The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-06-11
SPECIAL POLICE ARE
GUARDING ROADS TO
MICH. STEEL PLANT
fcont;nued from mage one)

Raisin river and is the only en-
trance to the plant. Two blocks
away was the picket line. Two
hundred men and women, armed
with clubs and bricks, were group
ed there around a tent which was
their headquarters. g,
In between, the street. was lined
with a hundred automobiles OF
strikers and strike sympathizers.
Some women in the cars had nails
and bricks in their hands.
ACCEPT STALEMATE FOR
TWO HOURS FARLEY
The opposing forces held their
positions for two hours, while
their leaders conferred and while
Gov. Frank Murphy in Lansing
strove in personal conferences
and by telephone to prevent vio-
lence. ,
Murphy asked Newton Steel
Co., the Republic subsidiary, to
defer the reopening. Harry h.
Holloway. Republic division man
ager, refused. He said the men
wanted to go back to work at
once.
Murphy then tried to persuade
the pickets to let the workers
through peacefully and thought
for a time that such an agreement
could be reached.
Monroe officials meantime had
been doing their own palavering
with the strikers.
When his forces first marched
toward the plant, Sheriff Joseph
J. Bairly and a car full of depu'
ties, followed by car of city po'
lice. drove up to the picket line.
T'll give you two minutes to
get out of here" the sheriff tolc
the pickets. !,
"If you go through it will be
over our dead bodies" one picket
shouted back.
The two minutes passed. The
sheriff and the police drove bach
to their own lines. =,
During the next hour and a hal
Mayberry and Chief of Police
Jesse Fisher held a dozen confer
ences in the chiefs car and spent
half an hour telephoning to tn;
governor in Lansing. The sheriff
tried to perfect an arrangement
whereby the pickets would agree
to let the workers pass but al
special police would be kept ou'
of the plant. =,
The sheriff said once shortly
before the battle that such ar
agreement had been made.
FIND ULTIMATUM COMES
BEFORE SIX O'CLOCK
There were more delays, how
ever, and Just before 6 o'clock
Chief Fisher went to the picke
line and told Mayberry:
"Just two minutes to clear thu
road or we're coming through, ant
! mean it," -.
After delivering that ultimatun
he went back and brought nj
forces to attention.
At six o'clock he and the sher
if gave the order to advance
Mayberry was starting toward tn,
police lines. He ran the last b'
wards and was in the ranks of tn
enemy camp when the battle be
gan. -, -.
The police advanced slowly or
foot. In the front rank were ma
tional guardsmen with gas bombs
and gas rifles. 49,. -
There was some scuffling as tho
police approached. They loosed {
barrage of gas. -,
Other deputies followed up witt
their night sticks.
The pickets replied with bricks
and clubs for few r'inutes unit
the gas scattered them.
| Many pickets were nauseated
A thousand onlookers crowded
along the narrow road put hand
kerchiefs to their faces to protec
themselves against the gas tina
came their way. They coughe(
and their eyes streamed.
In a few minutes the picket'
were fleeing in all directions antt
the automobiles loaded with JUDI
liant workers poured down the
road and into the mill.
AS they ran, pickets threw
bricks at the first Of the automo
biles to enter.
Deputies and residents opposing
the strike chased some of the
pickets for a mile. Many of those
who were run down were beaten
"My God, boys, I don't have
club, don't beat me-" cried one
who was cornered.
Some of the routed c. |. 0. mer
ran into houses in the neighbor
hood to hide. Citizens soon start
ed a house-to-house search ano
dragged them out.
Non-striking workers passing
through the lines pushed into the
Raising river at least nine auto
mobiles belonging to pickets.
The returning workers seemed
pleased with their victory. One
group of workers stopped ant
gave a news reel photographer 9
special demonstration of what
they had done to cars belonging
to pickets. For the benefit of the
cameraman, they upset a car al
ready badly damaged and tossec
bricks through the windows as the
camera ground.
Scattered hand-to-hand encoun'
ters continued for an hour al
spots some distance from the mill