Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-01-29
Figures at trial in West Virginia Mine War
WILLIAMSON. w. Va, Jan. &c.

WILLIAMSON, w. Va, Jan. 90
Friend and foe rub elbows here. as
miners and Baldwin-Felts guards as
semble for the trial of Sid Hatfield,
chief Of police at Matewan. and 10
of his fellow citizens charged with
killing seven Baldwins in a street
battle.
Five Baldwin-Felts detectives en-
gagged in the same battle will be tried
under change of venue at Lewis
burg, Greenbrier county, in April.
Tom Felts, chief of the guards and
man-hunter extraordinary, is here in
Williamson. With him are bis most
trusted men. He has an intimate
personal interest in the case, for two
of the sla i'm Baldwins were his BROTH
ers.
At Matewan, which is ten miles
from here, the bullet-spattered wall
of the hardware store still gives evil
dence of the terrific battle that day
fell at the head of their forces.
The miners call it "the battle of
Matewan" and regard it as a defen
sive combat that ensued after the
Baldwin men attempted to evict the
families of striking miners from
company houses.
But Tom Felts calls it the mas
sacre Of Matewan," in which he says,
his men had no chance for a fair
fight, but were slaughtered after be-
ing ambushed.
Attempt to Arrest Chief
Among them was c. C. FISHERMAN,
the mayor of Matewan and the towns
leading business man.
Witnesses say the guards started
to arrest his chief of police, Sid Hat
field, on the ground that he had at
tempted to interfere with them in
their discharge of their duties as IL
censed constables.
The mayor, it is said, warned them,
not to take his chief of police away
from the town. Nobody tells exact
ly the same story about what hap
pened after that
shot was fired and Mayor Tester
man fell. Then there began the gen.
eral shooting.
Other guards who survived fed,
some swimming across the Tug river
to Kentucky. These have been sum-
moned as witnesses by the prosecu-
ton.
The killing of Uriah Hatfield,
owner of the Urias hotel of Mate
wan, may or may not have had
something to do with the affair.
He was sitting, one evening, sew
eral months after the killing of the
guards, IN front of his hotel. Sud-
denly rifle cracked and Uriah Hat
field fell dead with bullet through
his heart.
The slain man.. who was no
relative Of Sid Hatfield, had been a
had investigated the Matewan affair,
and had received a threatening note
afterward.
Gathering Evidence
All the forces of the Baldwin De-
tectives, Inc, have been at work
ever since the day of the Matewan
tragedy. gathering evidence against
suspected persons.
The enclosure in the court room
reserved for judge, jury and defend
ants will be filled with the numerous
defendants, at the head of whom sits
SID Hatfield: In, the auditorium
gather the friends and foes of the
accused men.
In the friendly delegation from
Matewan sits Sid Hatfeld's wife. She
was the widow of Mayor FISHERMAN,
KILLED in the gun fight. The chief of
police married her few weeks after
the mayors DEATH
The Defendants
The defendants are Sid Hatfield.
CHER of police of Matewan; Reece
chambers, William Bowman, Clair
0verstreet. Doug" Mounts, Jesse
Boyd, Isaac Brewer, Charles Kiser,
Ben Mounts, William B. Coleman,
Overstreet, Fred Burgraft. "At." VIII
l1ams' q, r. Page, Fred Webb, Van
Clay, Albert Burgraft, Calvin Nc
Coy, Halle Chambers, N. H. At
WOOD, William Starr, and Ezra Fry.
the latter union organizer.
The indictments charge that +bav
killed Albert c. Felts, Lee Felts' !,
W. Ferguson, A. J. Booher, E. o.
Powell, c. B. Cunningham, and G. T.
higgins, all employees of the Bald
Wln-Felts Detective Agency. In adj
dltion to the indictment for murder.
Hatfield was indicted for STEALING
$500 from the body of Albert Fe1ts
and others of the defendants for
stealing weapons belonging to the
dead detectives.
For several months before the hat
tie, organizers of the United Mine
workers of America had been ousv
forming local unions among tha
unions OF Mingo county EMPLOYEES
OF the Stone Mountain Coal COMPANY
at MateWan Joined the union, it
was stated, at that time, were or
9ered to move from company houses
Some OF them. however, were still
IN possession on May 10 and a partv
or private detectives was sent from
Bluefleld to serve Writs of eiert-
ment They had completed their
work and were on their way to the
Norfolk and Western railroad sta
ton late in the afternoon when the
fight occurred
Horse Misunderstood
WHITE PLAINS, N. Y.--If the horse
j RlpDlprS for hol-