Las Vegas optic., 1912-03-05
MRS. TAFT WAS A LISTENER
WIFE OF PRESIDENT ATTENDS
INVESTIGATION HELD BY CON-
eREssIoNAL COMMITTEE
CHILDREN WERE BADLY HURT
OFFICERS DID EVERYTHING POS.
sIBLE TO KEEP THEM FROM
BOARDING TRAINS

WdSuluStOu, MdrCn O.-MTS. SWtl
liam Howard Taft, wife of the presi.
dent, was an interested listener to
the tales of alleged oppression and
cruelty in the Lawrence textile strike
told to the house rules committee to-
day when it resumed its considera-
ton of the industrial struggle in the
mill city.
| Miss Tema Camitta, a Philadelphia
vocal student and Sunday school
tecaher, and member of one
of the committees that sought to get
the children out of Lawrence, admit
ted that she saw no clubbing of wo-
men and children in the station nor,
after the affray, did she see any who
had been injured.
Il did see the police clubbing wo-
men in the patrol wagon she said.
"The wagon was crowded and the
police were thrusting the women
about with their clubs"
The witness refused to advance
an opinion on how many women were
in the wagon but said she saw more
than one woman beaten. At no time.
she said, had she observed any OUT
RACES committed by the militiamen.
1t was while Miss Camitta was testi-
flying that Mrs. Taft arrived at the
committee room. She appeared to
take great interest in the proceeding
and remained several hours.
Before Miss Camitta took the stand,
Representative Victor Berger of Wis
consin, socialist, had read into the
record a telegram from William d.
Haywood, one of the strike leaders,
that two women witnesses sought by
Mr. Berger, could not come to Wash
ington because of injuries sustained
at the hands of the police in the re-
cent rioting. One of the women, Hay
wood said, was in the hospital in
critical condition while the other
was confined to her home. Miss
Camitta related how she had endeay-
ored to lead the children from the
station to the train.
For some reason the children got
out ahead of the men and instantly
the women and children were hurled
into struggling mass by the po-
lice. was squeezed against the wall
of the waiting room and was terribly
frightened.
'The crowd in front of me was so
dense that | could see little. I call
ed out to the police BE careful of
the children-you're killing them.
Later, when l sought to accompany
them to the police station I was told
that I'd better stay away or I'd be
clubbed too"
Miss Camitta, told of detectives
visiting the homes of parents of Law
renee children and threatening them
if they sent their children away.
'sln all cases where children were
to be taken to Philadelphia" asked
Chairman Henry. did you have the
parents consent?"
'In every case," she said.
Simon Knebel, who was in Law
renee on aSturday February "a, an
other member of the committee from
Philadelphia and an organizer of the
Industrial Workers of the World, was
the next witness. Telling of what
happened ath the Lawrence depot
Knebel said:
I'VE grouped the children in file
of two and started to send them out
of the depot door. Then we saw two
lines of the police. Just as we left the
door the police started their bloody
work.
"The children and their parents be.
gan to pass through this line of po
lice. The police tore the childrtn
from their mothers. They were