The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1913-08-22
Defends TROOPS
FROM ATTACKS
Detroit News.Trihune EditoriaIly
Resents SANDERS

The following Is an editorial IA the
Detroit News. Tribune
j. II. Walker. president Of the mi
nois Mine WLrkeTs, has senf 10 the
] national headquarters of the American
Federation of Labor, thence 10 be- dis
| tribntei Ia the numerous local head
( quarters of the country. "a statement
in which he makes four charges
against the character 81 the Michi-
| gan National Guard The allegations
are; % That tho guardsmcn rode
down 6cfenSel1ss people on the side
| walks of Calumet: 90 that the
| gliardsmen assailed and abused strik-
ers and members Of strikers families:
1 go thar a guardsman shot man in
the back while the victim was peace.
ably on his way home on country
rode; 90 that guardsmen mistreated
| young girls Of Calumet
These charges have reused the Ia
dlgnatiOn 81 Brig Gen. Abbey com
mande: of the brigade IN the strike
district II is only natural that h.
| should resent them. not only because
of n proper jealousy of the good name
Of the institution with which he is so
prominently connected, but as well
because as commanding officer he IS
responsible for the conouct Of the
troops But, Gen. Abbey may be well
know now a. later tina, ~" people Of
| Michigan decline Ia believe the charg-
as. look on them as = Islander. and
repudiate them. At Inc same time
the state must have admiration for
Gen. Abhey's frank challenge of Mr.
Walker 10 produce substantlatins
proofs; for Michigan will have no
man or group Of men denied Just
| bearing.
The News Tribune knows fairly well
the conduct of the guardSmcn at CAL
| umet. We had n stafI correspondent
| there ir the crisis Of the strike. and
be would not have shirked his plain
! duty to report such grave infractions
both Of civil peace and military disci
pline &c they had been committed. The
| fact Is that the militiamen gave an
excellent account or themselves. and
4
among the very strikers whom thej
were sent to hold In check.
When the g,iardsmcn received the
governors order 10 turn ont for strike
! duty, tEey went promptly. but hardly
with cheerfulness. To them strike duty
| is the most rnpugnant To which they
| can be assigned. They went as n
matter 81 duty. And the strikers re-
| ccivcd them IN the same spirit. The
military discipline or the camp was
| as rigid as even the regular army
could prescribe. one man in one bat
talon Of the First Infantry was fined
S. and stcrnly reprimanded for being
out of camp five minutes after taps
had sounded. a further restraint on
Il he men was the amount of work they
had To do The strike district was ~
miles long and in many detachmentS
he men available for guard duty wcr,
so few that they had to he worked
two hours on and two off one soldier
was fined $50 and his name published
4 severe sentence. we thought az the
time, for sleeping on post. The troop
ers were practically exhausted by the
arduous toll which fell to them.
From the time the guard arrived Inv
Calumet the relations between militia
men and strikers were of the best.
The strikers showed respect To the
military authorities. gave the officers
and the details very little trouble.
| Their wives manifested evident reliet
| when the troops came. They had
dwelt in anxious fear of an outbreak
of temper before the guard arrived to-
settle conditions. II was not very
| long before pies and cookies ana cakes
| were coming into tho guardsmen's
tents from the overs in the strikers
| homes.
More powerful than all other re-
straints imposed on them was the rec
ord Of the Michigan National guard it,
| self. In every respect il is one of the
finest brieades in the United States;
| it's sonnet is recruited from some
of the best bones in the state; II IL
Differed by men many of whom have
served the nation with credit to them
selves in the spanish American and
Philippine wars The state Is proud OF
this institution--the pride is justin
able-and no extended defense need
| be forthcoming for II to charges of
| the character made by ]. II. Walker.
HIGHLY HoNORED