The Washington herald., 1921-02-04
Hatfield Murder Case
Brings Bitter Indus
trial Strife.
COURT BARS UNION
MEN FROM JURY
"Open Shop" Question to
Be Fought to Finish
By Counsel.

WILLIAMSON, W. Va, Feb. 8
This little town, heart of the rich
Mingo mining district, normally
producing s12,OOO,OOO worth Of btu
minous coal per year, loomed to-
night as the probable scene of a
legal fight to the finish between
capital and labor, with the coal op-
orators and the Federation Of Labor
as the opposing sides.
So thoroughly interviewer are the
Matewan murder cases with the
capital-labor issue, since the bitter
warfare between the United Mine
Worers of Aerica and the coal op-
orators of West Virginia forms the
background of the now famous Ma
tewan battle. that this issue, as
boiled down to the closed or open
shop question, dominates even the
fundamental problem whether jury
can be obtained in this county to
try this, the FIRST of twenty-four
murder cases.
Will Branch Out.
The correspondent was Informed
by an unimpeachabIe source tonight
that the case now on trial-that Of
the killing of Detective Albert Felts
will branch out into a legal Ar
mageddon Of nation wide impor-
tance. because:
First-Thc State will cmard the
barring from jury duty Of every
man who is a member OF any union
affiliated with the Federation Of
Labor.
Second-Thc defense will fight
this demand to the finish and il it
loses. will demand that no man
connected with business orGaniZa
tions such as Chambers of Com
merce, which have gone on record
as advocating the open shop, be
admitted tp Jury duty in this or
any of the other twenty three
MatCwan murder cases.
Jury SiI Doubtful.
Among the seventeen mon on the
tentative jury at tho close Of to-
days short hearing arc four MEM
bcrs Of railroad unions. The pros
ecution will insist upon their re-
moval because they belong to unions
affiliated with the American Fed
Grafton of Labor. 1t Is the con-
tcntion of the prosecution that eN-
cry member Of the Federation of
Labor has been and is directly con-
tributing to the defense of the
twenty-one accused.
The case was in it's earliest stage
when the question of membership
in the miners union was raised
and settled by ruling from Judge
Robert d. Bailey that no member
Of that ors aniEation would be al
lowed to serve on the jury.
Leading counsel for the common
wealth declined tonight to confirm
or deny that the states program
is to bar any union member from
Jury duty, but it can be posltlNely
stated that such is the plan, with
the view to establishing prece-
dent bound to have nationwide
consequences.
Weigh Jury Prospects.
In view of this new development
i. is already certain that the Mate
wan murder cases will drag along
for many months.
BY the middle of next week at the
latest, court and counsel expect to
be able to judge whether 1t is pos
sible to draw a jury from Mingo
County. If they agree that it is i'm
possible, the case will he postponed
in all likelihood, until the middle OF
March, at that time the West Nir-
ginia Legislature will take up a
bill which provides that if Cir
cult Court finds it impossible to
draw a jury in its own county, the
circuit of another county be en-
powered to cooperate in drawing
the required balance of jurymen
from that county.
Judge Damron made it known
that he will not carry a pistol until
the Matewan trials are over.
Tom Felts, head OF the Baldwin
FeIts Detective Agency, Indignantly
denied tonight the charges of at
tempted bribery made last night by
the Minres' Union against Felts
agent.
TT is a rank piece of lying propa-
ganda," he said. 1T is in line with
all the other manufactured stories
They would manufacture anything
to further their own ends"