The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-03-02

the state y to engage IN riipt1s lavss
In other Instances the acts were
of an immoral kind and of such Ia
nature as to he unfit for pub licatfon5
IN fhis report There were acts Of
brut ity Lifted TO before the COM
Emit:ee Waich mi ght be enMInerateds
:nen on slight nroyocation were
\ thrown in 70 jail and kept there with:
\ out the onnortnnit Of proving their
Innocence. Here ere iii any good
men IN the mil lila, botn officers and
priFates, and the strikers teStifEinss
said that certain companies were
composed OF kind men. and IL their.
4 houses were to he searched they
asked 4 hat members or these com
were To be sent TO Il b the searching
they would be subjected 30 indigni-
A ties and probably would be robbed of
Whatever they might have that the
militia wanted. s5
Chase Is llrnouncetI.
The conmitte denounces J Ohm
81. Chase. adjutant general Of the
militia OF the state. for his refusal
4 to testify except upon condition that
he would not be questioned BY repre-
sem atiyes of the miners. and declares
that he was overbearing to All who
came in contact with him. Z =
. Reviewing the testimony or many
witnesses. the report says from the
time the strike AMSa AE.a1n until the
fedora troo were sent INTO the field
I by the president of the United States
there was a series OF battles which
seemed to be fierce while they lasted
and a number OF people were killed
and wounded on both sides. III con-
dennis as lneNcusable both the attack
on BerHind Camp by men alleging
to nave been strikers as well as the
assault upon Forbes Tent Colony by
armed guards using a machine gun
private guard system may ne
Thought necessary. the committee
here comments. but wherever it ex-
lists sooner or later trouble will oc-
Il cur, and proper officers of the law
should be substituted, who wifi be
/ Impartial in maintaining peace and
4 order
!. Operators Control Elections.
/ Testimony OF present and former
county officials is quoted TO show eff
forts of mine operators TO control
sieiections in Los Animas and Huer-
Efano counties and the committee-re-
marks that the manner OF selecting
fjuries in these countfe s, where, ac-
Fcording toSsWitnesses III one case at.
least, seven out of twelve jurors were
deputy sheriffs, appears to be
a gainst the provisions OF the law
1 Some Of the men brought into Col
Dorado by detective agencies employed
to guard the mines. the committee
N finds had been in the same kind Of
service in West Virginia and they
brought with them the same machine
/ gun which had been used in an
farmored sar against strikers In that
state.
Concerning the charge that the OPP
orators We're guilty Of peonage, the
5committee reports:
We did not find it clearly proved
that condition of peonage existed in
the coal fields of Colorado o.. but we
found that during the strike men
were brought in from other states
4 by the car and train load and were
delivered to the mining camps under
guard of the militias many Of them
/ being foreigners and unacqualnted:
with the Work Of mining coal. We.
do not believe ii was proved that he:
operators forcibly kept men in camp
until their debts were paid. but that
they rather endeayored to hold those
who had been taken lin as strike
/ breakers from going outside
Declaring that the mine troubles
are nationwide in scope. the commit
tee reaches this conclusion:
IT should be the duty Of the gov
fernment to assist any states in set
Etling dispute that Is nationwide in
Its scope and If any federal law can;
| be enacted that will help not only
|Colorado but other states that may
+ be similarly situated. it is the duty
Iof Congress to speedily put upon the
|! statute books the necessary laws SO
that such Industrial disturbances
may forever cease
.1Iror E5lmnnInIIr