Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1913-08-21

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fuse 81 the state gaserRhent} the MIL.
| tia, the courts the army Of thugs,
an dthe suffering Of winter, the op.
orators were growing desperate. Such
i lighting determination was something
new to them. They had become used
to unprotesting submission on the
part the slaves of the mines. They
now summoned to their assistance the
Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company.
The company gladly responded, giving
an illstration of the solidarity of cap
ital. The railroad company took bag
gage car to their shops at Huntington
and lined it with iron and steel plate
with port holes from which to fire
rifles. and machine gums. On one
dark night in February, 1913 they
manned this car with railroad police
and company thugs, armed to the
teeth. On board was the notorious
Quinn Morton, a bitter enemy of union
ism, the sheriff of the county, and his
deputies. When this armored train
pulled out of Cabin Greek Junction
and. went on it's journey of murder.
the men put out all the lights. About
two miles miles away was the tented
village OF Holley Grove. filled with
the miners families peacefully sleep
ing, unconscious of the oncOming dan
ger. Just as the train reached the,
outskirts of the village. a signal was
given by the engineer and a veritable
hell OF fire was rained into the homes
lof the miners. In the roar could be
heard the thuderous rattle of twu
machine guns doing their murderous
work. After the train had passed,
Quinn Morton, superintendent of two
large coal companies, said, Boys,
let's go back and give them another
round" The night attack made the
women and children terror-sticken.
When day dawned they found their
homes pierced through and through
with bullets. Susco Estep, a young
miner with wife and several small
children, was cold in death murdered.
by bullet from one Of the machine
guns. Mrs. Hall, miners wife. had
both feet shot to pieces, making her
a cripple for life. 1t was miracle
that a score or more were not killed.
Only providence could have saved.
them.
The massacre Of Holly Grove shock
ed the nation. The story of this un-
speakable crime is to be foud in the
records of the Senatorial Investigation
Committee. Following this massacre
came the report that another attack
was to be made by the armored train.
The miners, to meet it, got out their
guns. Three days later, hen the min
ers were looking for the attack clash
came between the armed guards and
the miners at Mucklow, in which a
number were killed on both sides.
Then again came Martial law" with
its tin-horn soldiers to do the work of
breaking the strike. Came too. the
military commission" and once again
commenced the farce of railroading
the miners to the penitentiary. Whole
more than 200 miners filled the mill
tary "bullpens". Then the governor
introduced the barabrous. "lettres de
cachet." formerly used in the days of
despotism in France, by which he sent
his uniformed emissaries to other.
parts of the State outside Of the mar
tial law zone and seized "agitators"
and other undesirable citizens"
Among those thus abducted were.
Mother Jones, the editor of the Labor
Argus, Paul ]. Paulsen, Charles Bat
ley and many others, all Socialists. At
troneys for the miners again appealed
to the Supreme Court for writs of
habeas corpus. They were again
granted, but on the hearing the court
refused to discharge the prisoners
holding the astounding doctrine that
the will OF the governor was the only
law, and that he could snatch citizens
from their homes in any part of the
state and try them by his infamous mill
itary court. An appeal was then made
by. the miners couch to the Circuit
Court of KanaWha county for a writ
OF prhibition to prevent the military
ocurt proceeding with the trials. The
writ was issued, but upon the hearing.
it too, was dismissed, and the prison
ers remanded to the military commits
sion fortrial. The trial went on and.
sentences were impuosed upon the
prisoners, In many cases approximat-
ing Is years.
In the meantime. ana during the
trials of Mother Jones and about fifty
others, Governor Hatfield succeeded.
OOtSruuT GldSSc0CK. Inc Trials were
halted to permit the militia officers
and members of the governors staff 10
attend the inaugural ceremonies. After
that the trials proceeded and sentences
Imposed. BY this time the military
commission" an Institution forbidden
by English law as early as Magma
Charta, in the year 1918 was becom-
ing known throughout the entire ma
ton. A mighty protest began to be
heard, even in the halls of Congress,
and an investigation was called for by
the coutry. Although the military
court imposed the sentences, the new
Governor refused to approve them. He
sent the prisoners to various jails over
the state and held them until about
the 22d of May, when they were re-