The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-07-06
G.. q "A. AWAITS
HYDES ACTION
ON SLATER ROW
Governor Says 200
Soldiers Needed to
Guard Shops.

morning he would meet today a rep
resentative of the attorney generals
office who spent yesterday in
Slater, where striking shopmen are
in possession of the Chicago and
Alton railroad shops. The governor
said he had been advised 200 SOL
diers would be necessary adequately
to guard the shops.
Slater, Mo-, July 6.-Railroad
officials today awaited word from
Governor A. NJ. Hyde before max
ing further plans for reopening the
Chicago and Alton shops here,
from which crowd of more than
500 strikers drove Is strikebreak-
ers yesterday.
After the strikers had cleared the
town of strikebreakers, had drawn
a dead line around the shops be-
yond which strangers were not al
lowed to pass, and had established
guard posts at various points, they
settled down to policy of watchful
waiting.
NJ lTVuUle LXpeCtc0
Union chiefs and town officials
are one in declaring they expect
no trouble, if the railroad does not
attempt to import strike breakers.
Eighteen strikebreakers were
taken from the shops. late yesterday
in automobiles to the edge of town
and told to "beat it and keep going"
Ten more, who escaped the first de-
portation by hiding in a foreman's
car in the yards, were placed on a
Chicago train last night. Trains
going through Slater we're watched
carefully by a crowd of $50 strik-
ers, who took command of the rail-
road station and searched tins
trains to be sure they carried nc
strike breakers. -.-
A negro porter, on sleeping car
where the strikebreakers were
quartered, was threatened with
hanging by the crowd, a. railroad
official said, and on his knees
pleaded for his life. Three men
were forced to leave Slater after
they had expressed sentiments an
tagonistic to the strikers. An air
brake inspector, George McClone
of Bloomington, ILL.,, was one of
these men. Others were the engi-
neer named Shockley, and R. E.
Green, an oil inspector Of Bloom
ington. Three frightened youths
beating their way on the tender Of
a passenger train were hauled from
their hiding places and forced to
give an account of themselves
when strikers searching the train
for strikebreakers found them.
The strikers say they do not in
tend to permit the opening of the
railroad shops with outside labor.
Rail Men Control Town.
! Railroad. men control the local
government and furnish most of the
subsistence of the town, Of which
the chief industry is the railroad
shops. The mayor, clerk in the
shops, says he has not heard of any
violence. The only arrest has been
that a strikebreaker who was later
released to union men and told to
leave town, after being held in Jail
four hours.
Slater is a town of nearly 1000
residents, 700 of whom are en-
ployed by the railroad. Most of the
men are Americans by birth, many
of them having lived here all their
lives. There is no so-called radical
element here, although all are
union supporters. There are few
foreigners here.
Governor Hyde, appealed to yes
terday by railroad officials for 100
soldiers to be used as guards, indi-
Gated last night he did not consider
the situation warranted the use OF
troops.