New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1918-12-02

ganizers of the Warren District 10y
atty League.
George B. Wilcox, chief Waterman
Of the Calumet & Arizona Mining
company.
Philip ToVrea, cattleman and meat
market proprietor Of Bisbee.
j. l.. Cameron, deputy sheriff of Co.
chiee county.
arrested at Bisbee on May Is, 1918,
and were released in $1,000 bond
each.
Walter Douglas, one OF the five,
was in New York City at that time
but subsequently admitted service
through his attorney.
Captain Harry c.. Wheeler who
then was in France with the United
Sta12s army aviation corps, sent q
cableGram to Bisbee in June accept
ing sole responsibility for the depor-
tatiOns, which he declared were made
to rid the community of members Of
the Industrial Workers of the World,
who. he alleged were interfering
with the governm ent's war program
by hampering the output of copper.
Captain Wheeler asserted his willing
ness to face the charges, and, aC-
cordingiy, returned to the United
States on leave in July and went to
his homo at Tombstone, Aliz, where
he accepted service.
Warrants have not yet been served
upon Major Greenway and William
H. Brophy, who are in France, nor
upon Reuben A. Clampitt, who still
is in prison.
The deportations on which the in
1ictments were based grew out of
the strike of copper miners called in
the Warren copper mining district,
centering at Bisbee, on June &c, 1917.
The strike was called by the Indus
trial Workers of the World, and was
not sanctioned by the international
Union OF Mine, Mill and Smeltermen.
The demands made by the strikers
included increased pay. Sc a day for
underground men and $3.50 day for
surface workers. a six hour day and
improved working conditions.
The strike continued in force with
out either side giving evidence OF
weakening, until July 2 when the de-
portations occurred. Unknown to any
of the strikers, preparations had been
made by Sheriff Wheeler and his as
sociates. At a signal, the sher1ft
posse, consisting of more than LOCO
armed citizens, began Selling the
strikers and their sympathizers. All
persons who could not give a salts
factory account of themselves, re-
nounce allegiance to the Industrial
Workers of the World and promise to
return to work in the mines, were
seized and marched to the baseball
park where they were confined in a
stockade until the roundup was COM
pleted at noon.
Two men were killed during the
process of selling the men to be de-
ported. One of them, James Drew,
fired through a door when posse
sought to enter his room and killed
| Orson P McRae. The posse re-
| turned the fire and Drew was killed.
Many men were not strikers but who
were suspected of sympathizing with
them were taken and \ deported.
Prominent among these was William
B. Cleary, a labor attorney.
| When the roundup had been COM
! pleted the prisoners were loaded into
: cattle cars and freight cars and
taken first to Columbus, n. NJ. and
later the train was hauled back to the
desert station of Hermanas, a dozen
miles west of Columbus. There the
+ United States army took charge of
, the deported men and removed them
in q body to the Military camp at
! Column bus where they were cared for
; until in the fall when the refugee
camp was closed and the men dis
! persed. Many of the men, their
leaders asserted, were not members
: of the Industrial Workers of the
World
While the deportation was in pro-
gress a strict censorship was eStab-
Iished. For several hours it was
supposed that the censorship had been
instituted by the United States mill
! tary authorities but it developed
that the order for the censorship had