The Washington herald., 1922-06-23

his representative st Herrfu. a
nonunion and two union m~p
were killed I'm the nEhtE.
cARBoNDALE. III. June fl
Bloody Williamson County, heart Of
the Southern Illinois coal mining
district has smeared another red
splotch over the name that has
ciung TO II since its vendettas Of
the early sos
Al least twenty-nine non-union
miners, perhaps forty, have met
horrible deaths at the hands OF a
striking union mob. made in the ur-
holy glee OF a Roman holiday thar
started yesterday afternoon.
The strip mine of the Southern
Illinois Coal Company, eight miles
northwest Of Marion and scene az
the grimmest Industrial clash In Tn.
history Of the State. is in rutns-
Tracks. buildings and hdndreds Of
thousands Of dollars worth of equip
ment were dynamited as today's
battle closed shortly before noon.
amid the hilarious whoops Of 1000
miners and the admiring plaudits
of their women folk.
"hA wv Salt Tro0na.
But reports tonight from Herrin.
from which the deadly assault was
directed, indicated that sobernexs
was setting In Worn by twenty
four hours OF fighting. the victors
had stacked their arms within EASY
resching distance.
Col Samuel n. Hunter. returning
to Marion from Herrin as the repre-
sentative Of Adtt Gen. Carlos Black.
said State troops had not been
ordered out and would not be un-
less requested by local authorities.
He was to submit a report 20 his
chief tonight
Col Hunter said HIS Investigation
Indicated there were seventeen dead
In Herrin undertaking establish
ment and seven still were living our
on the field. in which six OF them
were shot down in cold blood. as
presumably, they were beinc
marched under armed guard 70 Her
rim from the coal mine upon which
they had stuck the white flag Of
unconditional surrender. The sew
enth was a union man.
shot In Their Tracks.
Three wounded were in a hospital
at Herrin. he said. and a like num-
Der in a hospital at CarbondaIe. one
Of the latter, an eE-s0ldier and
Chicago man. will die
other casualty reports were al
wide variance with that received by
Col. Hunter, the death toll. in most
instances. mounting considerably
higher.
Before noon today a reporter had
counted thirteen hullet-riddled
bodies in the timber field two miles
southeast Of Herrin. where the van
Quished workers already battered
and bleeding. had been herded int
a clearing like cattle in a round up
and shot in their tracks
sickened by Spectacle.
Squatted near this cory group of
thirteen was lucky fourteenth.
He breathed. sitting bolt UPRIGHT,
ne surveyed approaching newspaper
men with unseeinE eyes. He was
sobbing softly, his clothing torn 20
shreds matted in blood So he sat
for minutes. then he toppled back.
dead. Many union men who wit
messed the massacre. but who were
sickened by the awful spectacle.
talked freely tonight. seeming thus
to gain relief for overwrought
nerves. But they talked only in
! the belief that these outburSts
would not be reported to head
quarters"
Some Of these were authority for
the charge that the so-called
''scabs" were deliberately run into
field by their armed captors ana
then made the targets Of pot shots.
Saved by FraternaI order.
The battle that had started yes
terday afternoon when John l.
Lewis. president Of the United
| men working at the strip mine
should be regarded as common
! strike breakers" resulted in four
teen dead and missing before sun
set.
Firing. which had been IntermIt-
tent throughout the night. was re-
sumed heavily at dsybreak this
morning. During the night the at
tackers had crept up on the mine
and set of a fuse under the car
In which two guards were doing
sentinel duty. Guards and car were
blown 20 atoms.
This and other incidents Of the
night and day battle were recount
ed by one of the three mine defend
ers known 20 have escaped after
being disarmed and lined up for
what proved a death march. This
man is Fred Bernard, IS years old.
Jefferson Hotel. Chicago. The pass
word of a frsternal order Of which
three Of his ssssilants are mem-
bers saved him
Misled About Job.
7 was engaged" said Bernard.
an overseas veteran. by the George
T. Bertrand Employment Agency,
5s1 West Madison street, as a cook
on what / was told was a Steam
Shovelers' Union Job. reported
at the strip mine Tuesday. just
j Continued on PoQe Too.