BITTER INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14844, 9 December 1913, Page 9

BITTER INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES.

STRIKES LN AMERICA. . MUCH BLOODSHED. MAHTIAL LAW. (ntOSr OVT. OWN COnRESrONDENT.) SAN FRANCISCO, November 11. When the miners of Colorado go on strike it always means a condition of civil war. The men of tho coal mines in the southern part of tho State aro \on strike now, and pitched battles in which soldiers, mine guards, and the miners participate are of almost daily occurrence. Ten years ago a miners' strike in Colorado brought the State almost to a condition of anarchy. Trains were dynamited, scores of men killed, hundreds run out of the Stato, and all constitutional guarantees were withdrawn in tho zone of trouble. The struggle now in progress is being fought out only a little less viciously. 'lhe following brief despatch from Denver, Colorado, last Saturday, describes grimly but comprehensively the happenings of a single day in tho strike: ''Five non-union men killed, two perhaps mortally wounded, one less seriously hurt, four troopers of tho State militia deported by strikers, two nonunion miners badly beaten, an attack upon the State troops at Forbes, four railway bridges burned on the Donver and ltio Grande lines marked the resumption of hostilities hj the strikers in tho Southern Colorado coalfields today." i Whether tho news correctly pourtrays I tho actual conditions or not, most of the newspaper despatches from the zone of trouble describe outrages by the I strikers. .At Aguilar the miners fought all night against a guard of fifteen men, , and finally overcoming them, tney completely destroyed the mine offices with all thoir contents Tho local post office was also burned down, and letI ters, mails, orders, and money destroyed. The local postmaster declares that the mail was rifled before the building "was fired. At and near Ber- ' wind, in the heart of the coal mining district, three hot battles were, fought between tho mine guards and the i strikers on tho .day after martial law had been nroclaimed in Southern Colorado. There were many casualties, but only one man, a non-union miner, was kiled. At Tabasco, while the fight was at its height, tho strikers , dropped a tin bucketful of black powder into tho canyon at a place calculated to throw it against one of the many frame buildings of tho canfp. Water from falling "snow had gathered at the point where the bucket landed, and the fuse was extinguished. At about this time the mine guards began to operate their machine, guns on the strikers from the top of an embankment, guided by the lirrht of a high-power searchlight, and tho men attacking tho camp were forced to retreat. State soldiery are scattered all over tho scono of the struggle, but so far have had little success in preserving order. Another strike- in which the soldiers were called in to aid tho peac.e officers in maintaining order raged for c} 0 . 1 " o .* than a week at Indianapolis, the chiet city of Indiana, where tho street-car employees struck work in a body and completely tied up the city and suburban transportation systom. For eight days thousands of people who wero in the habit of riding on tho street cars to and from their homes daily had to trudge it back and forth. Much popular sympathy was evinced for tne strikers, and many men and women paraded tho streets bearing placards which read: "Wo walk; do, you?" Attempts to operate cars with strikebreakers brougut to Indianai-ohs from outside only lullamed the strikers and their sympathisers to violence. There wero many riots, and tho cars remained idle. W'hon the Mayor of the city asked the Governor of Indiana to declaro martial law and order the State militia into Indianapolis, tho Governor retorted that tho police wero not doing their duty, and at first refused to interfere. What looked like flat mutiny on the part of the polico characterised one attempt to run cars with outside operatives. Thirty policemen were ordered to ride on the cars with the strike-breakers. This they absolutely refused to do, saying they would march with tho cars, fight in tho streets, use their guns and clube at risk to themselves, and face tho missiles of the crowd —in fact, anything but board the cars. Mayor Shank seems to have supported the. policemen in their disobedience, statins that he believed the lives of officers ridina: in the cars would be in danger, and ho did not want bloodshed. The policemen wore not euspended from duty, but they will be 1 tried on preferred charces later on. this fiasco, the Governor ordered POOO State troops to assemble at IndiannpolK but just when they had reached the scene the strike onrled by the pmnlovors ao;rerinc to arbitrate the j Toon's demands. Durin" the week of j fli<v>rf!°r four men were killed and hun- j dreds injured. !