Bisbee daily review., 1922-06-24
STRIKE BREAKERS AT
 MINE OPENED
 FIRING FIRST
Had Urged Officials to Close Mine to Prevent Disaster, But Request Was Refused TERM GUARDS GUNMEN Declares Owner Repudiated Agreement With Miners
 to Make Clean-Up

HEREIN, June 23.-(By The Asso- ciated Press.) Attempts to sift through the maze of rumors, reports. contradictions. and facts of the mine war to obtain an uncolored account of the events leading up to it, to- night, after everything was quiet, brought two authentic reviews of the affair. one from union official, and another from a state military official.
 Hugh Willis, district board member of the miners unino, in the first statement from union officials con- corning the massacre, told newspaper reporters the blame lay squarely on the coal operators who imported strike breakers, and that these shots were without provocation and that one of the chief causes of the trou- ble was the high-handed manner in which the imported workers held up private citizens and refused to let them traverse the public highway by the mine" He made no attempt to deny that the affair was really a massacre, but insisted it was not started by miners.
 Colonel Samuel Hunter of the state adjutant generals office, reviewed his official investigation of the dis aster, the following being the salient points of his report:
 That Colonel Hunter, on half dozen occasions, asked Sheriff Thax- ton and other county officials if they wanted troops sent here, and was told each time-even after the fight ing started-that the local authorities could handle the matter.
 That he urged the mine officials to close it to avert a disaster, but the request was refused
 That an indignation meeting of 600 miners was held just outside Herrin the day before the fighting began.
 That he persuaded the besieged workers to run up white flag and obtain consent from miner officials for a truce, but that this truce was broken; by whom, he did not know.
 'The Southern Illinois Coal Com pany has been running this mine about a year When work was sus- pended on April 1, it was agreed by the mine union board members and the operators that stripping of dirst should be allowed, but that no coal was to be loaded for industrial purposes.
 "Six weeks later, Mir. Lester, own CT of the mine. asked me to set aside the agreement l told him 1 could not repudiate it. He said that unless l repudiated, he would open the mine, even if he had to repudiate his agreement.
 Later, other officials of the miners called at the mine in the hope of reaching an amicable adjustment, but weer told to leave. On June 21, the mine actually began production of coal, with non-union strike breakers. A group of miners went to the mine for a conference and to urge the strike breakers to leave, but the min CTS were greeted with machine gun fire. Two miners were killed. Dur ing the night, and the next morning, miners, incensed over the two dead comrades, rushed the mine. captured it, and the men, and marched them ! down the road with the result that 20 to 25 were killed.
 CHICAGO, June 23.-(By The As | sociated Press. Legal action for the recovery of damages sustained by the Southern Illinois Coal Company as the result of the mine riots at Her rim and the destruction of the com panys srtip mine there, will be Pstarted immediately against the ! United Mine Workers fof America. ! and the county of Williamson, in be- 1 half of the company and the families i of it's dead employees. Toilette w. ! Bull, secretary for the coal company, 1 announced tonight.
 ! HEREIN, H., June 24-(By The l Associated Press) - Scores of men employed at Williamson county coal mines to guard and keep the mines ] in shape during the strike. quit work ! tonight under threats from certain i union miners, but shortly after mid night they returned to work when Hugh Willis, mine union district board member, personally promised them protection and placed union miners to guard them from any fresh outbreak Absence of these caretak- CTS on the job through agreement of operators and miner officials would have meant ruin for millions of dol lars worth of mines through flooding