Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1922-06-30
Herrin Fight
Caused by Mine Owners
FACTS REGARDING TROUBLE AT
ILLINOIS MINES
Shooting a Union Miner on the Public
Highway Leads to Gun Fight
Resulting in the Death of
Many Strikebreakers
(By Federated Press)

Herrin, Ill.-"I1l be damned if
WILL" were the words of W. J. Lester
owner of the Herrin strip coal mine
when urged by Col. Sam. N. Hunter
Illinois National Guard, to close his
non-union mine here and avoid blood
shed.
About 40 men are dead and others
are wounded as a result of the en-
suing battle between strikebreakers
armed with machine guns and miners
on strike.
Beginning with the shooting of Geo
Henderson, union miner, on the pub
lie highway, Williamson county was
in an uproar Tor two nights and day
but the union miners, cooperating with
Sheriff Thaxton, have restored quiet
AS soon as news had spread that Hen
derson had been shot unarmed the
sheriff rushed to the scene with q
number of deputies and were forced
back by the constant firing of men in
the strip mine pits, machine CUR
in the mine kept up stream of fire
directed toward the public roads.
Until dark firing was intermittent
A searchlight at the mine was turned
upon the attackers. A rush was made
to disconne,.t the power lines. In the
meantime men outside of Herrin ar
rived. A rush was made over the
barbea wire and breastworks which
had been erected. In the first rush, il
is believed, that four of the guards
and strikebreakers were killed.
At daybreak the sheriff's men
formed in column. Knowing the
dangers they ran at the hands of the
machine guns and repeating rifles, they
worked their way into the stronghold
and captured those who remained
alive.
Breastplates were found on the
guards. A total of GO men is believed
to have been in the mine when the
battle began. The sheriff ordered The
dead taken to Marion and Herrin
The injured were taken to the Herrin
hospital where it is believed the six
who still had a chance for recovery
will remain until they can be sent to
their homes at Chicago.
The coroner and other county Of
fcials found a number pretending to
be badly hurt. One of the wounded
William Cairns, scab veteran OF
many strikebreaking campaigns in
nearly all the coal fields of the nation
a six-foot giant, was found to be suf-
fering only with a flesh wound and
needed no assistance in getting up the
steps of the hospital. Following the
clearing of the mine pits, living
quarters of the strikebreakers, which
were boxcars. were burned. One OF
the forts discovered by the citizens
contained over 1000 rounds of rifle
cartridges. This ammunition was
DESTROYED along with tank of poison
gas.
Joseph O'Rourke, one of the strike
breakers lying wounded in the Herrin
hospital, declared that he and the rest
had been shipped down from Chicago
by employment agencies with the un-
derstanding that the union miners had
agreed to their coming and that there
would be no trouble. He said he had
learned later that warning to leave
had been issued by the citizens of the
county but he never saw the warnings
and he assumed that they had been
intercepted by the mine bosses.
81 don't blame the miners much for
attacking u.s." he said, "for We were
unknowingly being used as dupes to
keep them from their jobs. We were
given arms when We arrived and a
machine gun was set up at one corner
of the mine. Guards were with US all
the time and most of the guards were
tough fellows sent by a Chicago de-
tective agency"