Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1920-03-19
After the Gunnen
Organized Labor of Arizona Will
Help Prosecute the Lawless Gang
Who DepOrted Hundreds of
Honest Union Work
ing Men.

The Central Labor Union of Doug.
las, Arizona, is soliciting funds to aid
in the prosecution of the men indicted
for unlawfully and by force of arms
narrowing about 1900 working men
in desert in New Mexico some 20C
miles away. Circulars for this pur-
pose are being mailed to labor bodies
throughout the country which give
in detail the manner in which the
crime was perpetrated. The intro
ductory clause is as follows:
"The Industrial Commanders
of Bisbee, Lowell, Warren and
Douglass, Ariz., aided by some
three thousand "Gunmen," depu-
ties, shift bosses and officers,
through persuasion, coercion, in
timidation, terrorism and with
rifles, clubs and other deadly
weapons, did arrest, imprison,
kidnap and deport some 1900
miners, carpenters, painters, pro-
fessional and business men; hun
dreds Of whom belonged to labor
unions affiliated with the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor, and
hundreds of whom could be
charged with no crime, other than
Of being in sympathy with organ
lied labor; imprisoning said peo-
pie in dirty and filthy railroad
cattle and box cars and shipping
them to a desert side track at
Hermanas, New Mexico, some 200
miles from their homes and
families"
The circular further states that
thousands of bona fide union men,
women and children were mistreated
and insulted, and that the people de-
ported suffered greatly, mentally and
physically, by 48 hour imprison-
ment in filthy cars with scant allow
ance of bread and water. A COM
mittee appointed by the Arizona State
Federation of Labor to investigate
and report, was refused entrance into
the district, and railroad stations
were guarded and sympathizers pro-
hibited from entering unless in pos
session of passports issued by the
gang in power.
The county attorney of Cochise
county, Arizona, has brought indict-
nient proceedings against some $50
of the most guilty persons, but the
county supervisors have not apppro-
priated a sufficient sum to properly
prosecute the cases. Hundreds Of inn
portant witnesses are scattered
throughout the United States who
cannot at their own expense return
and remain to testify, consequently
this appeal for aid. The trial is now
in progress and so far everything ap-
pears favorably to the cause of labor,
but the need of funds is imperative.
The committee appointed by Presi-
dent Wilson, in lengthy and COM
prehensive report, says: Shortly
after the strike was called the sheriff
requested the aid of Federal troops.
An investigation of the situation
was made by an experienced regular
army officer. y The officer re-
ported that everything was peaceable
and that troops were neither needed
nor warranted. y On July IL the
sheriff and large force of armed
deputies, comprising about 1000 men,
rounded up 1876 men, put them
aboard a train and carried them to
the desert town of Hermanas, New
Mexico. The deportees were wholly
without an adequate supply of food
and water. At Hermanas the de-
ported men were abandoned and left
to shift for themselves. Ac-
cording to an army census 1919 were
native-born Americans, 468 were
citizens, 472 were registered under
the draft law, and 433 were married.
Among the foreign born over 20 ma
were represented, including
141 British, 80 Serbians, and 179
Slavs. Germans and Austro-H Hun
garians were comparatively few.
The deportation was illegal and with
out authority.* In so far as such
have not as yet been
made a Federal offense, we deem it
our duty to recommend that such oc-
currences hereafter be made criminal
under the Federal law to the full ex-
tent of the constitutional authority
of the Federal Government"