They Wanted Warmth.

Manawatu Herald, 12 March 1903, Page 3

They Wanted Warmth.

- ——* An engine drawing a train of sixteen cars filled with coal broke down at Areola Illinois, one day last month, and the people of the town madq a concerted raid on the precious fuel and carted it away, Areola had been without any coal at all for several weeks, and when the news was spread of the accident to the locomotive a crowd of two hundred men commandeered all the Waggons in the streets and drove frantically to the railway-station, where they began their operations They were led by a clergyman, and ithtbe crowd were several bankers, Rotors and lawyers. The police jprt heard of what was going on Stfjfo a complaint by telephone arrived from the railway company, of protecting the cars, howthe policemen hurried te the

station and assisted the citizens of of the town to cart the coal off. Several railway employees who tried to interfere were warned that if they did not make off quickly they would be lynched. Every piece of fuel was taken away, and as equally divided as possible. There were nearly a thousand tons of coal in the cars valued at two thousand pounds and the town has enough to last it till cold weather is over. The cold weather was very severe in all parts of the United States, and the fuel famine was daily growing more menacing. A Chicago grand jury was considering charges against a number of local coal dealers for conspiracy for keeping up the price of coal, and Mayor Low, of New York, has called a meeting of Pennsylvania mineownera to consider the situation.