Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-05-11
SCRANTON COAL
MINERS IN RIOT,
SEVERAL SHOT
City and State Police Make
Charge Into Crowd Of
1000 Led by Foreigners,
After Mob Beats Men.

Scranton, Pa, May 10-The Cayuga
breaker of the Delaware, Lackawan-
. ma & Western Co.. In north Scranton,
formed the background Of riotous
demonstration today.
Foreign workers were leaders among
the crowd of 1000 men and boys that
assembled near the breaker to keep
away man who were going to do
necessary work, They were wild In
their o,ttcries and defied the squad OF
local police. who an hour before had
been hurried from every city station
on notice from the mine officials that
trouble was threatened.
,, The idle workers broke through the
police lines, rushed the fire rooms and
dragged out men, turning them over
to others who beat. them and threw
them aside. 49,.
State police on duty all night at the
Leggetts Creek mine, mile away,
hurried over. and their coming rallied
the local police and together the
officers charged the mob. There were
shots from the rioters. Bricks, stones
and clubs were thrown and the officers
drew their guns and began to force
the crowd back. Some shots were
fired by the police as Policemen
Peters, Marker and Louis Davis fell,
both with battered heads from cobble
stones; the state troopers then rode
into the crowd, firing their revolvers.
Mike Flacka and another foreigner
dropped, the former shot through the
abdomen. the latter in the leg. The
crowd then broke and ran and the
police combined to drive them on
toward the houses.
Two men and a half dozen women
were arrested. William Littlejohn,
going to fire duty at the Leggetts
Creek mine, was badly beaten by
women.
Foreigners Purchase Firearms.
Philadelphia, Pa, May 10.-The feel.
ing OF bitterness engenedered among
the foreign speaking miners Of Miners
vile, when three Of their countrymen
were shot by the state police during a
riot, was further intensified when
Michael Mullange, one Of the trio.
died.
That trouble is brewing is apparent
from the number OF firearms being
purchased by naturalized foreigners.
Several dealers In Minersville have
practically sold out and there Is also
a big demand for firearms in Potts.
vile. s...
Captain Wilhelm of the state police
says there Is no way to stop the sale
unless martial law is declared and the
situation does not warrant such step
at present.
Officers Of the state police fear an at
tempt may be made to lead their men
into an ambuscade along some of the
mountain roads. They believe the ma
turalized foreigners are distributing
firearms to their countrymen with this
object in view.
Miners Riot at eenld, III.
st. Louis, Mo-, May 10.-One man
was fatally wounded and four others
seriously hurt in q revolver fight par
ticipated in by 900 miners at Benld,
Ill.,, today, according to long distance
telephone message. The trouble oc-
Cured at the Superior Coal Co. 8 mine
and was due to a disagreement as to
whether the men should go to work.
Altogether 900 miners were involved
in the clash As $50 miners from
Gillespie, who worked in mine No. 3
were about to enter the mine, large
number of miners who live in Benld
and work in mine No. 2, threatened
them II they entered the mine. First
shots were fired into the air and later
into the crowds of miners.
The miner who Is expected to die
was shot in the stomach and was taken
to hospital at Litchfield. The four
others injured were shot in the neck,
ankle and shoulder. The same forces
fought yesterday with clubs and one
miner suffered broken arm. All in
the fight are foreigners.