River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1921-09-08
Federal Government Steps In to
Put Down lnsurrection In
West Virginia.
TROOPS TO END MINE WAR
Freight Rates for Export Grain Re-
duccd-Germany In Political Fer
ment-Revolt In India Suppressed
Progress of The Irish Me-
gotiations.
By EDWARD w. PlcKARD.

Thousands of armed men led by pro-
fessional trouble makers, massed in
the hills of West Virginia determined
to invade the coal mining counties to
unionize the miners there, and defying
the order of President Harding to dis
perse and go home. Thousands of
volunteer troops, deputies and mine
guards gathered to resist the invasion.
Two regiments of the regular army at
Camp Dix and one at Camp Sherman
ready to start for the scene of dis
turbance 10 enforce the edicts of the
president. Army airplanes with
bombs and machine guns waiting at
Charleston. Proclamation of martial
law in several counties of West Vir-
ginia signed by President Harding and
about to be issued.
Such was the status of our own
"war" at the time of writing. The
condition was serious enough to de-
mand the undivided attention of the
President and his cabinet. Brig. Gen.
Fl. II. Bandholtz. who had been sent
to West Virginia to report on the
situation. had found that there was
no likelihood that the insurgents
would dispense until snow of force
was made by the government and
had asked Secretary Weeks to send
federal troops at once. General Band
holtz, it was understood, would be in
command. In Washington Secretary
Weeks said: II don't want to say
what will be done, but If we are forced
to use troops, 1t will be plenty"
The trouble In West Virginia is of
20 years standing. In 19O1-O2 the
miners union began their attempts
to unionize the coal fields there, and
the Glen Jean strike was called. Ever
since then the warfare has been go
ing on. at times more serious than at
others but never ceasing entirely.
In recent years the conditions have
been growing worse, for the !. w. WIS
and Communists and other agents of
disorder and violence fiocked to the re-
gion. A year ago last May the opera
tors In Mingo county undertook to
evict a number Of union miners who
occupied company houses. and bloody
fighting resulted. The unions retail
lated by calling strike in the border
counties. but the operators obtained
plenty of nonunion men. The present
outbreak really began last May, after
federal troops were withdrawn. There
was what amounted almost to an in
surrection. Until now the miners
have fought only with the state troop
ers and the deputies Early last week
Governor Morgan sent to President
Harding and Secretary of War Weeks
a plea for federal troops, saying the
insurrectionists were beyond the con-
troll of the state forces and were seiz-
ing passenger trains to transport their
re-enforcements and cutting all tele-
graph and telephone wires. He de-
clared the men assembled to resist
the invasion of Logan county would
be utterly unable to repel the attack.
General BandholtZ, who had been sent
to investigate the situation, reported
to Washington that the state had
made only feeble efforts TO check the
growth of the insurgent movement,
but nevertheless the President on
Tuesday issued his proclamation
warning the insurrectionists that if
they did not at once dispense and re-
turn to their homes the army would
be used TO suppress them.
Although John T. Lewis, president
of the national miners union. asserts
the continual assaults and outrages
perpetrated upon individual mine
workers by the armed Baldwin
Felts guards employed by the