The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1949-11-17

squadronS. That afternoon many
were shot and gassed and there
was a call for the militia. One
single policeman received a shot
through his wrist. Meantime word
of the outrage sped throughout the
steel towns. The Rubber workers
Of Akron mobilized a motorcade of
protest and were joined by cars
from Pittsburgh and other steel
centers.
| didn't see the trouble in the
afternoon. | had been to a high
school picnic in one of the lovely
parks which surround Youngstown.
1t was dark when / got back.
Scotty O'Hara, an old miner, and
SWOC organizer, was just going
to the scene of the fracas to see
how things were going. We walk
ed through dim, empty streets past
the firehouse towards Stop 5. A
few people stood in front of the
saloon. There was only an occas-
ional pedestrian. There were still
pockets of tear gas that made my
eyes water.
What happened then was so un-
believable that none of the papers
carried the story. An armored
truck drove up and the uniformed
deputies began shooting at the
unsuspecting pedestrians. / saw
the flash, / heard the shots. / saw
a man run toward US, saw Scotty
duck. | thought I'd better duck my
self, when something hit me. The
running man fell and lay motion
less and | fell on top of him. |
heard Scotty say, "Mary are you
hurt-you're bleeding like stuck
pig"
| tell my part in this because |
am one of the few eyewitnesses of
this extraordinary outrage of those
bloody days. Sending armed de-
puties around to shoot quiet pedes-
trians was unique even in the an
nails of the Little Steel Strike.
Many people were shot that
night. When ! got to the hospital
a nurse was bending over an un-
conscious woman. A little boy who
was shot in the leg was crying. AS
| left more wounded were being
brought in. The armored car had
gone through the workers districts
and the deputies had shot people
indiscriminately. Apparently this
was ordered as a reprisal for the
policeman who was shot in the
wrist.
Francis Gillen took up the story
from here. 81 was arrested as the
motorcade came in along with
about 500 others. There were so
many of us we couldn't sit or lie
down, and we had no water. We
were kept incommunicado too.
Even the judge said these arrests
and the conditions of the Jail were
ineXcusable."
There is a far cry from 1887 to
1949, an era of change with gains
for the workers and a change of
public sentiment as well.
Among all the steel towns there
is no better run district than 26
with its $4,000 members. They are
driving for a strike fund of $780,
600. For if all the men went back
to work at once there will still be
a heavy relief load for time to
come. Public Relations are in the
able hands of Paul Evans; meaty
paper, "Strike Facts, is being pub
lished weekly. There has been a
large house-to-house distribution
of union literature. Eddie Wey-
gandt regularly gives a fine week
ly radio program.
On election day, interest in the
election equaled or surpassed the
strike, in spite of the settlement
with Republic and discussions with
Sheet & Tube. Hundreds of union
members were on the streets distri-
buting literature. The workers
would soon be streaming through
the mill gates and over the Center
Bridge leading to Republic Steel,
out in the union halls the old
timers don't forget the days of
Little Steel and the people who
were shot down on the streets.