Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-03-30
WHEELER TAKES
81! YD To GIVE
HIS VERSION Of
B|SBEE TROUBLE
Former CochiSe Co, Sheriff,
Says He Feared Men, Wo-s
men and Children on Both
Sides Would Be Killed,
ACTED FOR WELFARE
OF THE COMMUNITY
Patriotism and Desire TO Pre- 3
vent BIoodShed Prompted
Him to Deport 1I618 Ari-
zOnansl He Says.

4
Tombstone, Ariz., March 90
Patriotism and the desire to pre-
vent bloodshed on the streets OF
Bisbee, Arizona, prompted him to
deport l,lSG striking copper min
ers and their sympathizers from
Risbee to Columbus New Mexico.
July IL, 1917 Captain Harry c.
Wheeler, former sheriff of CO.
chise county, veteran of the Span
ish-AmeriCan war, and of the re-
cent war against Germany. today
told the jury that IS trying Harry
r.. WoottOn on a charge Of kid
mapping in connection with the de-
portatious.
81 feared that men, women and
children of both sides would be
killed in the streets of the town.
Captain Wheeler, who is the prin-
cipal witness for the defense, tes-
titled. And | was thinking of my
country too"
The witness repeated some of
the expressions he said he heard
from agitators during his investi-
cation into the condition in the
Warren mining district immediate-
ly prior to the deportations. Much
of the language quoted by him was
unprntable, Judge Samuel l..
Pattee requested the women pres
ent to leave the court room when
Captain Wheeler introduced the
nature of the quotations,
'"To-------- with the draft" and
'"The Red Button over the Liberty
Pond" were some of the express
sions the witness testified ha
heard, Other aEitators declared In
obscene language that just as tho
Russian government had been
wrecked, so would the government
of the United States be wrecked by
radical elements, Captain Wheeler
said,
WheeIer's Proclamation.
The following proclamation
signed by Wheeler, issued July f2,
1917, and urging all women and
children to keep off the streets on
that day, was introduced in ey.
dSnce and read to the jury by w.
II. Burgess, chief of counsel for the
defense who conducted the direct
examination OF the witness:
July 10. 1917.
IAN women and children keep
off the streets today. ~
81 have formed sheriff's posse
of 200 men In Bisbee and 1.0nB
in Douglas, all loyal Americans
for the purpose of arresting On
charges of yagrancy, treason, and
of being disturbers of the peace OF
Cochise county, all those strange
men who have congregated here
,th vt.+ fFx.
the purpose of harrassing and IN
timidating all men who desire to
pursue their daily toll. | am con-
tinually told of threats and insults
heaped upon the working men of
this district by so-called strikers
who are strange to these parts, yet
who presume to dictate the man
ner of life of the people of this
district.
Appeals to patriotism don't
move them nor do appeals to rea-
son. At a time when our country
needs her every resource. these
strangers persist in keeping from
her the precious metal production
of this district. Today / heard
threats to the effect that homes
would be destroyed because the
heads of families insisted upon
their rights as Americans to work
for themselves, their families. anil
their country.
"Other threats have and are be-
ing daily made. Men have heea
and brutally beaten. and
only today I heard the mayor OF
Risbee threatened and his re-
quests ignored.
I'VE cannot longer stand or tol-
s~S~s~-~~~s~~~-~--~~S~~~s
uiont'nuea ~ paOe TwnN