Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-07-13

this score Will De premature.
Much that The Herald's reporter
sends from Herrin is both interesting
and illuminating. He says that the
hope. belief AMI expectation in Herrln.
and throughout bloody Williamson"
a county unionized completely SO that
everybody seems either to be a miner.
or related to a miner, or dependent
somehow upon one. is that the mas
sacre will be forgotten. will blow
over"
He tells us of the sheriff, Melvin
Thaxton, a former union miner. and
now the Republican candidate for
county treasurer, a man of great per-
sonal bravery who single handed has
stopped lynchings and prevented Jail
deliveries, yet who has not made any
discoverable attempt to find and round
up witnesses OF the great tragedy. He
said in advance that he had the sit
uation we'll in hand" The Governor
blames him for not sending in time for
troops.
The coroner, William McGown, also
has been a union man. His jury re-
turned the verdict that the death of
the 10 ''scabs" was due to the acts,
direct and indirect, Of the officials of
the Southern Illinois Coal Company"
and charged one person with murder.
alleging that the superintendent Of the
mine had killed union man in the
fighting that preceded the massacre.
A. to the states attorney: Delos
Duty 10 native born, 4 graduate OF VAL
paraiso University, . captain in the
World war, q man with q good record.
He declares that II evidence and 1ndict-
ments are presented he will prosecute
these cases right here in Williamson
county," But he doubts the possibili-
ty of conviction in that county, no
matter what the evidence may be- And
under the laws of Illinois he cannot
get change of venue; defendant
may. plaintiff cannot. Mr. Duty is a
brave speaking man." but "pessimis-
tic" over the situation. 1t would be
practically impossible to get a jury
devoid of union affiliations or sympa-
thies.
And the Governor? Gov. Small de-
serves sympathy as an individual. for
Of state funds and has just lost his
wife. But "he has not acquitted him.
self valiantly in handling this emer-
gcncy.'
And the attorneygeneral of Illinois?
Brundage is an active man. There
is nothing supine" about him. And
he approves the arrangement for no
grand jury action now.
For the massacre there is no posi-
BILE defence. ELt the operator did a
foolhardy thing. The president of the
Illinois Coal Company, William j. Les
ter, had permission from the officers Of
the union to strip the surface earth
away so as to expose vein of coal.
Through April and May he kept at that
job, using a bigger steam shovel than
any on the Panama canal 1t was dy-
namited in the riot, along with all the
other coal company apparatus and
buildings. Its upper deck now re-
minds one of a WORKOUT battleship
converted into q target for the gun
ners of the Atlantic fleet" Then Mr..
Lester announced his intention of min
ing and shipping coal He brought
mon from Chicago and 80 guards from
the Hargreaves Secret Service and
armed them with rifles and revolvers.
1t was this arsenal" located, not at
Herrin, but halfway between Herrin
and Marion. that the strikers attacked.
OF the men slain one was a capita in
of the A. E. F. and in the pockets of
another were found papers showing he
had fought months in France. In the
course of his circumstantial account
Of his visit to the field of battle and
his solitary exploration of the road
along which the "scabS" were marched,
this correspondent tells how two miles
out of Herrin all the strikers with
guns were summoned to form a semi
circle at the front and the prisoners
then were ordered to run between the
curves. They did run-into wire
fence! There the killing was done and
shreds of clothing still hang from the
barbs. That fence, and the ruined
buildings of the plant-the office is
now a concrete foundation filled with
scrap iron"-are the visible evidences
now of what occurred.
Will it blow over"?' Are we mere
ly going to forget it,? Surely a way
can be found for some authority to get
al that awful case. We hope there is
some substance behind the hints this
correspondent Cfers about the grand
jury and the plans of the attorney
general.