Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-15
Another Woman and a Man
Are Injured-victim Had
Five Children.
TWO STRIKE LEADERS
BELIEVED KIDNAPPED
Communist Official and Union
Organizer Are Missing After
Leaving South Gastonia.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
GASTON1A, N. c., September IA
Mob violence again today ran rampant
through the outskirts Of Gastonia, and
one woman was killed, another woman
and man injured.
The violence grew out of plans Of
Communist leaders and leaders of the
National Textile Workers Union to hold
an open meeting in South Gastonia.
The meeting failed to materialize, al
though one Communist leader, Linton
M. Oak of New York, publicity director
for the International Labor Defense in
this section, appeared, and with his
and held without bail.
Truck and Car Hit.
The dead woman was Mrs. Ella May
Virgins, 90, mother Of five children.
whose home was In BeSsemer City. She
was shot and killed after a truck carry
ing 81 mill workers toward the Loray
Mill strikers tent colony was stopped
by mob as 1t entered the outskirts Of
the city near the Loray Mill Of the
Manville-Jenckes Co., in Gastonia. The
crowd turned the truck back toward
Bessemer City and several carloads of
men followed. When 1t had reached a
point near a bridge over the Southern
Railway, an automobile turned sud-
denly into the road so close that the
truck driver could not avoid hitting it.
The cars following the truck came
up and occupants of several opened
fire. The 20 mill workers in the truck
fed in all directions from the fusillade.
When the smoke cleared away, Mrs.
Virgins was found lying dead in the
road.
While this was going on, 25 deputy
sheriffs armed with shotguns and pis-
tolls continued to patrol the section in
the vicinity of the Hanover Cotton Mill
to be held. Several hours after the
scheduled hour for appearance of speak
ers who were to address the meeting
none had shown up and a crowd of
several hundred persons who had
gathered dispersed.
Rumors Are Rife.
Rumors flew thick and fast in this
section tonight.
After the mob had turned back the
Bessemer City Truck and Mrs. Higgins
had been killed, there were reports
that mobs intended to clean out"
Communists and union members to-
night. There also was a report cir
cumstantial enough to send newspaper
men tracing it that the Communists
had transferred their meeting to Kings
Mountain, II miles from here in Cleve-
land County. The report proved un-
founded.
Photographer Is Detained.
Members of the crowd and mill
z ards were determined that there
should be no pictures of anything that
occurred here. John T. Huston. pho
tographer for the Chariot: Observer
and the Associated Press, reported that
he had been detained for an hour by
guards at the Pickney mill and then
bundled into a car with his camera and
returned to the downtown district Of
Gastonia.
Solicitor John G. Carpenter and
Coroner j. F. Wallace Of CASTOR
County went to Bessemer City to in
vestigate the death of Mrs. Higgins.
An autopsy was ordered and the inquest
will be held at the courthouse at Gas
tonia tomorrow morning.
The physicians examining the body
told newspapermen tonight that sim
gle pistol bullet entered the woman's
chest, causing almost instant death.
George B. Lingerfelt, driver Of the
truck in which the strikers were riding,
was ordered held for investigation. So
licitor Carpenter said he wanted to
question F.. p. Morrow in connection
with the shooting. -
The car which collided with the truck
and in which the persons said TO have
fired Is or 20 shots at the fleeing mill
workers were riding. was said to be
registered in the name of Morrow. The
tag had been removed from the car
after the wreck.
Truck Passenger Talks.
J.. j. Baumgardner. union mill
worker, said that he was riding in the
front seat of the truck. which was
wrecked just before Mrs. Virgins was
shot. He said that there were 81 per-
sons in the truck.
Baumgardner said they had started to
visit friends in the tent colony main
tanned at Gastonia by the International
Labor Defense of the National Textile
Workers Union on strike at the Loray
and other mills, which the union has
attempted to organize.
OFFICIALS ARE MISSING.