The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1919-12-19
Statement Made BY Off
Gals of That City
UNCAllED FOR ATTACK
ormer Resident of Madel a
Writes the Newspaper There
Regarding Matter
T,iadeIia News. Messeneer.l

he local Townley Socialist orga
nhlished the following article. PR
for the purpose Of shield
ny the contemplate gang OF |. y
W.. and Offering an excuse for the
n stanlly act-the shooting down
naimed former service men. durir
he Armistice day parade in the Gil
( Centralia, Washington. Read Il
eminent of The Ncnpartisan Rur
Jews. Here il is:
The city press and the depart
.ment OF justice Ut Washington
are in a humiliating position
over the shooting at Centralia,
Wash. We were told at first that
there was a blind. stupid, vicious
assault on a parade of marching
soldiers. The department of JUS
tice acted as if this were the
proved fact. Those of us who do
not sprinkle salt on press reports
naturally felt pretty indignant
too.
But the local coroner's jury
has failed to fix responsibility
for the killings and has returned
an open verdict. 1t could not be
otherwise in the face of sworn
testimony of men in the work
inPmen's boarding house before
the shooting from il began. Dur
Ing temporary halt OF the pa
rade someone suggested a raid
on this place. IL enough would
follow" testified Doctor Frank
Bickford. one of the marchers.
but before | could take the lead
there were many ahead of me.
Someone next to me put his foot
against the door and forced il
open. after which shower of
bullets poured through the open
irg about us"
IF there were criminals in
he horse they should have been
apprehended by the police.
otherwise their dwelling was
sacred against mob violence and
in resisting the mob the 'occu-
pants were merely defending
themselves.
The press has endeavored to
keep mp the first false i'm
pressions by stories about deS-
perate battles with fugitives in
the bad lands. There were no
battles. The posse met no one
Who offered resistance, besieged
deserted cabin and succeeded
in killing one of their own num-
her"
Letter From West.
As II Is not our custom TO read tn
,ciaiistic and un -American dop
hich Is spread over the pages {
he Townley papers week after wcel
e failed To notice the article abov
opted until our attention was calle
} It this week in .he following lette
-hich was received from Mr. W.
owan. former owner of the Madheli
iotcr company garage in Madelia:
"Puya'lup. Wash. December 5.
l919.-W. n. Hinchon. Madelia.
MINI. Dear Friend: I saw an ar
ticle in last weeks issue of the
Rural News on the Centralia
shooting affair. I am sending you
clippings from last nights paper
so you can see how near night he
was. We are only thirty miles
from Ccntralia. and very natur-
ally the feeling is pretty strong
against the !. w. w., and its n
good thing his dirty sheet is
printed back there, rs ii wouldn't
last over night in this country"
Now, in order that our reader
nd the general public. may kno
no true situation and the actu;
acts connected with THE Central
flair" we publish below one of I'll
lippings sent us by Mr.. Cowan.
5 the sworn statement of the mayo
nd two commissioners of Centrali
rho would have no object in mis-
tating thr facts. Here is their state
nett, u'ade under oath:
Text of the Statement.
The official statement of the Ger
ralia city administration regardir
he Armistice day murders, as give
mt today. is as follows:
II, r. C. Rogers, mayor: John Saur
ors and w. w. Dickerson. commits
toner's, each being duly sworn. eao
or himself and not for the oJ.ler, dt
,cses and says: That we have rea
he following statement and that Il
acts therein contained are true:
"Armistice Day, Tuesday, Novemb,
I, 1919. the people Of Lewis count
assembled at Central
q peacefully celebrate the fir
of the world war and
onor all service and ex- service me
II members of the American Logio
nd especially members of the Ger
rial and Chehalis posts of the An
lican Legion.
The cX-service men were in un
orm and masching in military form
tion. They were unarmed.
THE line of march LED past the
V. W. headquarters, located on ii
principal business street of Centrali
lore the work of tne,I. w. w. was BIZ
ng, and had been actively carried q
n defiance OF general. but uno:gar
,ed. public protest.
"As the ex- service men in the ps
Gde arrived opposite the I. w. V
they were fred upo
nd three men then and there WEI
ataly shot, others wounded. The al
ack was unprovoked and witho,
or excuse.
1.-The unarmed eX- service nc
overpower those assas
ins within reach. jailed and safei
uarded them.
Zone murderer armed with q
automatic pistol, was pursued an
Vorfalsan nv n rnpnntlp A