The Connecticut labor news., 1922-02-10
STATE MILITIA
 RUNS RAMPANT IN
 KENTUCKY STRIKE
Terrorize Citizens Blocks Away From Scene of Trouble at
 Mills.
By International Labor News.

Newport, Ky, Feb. 1O.-kentucl1y state troops who for the second time were ordered by Governor Morrow to the scene of the strike of employees of the Newport Rolling Mill and the Andrews Steel Co.,, twin corporations owned by the same interests put on fine demon stration of 1nilitarism to let the people of Newport know that they were Ill com plete charge of the situation.
 Newport citizens are outraged at the conduct Of the state troops, who, led by Colonel Banlart paraded through the business streets of the city blocks away ordering people off the street and attack ing those who did not promptly obey their orders.
 This was fitting climax to the role the troopers played Thursday night after the homes in the strike zone had been shot up by the paid gun1nen employed by Mir. Andrews. After night made ter rible by machine gun fire from the mills the citizens ill the strike zone Crawled out of their cellars and from behind inn provised barricades where they had Soug ght refuge from the deadly machine gun bombardment from the scab infested mill, peered out through their bullet scared homes to find the positions in the mills that were occupied the night be- fore by the company gun1nen now occu- pied by state troopers; to ind rifles, machine guns and tanks that only little while ago were used to make he world safe for democracy pointed not i'll the direction of the mill but in the direction of the very homes that had literally been shot to pieces the night before. Representatives of the men on strike declare that the demonstration Thursday l night February 2nd was wholly unpro- voked and was deliberately staged by the | mill owners to terrorize the citizens in | the hope that demand would be made l for the return of the state troops The company was finding 1t pretty ex- pensive to pay their thugs and gumnen seven dollars day, and the scabs unable ] to stand the Jcers of women and child l ren as they went to and from their work l were desertlng the mill. The troops had ! to be brought back at any cost even tc
 the shooting up of the homes of people who had no connection with the strike he strikers statement that the lombard | ment was unprovoked Is borne out by Sheriff Tieman of Campbell County who told me that he was Ill the strike zone | all of Thursday night and did not see a 1 shot fired by strikers or their sytnpath- l izers.
 The homes i'll Brighton street immed.
 lately i'll front of the mill are literally
 shot to pieces. It is miraculous that .
 score or more of people were not killed Public opinion has been on the side o1 l the strikes since i'll the very beginning oi
 the trouble III July of last year when the
 mill owners suddenly broke of negotia l tions with Local l7 of the Analgamatee l Association of Iron. Steel and Tin Work l CTS.
 ! The employees of the Newport Rollins
 Mill and the Andrews Steel Co. are re presented by four locals of the Anal
 ganated, namely, Mo- which takes i,
 the hot mill men, Is and 16 which take
 i'll all mechanical crafts of the rollin,
 mill and 17 which take Ill the entir
 force of the steel plant
 ] The company has recognized No. 5 fo
 tWentyseven years. When the workin,
 agreements with locals IS, 16 and 17
 which had been recognized during tn
 war, expired June 3Oth last the compan l negotiated a contract with No. IS. Nc
 l7 was called in next and it was whil the new contract with No. 17 was bein
 negotiated that the company suddenl and without explanation broke off nego
 tiations and declared for the open shop. Two hundred men laid down thei
 tools when the strike was called and no
 months the strike has been in progress
 the open shop that is being waged any
 Newport, organized and unorganize
 workers. business and professional me- are with the strikers