Semi-weekly herald., 1914-04-27


times rs many guns rs they have. In
that case, / would tell them to use
them to defend their homes, and ]
would go out with them.
u was in the Ludlow district from
II O'Clock Monday morning until
about I in the afternoon, but / did
not act as leader of the strikers in
/ the fighting. did not fire a shot
myself; in fact, have not fired SIN
gle shot even in practice, since the
strike was called.
Reports have come to mel am
not stating this as fact-that some
parties today are exploding dynamite
in the holes under the ruins Of the
tents in order to destroy evidence Of
the number Of women and children
who lost their lives in the fire. am
positive that more non-combatants
persisted than will ever be known"
Frank E. Cove, attorney for the
mine operators, explains the trouble
as follows:
"The report printed this morning
in Denver concerning the trouble at
Ludlow and in the strike district are
grossly exaggerated. The strikers
started the trouble at Ludlow Monday
morning after several days Of care
full preparation. They put their ,wo-
men and children in caves or cellars
under the tents in their colony and
in cold blood started out to get the
few remaining militiamen. The SOL
diers fought hard and at great dis
advantage throughout the day and
finally near night drove the strikers
from the tents to which they had re-
treated, and from which they had fired
upon the militia.
after the strikers left the tent col
ony, one of the tents took fire pos.
sibly from an overturned stove. The
militia commander saw the fire start
from distance. 1t spread rapidly
to every tent and the military acting
under orders endeavored to remove
and believed they had removed al
women and children to the railroad
station. But it seems that two wo-
men and number Of children were
suffocated in the cellars or caves il
which their men had hidden them.
Il "The officers Of the military anl
other eye witnesses deny that any
machine gun was trained on the tent
colony or that any woman excepting
one who was shot in the arm was in
jured by the gun fire. The striker.
deliberately armed themselves Satur
day and Sunday with a view to goinf
out early Monday morning and ex
. terminating the body of militiamer
onguard in the district"
The Pueblo Chieftain says:
NJ The facts that are confirmed ar,
| these:
That a band of armed Greeks LEI
by Louis Tikas fred the first sho
> Monday which killed Private Martil
/ and which .precipitated the battle o
. that day and the present reign o
terror in the strike zone.
II That the militia did not enter tn,
tent colony before or after the fir
except two privates, Vetter and othe
name unknown, who rescued some wo
men and children from the burning
tents.
II That the fire was started eithe
by the explosion of ammunition store,
in John Lawson's tent or from over
turned lamps or stoves, probably tn
latter.
That there was ammunition store,
in the tent Of John r. Lawson, lead
er of the present coal strike in south
} ern Colorado.
That the force of militia was small
/, while the force of militant striker,
: was large and well armed.
That the strikers Tuesday burn
ed and destroyed probably a hall
million dollars worth of property.
That the strikers Tuesday "tak
ing an eye for an eye and tooth
for a tooth" avenged, through tn,
death Of others, the loss of their owr
In the Monday battle and catastrophy
That innocent men and women arr
at this time entrapped in the mines
and that fire has been set to these
: mines.
That more than one mining prop.
erty of independent operators has
been dynamited.
That the whole strike district is 8
seething volcano and that no one can
tell where will come the next out.
break.