Evening star., 1948-05-20
Troops Patrol
Meat Plant After
Picket Is Slain
500 Iowa Guordsmen
With Fixed Boyonets
Clear Away Strikers
By the Associoied Press

WATERLOO, Iowa, May 90
National Guardsmen, who moved
into the area with fixed bayonets
shortly before dawn, patrolled
the Rath Packing Co. plant to-
day after CIO Packing House
Workers rioted when one of their
pickets was shot to death last
evening.
Under protection of upward of 500
Guardsmen, group OF $50 non
striking workers isolated in the big
independent packing plant when
the rioting began were able to go
to their homes.
Relative quiet prevailed at the
scene where tumult had broken out
for two hours last night after Picket
William J. Farrell, 40. of Waterloo
was killed by a pistol blast from a
nonstriking workers car which
pickets had stopped at the plant
entrance.
Woman Picket Wounded.
"A WOIlldIl plChCG was WOulluCo al
the shoulder, apparently by the
same bullet that killed Mr.. Farrell.
Martial law was not proclaimed.
AS Guardsmen took over under
direction of civil authorities a group
of about so pickets retreated before
the advancing soldiers. They
shouted jibes but offered no resist
ance and gathered in a cluster about
a block away where others joined
them as the day wore on.
Road blocks were set up on streets
leading to the plant. Half tracks
and jeeps patrolled the area.
The Guardsmen were directed to
enforce court orders restricting
strike activities in the plant area
To relieve tension the Rath plant
shut down its limited operations for
today and the man held in the slay-
ing was removed to a secret place.
Union officials using loud speakers
joined with go peace officers in
quelling the disorder which erupted
after Mr.. Farrell was felled by a
gunshot which police said came from
the car of a nonstriking worker
Pickets had stopped the car as it
approached the plant entrance.
County Attorney Blair Wood saio
the shot was fired by Fred Lee
Roberts, 55-year-old Negro from
nearby Dunkerton. Mr.. Wood saic
that Roberts, father of nine chill.
dren, would be charged with mur.
der. Sheriff Wagner said Roberts
was in custody at an undisclosed
location as precaution against
possible mob violence.
30 Cars Turned Over.
Mr.. Wood said Roberts told him
he tried to shoot into the ground
to scare off pickets who were
Threatening to turn my car over
and who were yelling Kill the jig
In the wake of the shooting a
plant fence was torn down, nearly
30 cars of nonstriking Rath workers
were upset on parking lot and
rocks were hurled through windows
of the overturned vehicles.
AS the disorders boiled rapidly out
of control and a crowd of upwards
of 5000 persons surged around the
plant entrance, Sheriff Wagner sent
an emergency call to Gov. Robert
D. Blue for troops.
The Governor at once directed
guard headquarters to deploy
troops to Waterloo and Col. Ralph
Lancaster, assistant adjutant gen.
eral, said upwards of 500" men
were being sent
The Governor stressed that the
troops were directed to aid civil
authorities in protecting life and
property and that martial law was
not being proclaimed.
Approximately 4,500 CIO-UPWA
workers at the independent Rath
plant have been on strike since
March 16 and settlement negotia-
c.. yIy A 00