time
our % years of existence when we hay
ever advocated other than peaceablc mef
| sures for the accomplishment of our iu.
ends"
( Apparently, the police have no defini'
| clue to the pCrpt traitors,