The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1919-10-03
STEEL WORKERS
DEFY POLICE
Hundreds of Armed Guards,
Barbed Wire, and Search
lights Protect the Mills.
BOTH SIDES ARE CONFIDENT.
Meetings Are Broken Up at Mckees-
port, North Clarion and Glassport.
Sheriff Forbids Public
Gatherings.

Pittsburgh.-Clashes between Penn
sylvania state police and crowds bent
on holding labor mass meetings i'll the
Pittsburgh district ushered in the
strike in the iron and steel industry.
The most serious disturbance occurred
at North Clarion, 20 miles from Pitts
burgh, where the state troopers charg-
ed q crowd Of union men holding a
mass meeting and broke it up. Resist
ance was offered, and it is charged by
union leaders that the mounted police
men used their clubs vigorously and
injured a number in the crowd.
Nineteen men were arrested, includ-
ing two American Federation of Labor
organizers, Joe Etchison, who works
among the foreigners, and P. FL. Bro
gan, an old mill hand. They were re-
fused bail and held for hearing later.
The meeting was broken up at the re-
quest of the local authorities.
According to eyewitnesses the meet
ing was proceeding quietly when the
state police appeared. The crowd
scattered, and some ran up railroad
embankment and threw stones and 9th
er missiles at the troopers. During the
melee several in the crowd were struck
on the head by he policemen, it was
said. The crowd soon scattered, and
as far as can be learned no one was
seriously injured. During the melee
the horse of one of the troopers suf-
fered a broken leg 1t is alleged that
several shots were fired by some one
in the crowd.
Some of the blast furnaces of the
Carnegie Steel Company are located at
Clarion.
Secretary Foster sent Z telegram to
Governor Sproul protesting ''unwar-
ranted attacks by the state police on
the strength of the clashes between
members of the constabulary and iron
and steel workers and sympathizers at
North Clarion and McKeesport. The
telegram follows:
"At North Clarion while officials of
the American Federation of Labor
were holding a meeting of steel work
ers at a place especially designated
for this purpose by the borough Off
cials a detachment of state constabu-
larry suddenly appeared on the scene
and began riding down and clubbing
the helpless and innocent bystanders
in murderOus fashion. Many were Sc
riously injured and many others were
thrown in Jail. Similar events trans
pired at McKeesport at meeting held
on our own property. We protest
against these outrageS and appeal to
you to restrain the state constabulary
from these unwarranted attacks"
There was a slight disturbance at
McKeesport, where union organizers
attempted to hold mass meeting in
defiance OF the proclamation of Mayor
George Lysle forbidding public gather
ings. More than $500 steel workers
and sympathiZers were gathered near
the southern limits of the city when a
squad Of McKeesport police dispersed
them, driving the crowd into Glass
port, an adjoining borough.
When the crowd again began to as
semble in Glassport the local police ap-
peared and ordered the meeting dis
persed The crowd refused to move
and detachment of mounted state po-
lice appeared and, wit. drawn clubs,
broke up the meeting. No one was
injured. Two aliens were arrested for
refusing to obey the orders of the po-
lice to "move on"
After dispensing the Glassport meet
ing the state police returned to Nc
Keesport and patrolled the streets.
Crowds were dispersed without diff
Guilty.