The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-08-26

standing by" along several high ways leading into Omaha, awaltine word from the peace council call ed after marching faSners obtain ed the release of farmer picketf |. held in jail. While the marcheri from Sioux City presented their de. mands to the sheriff, 100 deputiei armed with baseball bats and axe handles practiced batting line drives, shadow bunts and homeruni with their weapons in the jail yard For hours last night, representa-. tiyes of the farmers, citizens oi Council Bluffs and officials of the city and county sought to ease the tension by adjusting conflicts re- Rardine picketing the highway against milk shipments. It was very difficult going. , About midnight, Jack Hemp. oi Woodbury County, representing the farmers, couldn't stand the wrang. ling any longer and exploded: well, what the hell are we so. ing to do about it?" :,
 Right then and there 1t was de. cided to make Attorney General John Fletcher the Solomon, and this is the question he was left tc solve: :.
 Would 1t be legal for sherif Percy Lainson, spear-head of the law forces in Pottawattomie Coun- ty, to appoint deputy sheriff to stay with the pickets on each highway leading into Omaha from Iowa The deputy's duty would be to keer order in the ranks of the pickets:
 This was the plan proposed by representatives of the farmers and at first rejected by Lainsop as i'm possible under the law
 (The presence of a deputy ol course, would serve to help the strikers in Tagging down trucks SC that pickets could argue with the farmers attempting to crash their lines with milk and other products Now, the pickets stop the trucks any way they can.)
 Before the deciding outburst ot hemp. the strikers representatives had laughed to scorn a proposal that the number of pickets be re- duced 90 per cent; that the farmers use moral suasion on their fellow farmers by visiting their homes and urging cooperation to the end de- sired.
 It was late yesterday afternoon when Percy LAinson, tall, lean smiling sheriff, received word that some 800 farmers from the Sioux City strike area were headed here with blood in their eyes, determine ed to release downstate strikers i'm prisoned as pickets in Pottawatto. mic county the night before. Lainson, captain in the Dodge Light Guards. which served in the | 168th Iowa Infantry in the Rain. l bow division during the war, didn't | take any chances. He immediately 1 swore in 100 additional deputies He ordered all the baseball bat ] and axe handles in town gathered 1 to equip his little army.
 The upstate strikers arrived, led | by 145 pounds of niiddle-aged ia | talism in the person of F. Raymond Snyder, of Kinsley.
 'Sherif," said Snyder in sub
 stance, my slogan Is that thes'
 prisoners you're holding are out or
 the street by nightfall-or, else-.'
 "And my slogan" said Lainson
 fixing his steely eye on Snyder, l
 that these prisoners remain wher'
 they are until they give bond"
 The sheriff added that he hopet
 there would be no trouble. but l
 "I'm prepared to meet my Go,
 tonight as we'll as any other time,
 the serious upstate leader wa
 quoted as concluding.
 So there started a series of con
 ferences. Justice of the Peace Jacl
 Dewitt, young, handsome polio
 reporter for a local newspaper dur
 ing most of his working hours. wa
 How about reducing bonds ol the men he had held earlier in tn
 day at $500 a head 2" he was asked
 His honor, looking like a movi
 hero, lived up to the best tradition of the actors art and graciously re duced the bail bonds to $100. Tn
 day was saved.
 While this business was bein
 transacted inside the courthouse several score deputies played bal l in the court yard outside the coun ty jail. A crowd of 1000 citizens 1 excited by rumors of a possible At | tempted jail delivery, lined tn street before the courthouse. Som | of the deputies in full resimentali carried bats. night sticks. revolver | and leather ""stunnere."
 But all the swinging practice | clubs, revolvers. etc. proved un necessary. Ban for the jailed down
 staters was arranged and they wef l released.
 AS they filed out: "How abpu fees?" dolefuily asked one of tn deputies who, among scores Q others. was drawing ss.50 per da (ten cents mile for trafieporta
 ton in addition if he drove hi
 :sisty cents for each of thes cases of yours which 70 up on ap peal" Reporter justice . of the peace Dewitt answered. "G gueg | I'm only one who will make any thing much on to.day's doinel (The justice of the peace receive Q fec for all convictions.)
 ''f believe God ts on our side . last" upstate leader Snyder col emnly said as the prisoners h
 helped to freedom filed out Of th' old jaii.
 Sweating coplousiy In theiy bIu' 0vernIis and shirts and die9fuutfe' nt the jnSl experience of fS hours the strikers nevertheless managed to smile behind several days ssowfl