Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-26
Militia Preserved Order.

THE southern strike had not been long
in progress when the collisions between
the strikers and the representatives of
the mine operators became frequent
that it became necessary for Gov. AM
mons to call out the militia. About that
time occurred the ambuscade at the lit
tie town of La Veta. where four or five
inofensive miners were waylaid and
killed by the strikers because they would
not join the walkout. Many other out
RACES had been committed by the strik-
ers. but it was not long until order was
restored by the state troops. During the
entire stay of the militia. about seven
months. there were only two deaths re-
sulting from the strike in the entire
southern strike zone.
They were there to keep order. and
they kept it in the face of many priva-
tons and of constant insult from the
strikers
According to Mrs Grenfells informa-
ton. the Ludlow battle did not occur UNI
til after the most of the state soldiers
had been withdrawn.
1T would be tedious to undertake to
give all the details of that distressing af-
fair. she continued, but there are two
phase of it that require especial atten-
ton: first. initiation and motive. and
second, the killing of women and chill
dren belonging to the tent colony of
strikers. | desire especially that it should
he understood that the statements
make are based upon official investisa-
tions. In the main. the facts have been
brought out by the military commission
which made inquiry on the ground
Immediately after the battle.
Puts Blame on Strikers.
One most important. and. to my
mind. a controlling. fact is that the
day when the fight began there were
only thirty-two militiamep at Ludlow.
while there were there about 500 armed
strikers and strike sympathizers who
had congregated there, many of them
coming from New Mexico. All of these
strikers were thoroughly armed and
their tents filled with ammunition.
Large numbers of them were fresh
from the Balkan war and trained in
the arts of modern war.
In view of these facts is it reasona-
BILE to suppose that the troops would
have sought clash? Moreover. IT
should be borne in mind that the tent
town was surrounded by rifle pits pre-
viously built by the strikers and that
the striking fighters took refuge in
these pits, Notwithstanding by SO doing
they brought the tents in the range Of
the firing.
Under many of the tents there were
shallow cellars. which. owing to the fact
that they had been freshly eNcavated,
many believe were made III view OF a
contemplated attack on the militia. 1t
vas the occupancy of one of the under
tent excavations by women and children
that led to their deaths. The pit occu-
ped by the eleven little ones and two
women was only five feet deep. six feet
wide and less than nine feet in length.
When the bodies were taken out the
next day not bullet scratch was found
on any of them and only one was burn
ed. and that but slightly. How they met
their death | do not know, but Dr. Curry,
d physician living at Hastings. who eX-
amined the corpses. gave it his opin-
ion at the court-martial that they were
suffocated by the heat and foul air gen
Grated by their own bodies.
1t has been shown that many of the
militiamen rushed into the colony dur
ing the thickest of the conflict to res
cue the non-comba tants after they dis
covered that there were any such
there. In the early morning they had
seen the women and children leaving
the tent colony in great numbers, and
never dreamed that when some of the
striking fighters took a position in the
bres stworks back OF the tents they did
when they must have known that
women and children We're still there
Naturally, with the battle once on. the
soldiers fired back al the enemy. and in