The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1914-09-04
REIGN OF TERROR.
Wives of Miners Tell Story of
C0lorado'S Strike Horrors.
MILITIAMEN CALLED CRUEL,
Machine Guns Trained on Camp Occu-
pied by Women and Children-Holes
Scooped In Earth For Shelter-Four-
teen Killed In a Tent.

Two women, Mrs. Pearl Jolly and
Mrs. Mary H. Thomas, representing
the Colorado miners, narrated their ex-
periences in the reign of terror at
Ludlow before the federal commission
Oh industrial relations, sitting in New
York.
The two women were introduced by
Miss Melinda Scott, president of the
Womens Trade Union league. AS she
asked for permission for them to tell
their story Chairman Walsh and some
of the other commissioners seemed TAX
en- aback and were not inclined to as
sent However. Mrs. j. Borden Harri-
man asserted her rights.
LAS representing the women and
children of the nation on this commits
sion" she said. Il move that the com
mission hear the story of these women.
/ may add that this morning received
Il telegram from Miss Jane Adams
requesting that they be heard"
That settled it, and Mrs. Pearl Jolly,
twenty-one years old, wife of miner,
took the stand to tell how the strike
began on Sept "a, and 1t was soon evil
dent to the miners there would be trou-
BILE with the mine guards.
I'VE didn't want trouble" Mrs Jolly
said Two shots were fired by the
guard. and we began to dig pits for the
women and children. Then the mill
tia came and we welcomed them. We
got two brass bands for them. We
danced with them, and they had their
meals with us But soon things began
to change"
Mrs. Jolly described how the mine
colony was searched for arms and how
| the bare floors were chopped up in the
search for arms and ammunition. One
Sunday morning she said. the miners
families were forbidden with oaths to
go to the poStotlice. and in December,
with deep SHOW on the ground, they
were ordered to leave their tents,
When one woman with sick baby in
sisted ON going back a revolver was
placed against her head. with the
threat that she would be shot.
Describing the firing. Mrs. Jolly told
how the members We're warned of it
on Easter as they We're chatting some
Of the militia at a baseball game.
Some say we had 800 some say 700,
rifles in the camp" she said I'VE had
only forty. If We had had 100 there
would not have been so many dead
women and children On the Monday
! Il Il 4
Louis Kikas. our leader They had
then to our knowledge machine guns
trained on the camp. and KikaS fear
ing they would shoot mt the tents, ran
toward them waving ii white handker-
chief We wanted the men to go to
the women and children There We're
so many mothers and women expecting
! to become mothers that. my God. gen
| tlemen, we couldn't run away"
Mrs. Jolly told how the men crept
away on their stomachs, and as the
/ shots began to fall among the tents the
women began desperately to scoop out
holes in which to hide their children.
| Only four mpn were left in the camp
| but that made no difference. and the
women who could not find holes to
crawl into had to lie fat upon the
/ ground
81 got desperate" Mrs Jolly went
on Il pinned red crosses over my
white dress and walked out | wanted
to intercpde but all got was a bullet
through the heel of my shoe and had
to seek cover
As Mrs Jolly told of insults offered
to the women after the shooting and
how after escaping in the dark. she
had returned with Red Cross party
to find dead in one tent eleven chill
dren. two women and a siX-months-old
baby. Commissioner Lennon was in
tears The testimony of this witness
was concluded with tribute to the
! Greeks
Had ii not been for them" she said
I'VE should not have been here now
During all the trouble | never heard a
profane word from one Of them"
Mrs Mary Hannah Thomas, the
Welsh wife of a miner, was called to
the stand After telling of her stand
ing in her own home she described her
journey from Ludlow to Trinidad.
when we reached the tent colony
she said and ! saw the militia and
the guards | determined to go on to
Trinidad with my three children. As
we got to Trinidad | was arrested. and
when asked why a gun was pointed
at my head was scared to death, AS
| had never seen "a gun before came
to America
Mrs Thomas was locked up for elev
en- days. she said. and when she asked
the reason General Chase ordered hel
held as military prisoner She talked
to her husband. and the guards TOLD
them they had orders to listen to the
conversation. but" Mrs. Thomas add
ed. with ghost of smile, I'VE lei
them hear all we said, for we talked
only in Welsh. -. .nla.... "a
81 want to say that the cruelties an(
insults practiced by the militia were
"A. \.