The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-12-20
ARE
POINTED OUT
BY WITNESS
Massacre at Herrin is
Described
(By Associated Pressl

NY <ASSoCtdltQ 1FeSSb
MARION, H., Dec. 20-With the
scores of bullets and knife wounds or
their bodies, three survivors of the
Herrin riot, testified today at the trial
of five men in connection with the
killing of 20 non-union men last June.
They were Joseph ORourke, William
Cairns and Robert Officer.
Cairns, who followed Robert Officer.
the first survivor to take the stand.
testified that after the defenders oe
the mine surrendered under white
flag, that the prisoners were marched
out of the pit with their arms above
their heads
After the march started some men
TOOK me back to the mines, to point
out where we had kent our guns. They
let me look IN my locker for soma
keepsakes l priced highly and then
we reJoIned the moo without finding
the guns" The witness then pointed
out OTIS Clark as one of the two men
he had seen with c. K MacDowe1l,
superintendent of the mines, and said
that clark had gun in his hand.
Men Are Lined Up.
Then we marched on and I heard
someone shout, Hugh Willis is com
ing Willis is an official of the min
ers union. We marched on until we
came to a barbed wire fence. Some
one shouted All men with guns line
up to the right and some one else
shouted You fellows run and the fir
ing started
fy-iod to
but fell with load of buckshot in
my body A rifle bullet grazed my
scalp. While l was lying there I
saw blood-coyered wounded man
leaning against tree. A big man
with a gun came up and said TO the
wounded man You great big
Can't we kill your and he fired into
his BODY
Points to Defendant.
The witness then pointed to Peter
Hitler, one OF the defendants, as the
man who fired the shot.
Then / saw another man fire an
other shot into the body and at John
shoemaker, assistant superintendent
of the mine as he lay wounded on the
ground" the witnesses continued:
Three men with guns came up to
machine gunner" and put a gun to his
head and blew it off.
Cairns said that a crowd had then
found he was alive and subjected him
to all kinds of abuse for an hour, when
Sheriff Saxton of Williamson county
came up with some other men and re-
moved him to hospital. The witness
said he was one of the guards at the
mine. Officers testified today in re-
sponse to questions by the defense that
the mob seemed to have several diff
ferent leaders at different times as it
marched towards Herrin.
Describes Death Route
He said he was shortsighted and the
nearest he got to any leaders was so
feet and he could not identify any of
them. The witness described the route
taken by the mob as d gigantic y"
With the mine at the bottom of the
hook and the cemetery at the top, the
march covering about six and one-half
miles.
MacDowell was killed about a mile
from the mine IA more of the original
49 persons about two miles further
down, and score shot down in a man
hunt through the woods after they had
been lined up before a barbed wire
fence and fired upon as they attempted
| to flee
Other witnesses have testified that
| six of those who escaped were recap
tured and marched through Herrin to
the cemetery, where they were shot
down. Officers said that before the
riot a check for 81 ,625 was sent to Chi
| cago in payment for arms and ammuni-
/ ton for the use of the mine guards.
/ The witness said the situation about
the mines had been peaceful before the
/ coming of the non-union men. and that
afterward he heard reports of trouble.