Evening star., 1941-11-20
Three Wounded
AsCoaI Miners
Battle Pickets
100 Bullets Fired in
Pennsylvania Clash
Lasting Hour
BY the Associated Press

by LEe hSSOCldltO Press.
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 20.-Three
men were wounded today by volley
of shots in a clash at dawn between
pickets and non-striking coal miners
in the Fayette County coal fields,
hotbed Of the four-day-old mine
workers strike for a union shop.
All were shot in the vicinity of the
Edenborn mine of the H. C. Frick
Co, about 13 miles north of Union
town.
One man, shot through the left
shoulder. was identified at Browns
vile Hospital as Ernest Metzner, %.
of California, Pa. miner at the
nearby Vesta mine of the Jones &
Laughlin Steel Corp.
Versions Conflict.
One of the other men was identi-
fed by the Fayette County sheriff's
Office as Charles Donkers CT Vesta.
Neither was seriously hurt.
Versions of the shooting con-
f1icted. The sheriff'S Office said one
was that it started when a gun was
fired at the automobile of James
Maher, pit boss at the time, as he
drove through the picket line. Mr..
Maher escaped injury, bat his ma
chine was sprayed by gunshOt.
William Hynes, president OF Dis
trict 4 of the United Mine Workers,
blamed non-union men for the
shooting and declared:
I'VE have advised all our men to
be orderly and picket only in a
peaceful manner. but if the nom
union men are going to work with
blazing guns in their hands We Will
have to arrange TO protect ourselves.
Mrs. Leslie Gray, who lives near
the mine. estimated at least 100
shots were fired intermittently in an
hour, adding that il sounded like
the Fourth of July One worker.
she said. was struck on the head
with a bottle, but was not seriously
hurt.
Elmer Cavalcante, a barber at
Edenborn and a brother Of State
Senator Anthony Cavalcante, said
the shooting was general and that
one man, with shotgun on his shoul-
der and a pistol in his hand. had
been seen on the road leading to
the pit.
Pickets Mass Before Dawn.
A company guard at the mine said
about rs to 100 picketS had massed
at approaches to the mine before
dawn.
The United Mine Workers
J
out Fayette County. where "A mines
of the Prick Co, United States
Steel subsidiary. are located. At
Frick's Red Lyon mine, the U. M. w.
claimed q picket line of between
500 and 800 and asserted not q
single non-striker entered the pit.
The shooting was the first serious
disorder in Fayette County, although
several pickets and non-strikers
swung fists at the Red Lyon mine
Tuesday. Frick's Edenborn mine is
about Is miles from the Jones &
Laughlin Veste mine. which has
granted the L. NJ. w. a union shop
but was closed by sympathy walk
out. Mine operators have charged
! tllc u W. W. W do IoiI4S AON4Ii5
pickets to turn back non-strikers.
Picket Gets Jail Term.
Meanwhile, at Gary. w. Va, a
picket arrested yesterday by State
| troopers received a siX-month Jail
term on a charge of carrying a gun.
while disposition Of the case of nine
others was deferred.
The 10 were arrested by troopers
| patrolling six mines of the United
States Coal & Coke Co. to prevent
new disturbances.
Supt. John w. Bosworth said pis-
tolS and smoke bombs were found IN
cars occupied by the pickets arrested.
The officers ceased searching cars
after two union leaders guaranteed
there would be no violence around
the mines.
The 10 pickets were held in Jail
| at WEIGH, w. Va, for investiga-
ton until about pm. yesterday,
when formal charges of carrying
guns were filed against seven of
them.
/ Adam Runyon. SO. of Ragland. ap-
| peared before Magistrate w. r.
LoCkhart and pleaded guilty. He
was sentenced to six months in
| Jail and fined $50.