The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1922-03-24
REBELS QUELLED,
SHUTS REPORTS
South African Situation Begins to
Ease as Government Rapidly
Concentrates Its Forces.
1900 STRIKERS CAPTURED
Two Thousand Strikers Rounded Up.
Two Hundred Killed and Six
Hundred Wounded In Rand
Mine War.

johannesburg, Union of South Afri-
Gave have the situation we'll in
hand" telegram from General Jan
G. SHUTS, premier of the Union of
South Africa, to the government, an
nounced. Smuts is here.
In the Rand mine war, which famed
up on Friday and Saturday, more than
1000 strikers had been rounded up by
government troops, and casualties of
200 killed and 600 wounded had been
reported.
Troops which had been brought into
action recaptured Benoni and Brak-
pan, which had been held by the rebels
since Friday afternoon.
The encounter at Benoni was par
ticularly bloody one, the miners MUIR
dering their prisoners and setting fire
to buildings before being driven out at
the point of the bayonet.
General SHUTS arrived here and
went at once to the troubled areas.
He had narrow escape, his car being
premier was unhurt.
Rebel atrocities at Boksburg were
reported 1t was announced they were
in retaliation for the bombing of q
crowded hall where a miners meeting
was being held. The use of airplanes
by the authorities has intlamed public
opinion.
In the recapture Of the Brixton
Ridge portion Of the Rand airplanes,
artillery and infantry were used. The
miners were swept from positions they
had captured from the police, but only
after desperate battle.
They clung tenaciously until an ar
tillery barrage blasted their shallow
trenches and hand grenades and bombs
from the air drove them out.
An infantry charge resulted in more
than 1000 of them being surrounded
and captured. Many natives and white
miners leaders were killed.
An official communique was issued
1t read:
Operations are progressing salts
factorily. Numerous belea guered de-
tachments of police have been relieved
by airplane reconnaissance"
In fighting for possession of Jo-
hannesburg before the arrival Of gov
ernmenl l4enforcements miners almost
completely surrounded the town and
launched repeated attacks, which were
beaten off by the police. The strikers
made desperate attempts to seize JO-
hannesburg in order to cut communica-
tions with Pretoria.
Guerilla warfare continued through
out the day east and southwest of the
town, with numerous casualties added
to the long death roll.
Further fighting took place at Fords-
burg, where strikers armed with Lew
is guns replied to a shower Of bombs
from airplanes.
An Irish club here was seized by
government troops, and its members
placed under arrest on suspicion they
were implicated in fOmenting the pres
ent trouble.
Radicals throughout the Rand dis
trict have seized upon the gold miners
strike to stir up the natives against
the local government, and what began
as a mine war grew quickly to assume
the proportions of revolution.
Reinforcements, which arrived to aid
the constabulary, have turned back the
natives from Johannesburg. Only
their timely arrival saved the situa-
ton here. A detachment Of police at
Ellis Park were nearly forced to eapit-
ulate to the enemy.
"A police retreat from Fordsburg
caused alarm here, but troops cleared
the ground gained by the attackers.
Bombing planes have been used sue
cessfully against the miners in sew
eral instances. At BriXton Ridge an
aviator probably saved the lives of
about 100 police who had been cap
tured. He flew low over the ridge
where the miners surrounded their
prisoners and let drop four bombs.
The natives broke and ran in all di-
rections.