The chronicle=news., 1914-09-11
SOLDIERS MANHANDLE WOMEN
- RY JOHN MURRAY

SOLDIERS MANHANDLE WOMEN
BY JOHN MURRAY
Ludlow, Colo.-This happened on
saturday, August 90: Forty federals
with automatics strapped to their
Thighs stood on the platform of the
Ludlow station as the Denver train
rumbled in.
Twenty women of the strikers
camp, wives and mothers with
streaming white badges pinned to
their breasts on which were inscribed
| the words "Women's Union Picket
Squad" gathered close to the putting
engine and commenced to march
down the line of coaches. Then the
rough work commenced. Soldiers In
suited women. Major Cable pushed
Mrs. Domenski back until she stag
gered. Her arm is black and blue.
Mrs. Barteloti was slapped in the
face by another federal. Miss Helen
Schloss, who is the trained nurse in
charge of the hospital tents at the
strikers camp. was seized by two
soldiers and manhandled until she
cried for help.
Luckily the women broke away
from the soldiers before the striking
miners across the little street real
lied what was happening and the
murder that might have been done
was averted by the merest chance.
| 1t would have been more than
murder-it would have been slaugh-
ter, for at the first move on the part
Of the miners to rescue, their wives
the ready automatics of the federals
would have riddled them with holes.
1t was Major Cable that said.
Come on, Soldicrs!" and led the on
ilaught against the women.
1t was Major Cable ihat previous
| ly had implored Miss Schloss as a
lady not to force a Southern gen.
tleman" to use severe measures"
The scabs scuttled from the train
to the waiting wagons that were to
carry them to the coke ovens of Bcr-
wind and the pits at Tabasco.
| One miners wife chung desperate
ly to post and a federal tore her
gripping fingers loose.
Beaten back by brute force the
women went to their tents for the
night, but on the following day, Sun
day, the same determined band
Imarchcd to the picket line on the
station platform to face repetition
of Saturdays scenes.
This time the children came with
them, cheering their mothers with
1.-THE camp song, THE Union For
lever. Hurrah Boys. Hurrah. Dowr
with the Baldwins and Up with the
Law"
A soldier grabbed little child aht
gave it shaking.
But the children of the LUDLOW
camp have had their baptism Of fire
and once out of the Tin Willies
grasp more songs were sung ending
with, when. the strike is over TIN
: scabs will leave the state"
!, On Monday delegation of miners
wives came into Trinidad and goin,
to the court house demanded to Sc
Colonel Lockett himself. Captain
Rockwell met them in front of tn
them admittance. 1.-The Colone
f, would not see them" he said.
These women had facts to pre-
sent to the commander of all TIL
5 troops in the strike zone shown
that 243 scabs had landed in Ludlo,
E during the past month and that, n
s spite of the proclamation from Wash
0 ington which set forth that scab
0 would not be allowed to enter. tn
e strike field, this one little railroa
Y station alone maintained a leak G
n scabbcry under the open protectio
s of the federal soldiers.
d To all this Captain Rockwell list
!. encd smugly and when the story c
the manhandling by the soldiers wa
A told and inquiries made Of him as
what rights citizens had in Souther
v Colorado, replied in this fashion,:
c THERE is NO RIGHTS OF CIT
d lZENS-WE ARE THE LAW"
d Major HauZe in emaculate whit
e aided Captain Rockwell during tn
/, interview. He told the women ths
r their husbands were most unreasor
l. able to go on strike: that the bel
y thing that the miners could do We
to go back to work; that the incor