The Snowflake herald., 1915-10-29
STRIKERS DEMANDS REJECTED CONFERENCE ENDS

tins wol'd be rescued by the sher
iff and incarcCrat, d in jai In order
to defeat lis pro ram Of violence, the
managers left c iftcn on the after
noon of Oct. in a special train. W.tn
in a few minutes of their departure
the sheriff and his d p ty gave chase
In an automobile, striving to intercept
the special tra II at iuncan. Failine
in this, they retu ned to Clifton and
procured a war. ant for the arrest OF
the managers on er rival al
Lordsburg, N. M. The m. nagers were
arrested At Lordsburg-by telephoned
demand-on a cha. ge of felony baseO
on the allegation that their depart
ure from the strike district tended ia
incite rioting and hostile demonstra
tions. The sheriff and his deputy
hastened to Lordsburg by automobile,
arriving at 1870 a. m. They appeared
before a local justice of the peace
and insisted upon the mine managers
being tried upon a charge that they
were felons and fugitives from jus.
tice. The court found the charge
wholly unsupported by any evidence
on the Ell Paso train under armed
guard to prevent kidnapping. The
engineer and fireman of the special
train, upon their return to Clifton
were set upon and severely beaten by
q mob of Western Federation leaders;
the mine managers took up their head.
quarters In Ell Paso The sheriff ap
piled to Gov. Hunt to send troops t1
the strike district and Hunt complied
with the request, thirty-five mill
tiamen being dispatched to the
scene.
Having thus foiled the plans of Gov
.ernor Hunt, the Sheriff and Western
Federation leaders made a house Il
house canvass of Morenci and Met
calf, forcing workmen to join the Fed.
GRAFTON. Bands of Mexicans led b!
American heutenants Of the Western
Federation rounded-up non-union meE
who were dragged from their homei
and beaten. They were then Offered
the alternative of leaving town oI
affiliating with the Federation. Near
ly a hundred victims of mobs have
since made affidavits as to the vic
lence visited upon them. Scores o.
victims other than those who made ar.
fidavits, are known A reign Of ter
ror existed In the District. While II
prevailed from Oct. to Oct. 8, Gov
ernor Hunt issued statements report
ing that perfect rde was being main
tanned In the strike zone.
Following their arrival in Ell Paso
the mine managerP ltered into cor
respondence with Governor Hunt. In
this correspondence, the following ap
pears In one letter from the manag
ers: Governor Hunt. you, by your
inflammatory speeches and open sug'
gestions as to putting us In jail II we
did not reach an agreement with the
strikers in our camp, and by your open
and encouraging affiliations with the
leaders of the Western Federation oi
Miners In private and upon the streets
and public places of our respective
camps while you were there, were
largely responsible for our being com.
pelled to withdraw from the affected
district"
Another letter to Governor Hunt
contained the following:
'To aid you in remedying the pre-
sent deplorable situation, we beg to
offer our assurances that we Will take
immediate steps to meet our former
employees as soon as all nonresident
officers and agents OF the western
Federation of Miners leave the dis
trict, and committees have been fairly
chosen wi hout the exercise of any
control by that organization. We feel
confident that If such conferences can
be arranged all differences Will be am
icably adjusted and we will lend our
every effort to that end. AS you have
informed US that numerous alleged
grievances have been presented to you
on the part of our former employees
we most respectfully request that
they be preesnted to us and We be CIV
en- an opportunity to repl-."
Although cognizant Of the fact that
conditions in the district had changed
swiftly under Western Federation IN
fluence, and that such committee as
would represent fairly the interests OF
old employees would be difficult 10
secure, the mine managers waived
their technical rights and sought joint
conferences with the representatives
of the workmen. 1t was not until OCT.
&c that a committee not absolutely
dominated by the Western Federation
arrived in Ell Paso. Even this com
mittee was SO handicapped by West
ern Federation influences chat its ef-
forts were unavailing and the confer
ences were concluded.