The New York herald., 1921-08-26
MARCHERS ON MINGO
REPORTED IN BATTLE
Gov. Morgan Receives Word of
Fight With 300 Of Sher-
iff's Men.
MESSAGES in CONFLICT
Non Combatants Said by
Train Passengers to Be
Ready to Flee.
MESSAGES IN CONFLICT

CHARLESTON, w. Va. Aug 25-Re-
ports Of gun battle to-day between
Logan county deputy sheriffs. said to
number 800, and a large body of
armed men at Blair. w. Va were re-
ceived here tonight.
Efforts to confirm these reports
through Sheriff Don Chain of Logan
county, who was reached by tele-
phone. were unsuccessful. When asked
by an Associated Press correspondent
whether there had been fighting at
Blair to-day his reply was:
II cannot say anything about it; we
are not giving out any information"
Reports from Racine tonight were
that the several thousand marchers
who left Marmet last midnight,
avowedly bound for Mingo county to
protest martial law, in force there,
were still encamped alongside Indian
Creek, Just outside the town. These
reports have given rise to the belief
here that the Marmet marchers had
no part in the reported Blair engage
ment.
Blair is twenty miles southwest CT
Racine and in order FOR the marchers
to reach there they would nave had TO
pass through Madison. Several resi-
dents of Madison reported tonight that
none had passed through that town to-
day.
Prosecuting Attorney III. W. g. Null
lins OF Boone county, who lives at Madi-
son. reported to Charleston by telephone
early tonight that he had been advised
by passengers on Chesapeake and Ohio
passenger train from Blair that 800
deputies of Logan county were battling
large body OF armed men when the
train left that place. Mullins added thnt
the passengers told him the inhabitants
of Blair were preparing TO fee when
the train left.
Blair Is n mining town close TO the
Boone county line. Ii is said to he one
of the few mining towns In the Logan
field organized by the United Mine
Workers OF America. c. f. Keeney
district president OF the miners. to-
night said that the president OF the
Blair local union had reported 20
him early this week that the men there
were prepared for trouble" and had
dug trenches in the surrounding hills
to protect themselves from possible at
tack"
United Mine Workers officials COM
menting on the reported battle. said that
lf there had been an engagement IL was
local and not connected with the Mar
met situation nor engaged In by men
from the Marmct camp.
Several hours after Prosecutor Null
lins had reported 10 Charleston Louis
Michaelson OF Logan, county seat Of
Logan county and about eight miles
from Blair. was questioned concerning
the reported fight. He replied by tele-
phone that he was n member OF a party
OF deputies that recounotred the vlcln-
ity OF Blair late this afternoon. He de-
clared there had been no battle there
and that the only report OF any shoot
ing was that an airplane had been
fred at.
Reports tonight from Huntington
were that the Chief OF Police at that
place had ordered guards placed In all
hardware stores where arms and am
muntion arc sold He took this action.
he said, because a number of dealers
had informed him to-day that calls for
arms and ammunition had been excess
sive. Reports also were current In
Huntington that Chesapeake and Ohio
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