The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1912-02-05
Think Starving Wool Strikers Then
gaton Wool Trust MouIds Opinion
BY MarIen e. Pew

LAWRENCE, Mass, Feb. B. -
A great many thousands, perhaps
millions. of justice loving people
in the United States have, during
the last two weeks, read in their
newspapers that some OF the 30,-
900 textile workers in this city
who are striking desperately in
midwinter to save themselves from
cut of % cents a week had been
arrested by the local police for
having dynamite In their posses
sion.
In the average mind the word
dynamite used In connection with
a labor war, spells another word
Mcnamara. The record of the
great labor tragedy of Los Ange-
les is still fresh upon the blotter
of current events.
If you, the reader Of this
article, recall that your natural
sympathy for these strikers was
weakened by sight of the printed
word dynamite" and If this re-
suited in pessimistic reasoning re-
garding the organized labor
movements in this country, you
will have a personal interest in
what is to follow.
On Saturday, Jan. 20, around
10 O'Clock a. m, stranger, de-
scribed as of middle age, average
height, smooth shaven, wearing
dark clothes and carrying a shoe
box wrapped in newspaper, en-
tered the shot shining and cob
bling shop of Urb<:ao Di Prato, rs
Lawrence street. In the shop at
the time were Ernest Matteo, IT'S
Elm street, and Berdino Traquinio
166 Elm street Di Prato's en-
ployes.
The stranger got shine and
then told Di PratO that the shoe
box contained pair of shoes P"d
asked to leave the package I'm the
store until evening. hi Prato
laid the box on show case near
the door and the stranger de-
parted.
Next door to Di Prato's shop,
rs Lawrence street, and separated
only by a half-inch board parti-
ton, is the printing office of II
Purgante, an Italian newspaper.
Joe Ettor, leader IF the 10000
strikers, makes the print shop his
strike headquarters.
Within 40 minutes after the
stranger left the cobbler's shop,
seven uniformed Lawrence police
Officers, headed by Inspector Keli-
her, swooped down and raided the
print shop. They exhibited a
search warrant. Every nook and
Granny of the room, including
Ettor's desk, was searched and
nothing in the way of firearms or
explosives was found.
The police then entered Di
Prato's shop and ransacked it.
The first thing they did was to
tear the newspaper covering from
the shoe box and look in. They
saw within a pair of shoes and
did not take these out or investi-
gate the box further. They left
this shop with nothing. Di Prato,
much frightened. went home to
tell his wife what strange thing
had happened. Before he left he
put the shoe box the stranger had
left on the window sill, where 1t
would be protected for the
owner.
At 4 o'clock that evening the
same police officers returned
They dent directly into Di Prato's
shop this time. THEY WENT
DIRECTLY TO THE WINDOW
SILL. The first thing they did
was to pick up the shoe box, open
1T take out the shoes and then,
behold! They took out, from the
bottom, six sticks of so per cent
| dynamite with 10 decorating
caps. Inspector Keliher seized
the wondering Di Prato. Within
an hour the newspapers of Law
renee were yelling Extra! All
about the big dynamite conspir-
Iacy!"
Within two hours the news of
an attempted dynamite outrage by
the leaders of the Lawrence strike
was telegraphed to every city of
this country by the press associa-
lions and you read it the next day.
The writer has made a palms.
taking investigation of this affair.