The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-01-21
IEACHER Is lRIED
Miss TiIIie ROitz Before Board
of Administration.
She Tells Candid Story of
March of AmaZonS.
TO RENDER DECISION MONDAY
Didn't Hide or Dodge Any Is
sue in Case.
Alex McAllister Told of Mystery
of Communists.

! Miss Tillie Roitz, school ma'am in
sizzling Crawford county-heart of
the Kansas melting pot-won sym
pathy of the state board of admins
tration today with her frank. candid
story of the march of the Amazons
when they protested against the in
dustrial court. Tillie Roitz didn't hide
or dodge. Sometimes she nearly cried.
Again she grinned and laughed, or
nervously bit her finger nails as she
told secrets that won't help her stand
ing bit in the mining camps.
A Dramatic Hour.
It was a rather dramatic hour at
ROitZ told her story. She told of the
big dread and fear that controlled
human emotions and moved men and
women to action in the mining camps
during the strike. Near her sat Alex
McAllister, who told something of the
mystery work of the Communists and
Reds. McAllister himself doesn't
seem to know fear. He has fought
Alex Howat and the Black Handlers.
But he broke under a strain of emo
tion when he told how Tillie Roitz
two years ago lost her job because she
marched in a Red Cross parade.
Tillie Roitz's story was supple
mented by Tony Simeon. young Italian
organizer for the International Mine
Workers union. Simeon told the state
board he had broken with his owl:
father because of the Howat war.
While the elder Simeon distributed
food to Howat followers, the son
helped organize the ants.
Call To Ringo Women.
When the Amazons began their
marches in Crawford county, a call
went to the women in Ringo. the lit
tie mining camp where Tillie Roitz is
superintendent of schools. Members
of her official board were interested
in the call-some of her acquaintances
were high officials of the communist
organization. Wives of the board
members prepared to parade.
So at o'clock one morning TilIie
Roitz heard the call in the streets.
dressed and went to the mines. She
rode in a car with a man and four
other women. Dinner pals were taken
from the lockers. A few men were
led out to kiss the flag and take an
oath of allegiance to the strike. One
man suffered a black eye Tillie
Roitz saw it all--or if she missed a
detail some neighbor supplied missing
Information.
What did you do all the time?"
! asked Assistant Attorney General
Me? I didn't do anything. I just
stood there
! why did you go?"
81 don't just know. Somehow I
knew would lose my job if 1 didn't"
Marched in Red Cross Parade.
| And McAllister told later how TiIlie
! Roitz knew better than most people
just what the price of staying at home
would be. She had marched in a Red
Cross parade a few years before and
| lost her job, had been driven from
| the schools of her home county for
year and saw two Austrian girls who
| refused to march advanced to the
| highest saIaried jobs in the school. So
/ the morning of December 13. Tillie
! and her job and went out to the mines
| to stand in protest against the men
returning to work.
THE rebel element is in control Of
| our schools-everythi said McAl-
lister who came to Topeka in defense
| of the young school teacher.
He said Tillie Roitz is one of the
few loyal teachers in the schools-but
it takes a lot of loyalty to overcome
| fear of loss of ones job, som etimes.
, And TiIHe Roitz's mother, who took
| in washing to give the girl teachers
certificate, is dead and the young wo-
mans father has been dead many
years. II hasn't been a soft, easy road
! for the young school ma'am and no one
knew the story better than McAIlister.
Need Much Cleanup Work.
''That district needs lot OF clean
/ ing up" he said as he drifted away
from the Amazon parade for a minute.
They're working at it now. But they
! haven't even dug under the surface.
| They get a jointist now and then. But
two start where one is closed.
Everyone seems to be making
! LIQUOR. I know a man who earns $25
| a day making stills-simply putting
| the things together. Why recently
| they hid eighteen barrels of wine un-
/ der one of the straw stacks. 1 didn't
! know it at the time. but when found
| out and told the officers. they drilled
+ down into the barrels and syphOned
the liquor all out before the officers
got there.
Booze used to sell for So a quart
the white mule kind. Now it's down
! to So 1t isvso plentiful"
/ Then Simeon supplemented a story
of the dangers that faced Tillie Roitz
! if she failed to obey orders in the dis
| trict. He said the Ringo camp is
| honeycombed with Reds and Com
munists and their organization has a
line into most of the homes
May Not Lose Certificate.
The attorney generals office had
asked that Tilie Roitz's certificate as
a teacher be revoked because of her
participation in the parade. A de-
( cision will be rendered Monday. With
| out anticipating action of the state
board. it isn't very probable that TIL
lie Rbitz is going to lose the certifi-
cate for which she and her mother
made such a hard fight.
But it looks like a lot of stormy
| weather for some of the school boards
in Crawford county.
Take Out Phones To Cut Expenses.
Cottonwood Falls, Kan, Jan. 21.-
As a step in the retrenchment direc-
tim the POlIpfV COTuTr7isSi OY1arS have