The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, November 16, 1922, Image 7
.
RDERSDONE
lT HEREIN, ILL.
atinued From Last Week.)
isday.
, first mass meeting of the
3 held after the receipt of the
am to discuss a program of
against the strip mine workt
is related by Colonel Hunter,
held early Tuesday afternoon,
20th. He was informed that
[liners were in session at the
rside Mine. Colonel Hunter
that he went to the office of
Senator Sneed and told the
of the meeting, whereupon
1 replied:
know about it There is no
for alarm."
onel Hunter says that a little
he told Sheriff Thaxton of this
s' mass meeting and asked the
ff to send a deputy, who resided
jrrin, to the meeting to ascerwh&t
was going on. The sher omised
to do this, Colonel Hunsays.
There seems to exist a
g probability that some definite
n against operations at the strip
was agreed upon at this Tuesmass
meetiner.
The next clay another meeting took
place. Of what was done at this
| meeting and of the effect actually
had on the- minds of the miners and
their frends, the Marion Daily Republican
of June 22nd, said:
Meeting in Cemetery
"An indignation meeting' was held
in the cemetery in Herrin on Wednesday
morning, June 21st, at which
time the feeling was running high,
and the telegram of John L. Lewis,
calling these shovel men common
strike breakers, was read. Soon
afterwards a mob raided three hardware
stores in Herrin, obtaining a
few g-uns and rifles and 5,000 rounds
of ammunition of all kinds."
Walter M. Sims, editor of the
Christopher Progress, published in
a mining town fourteen miles from
Herrin, wrote in his publication:
"The trouble (the massacre) followed
after an indignation meeting
was held just outside of Herrin, on
a road to the mine Wednesday morning,
following the publication of a
telegram from John L. Lewis, president
of the United Mine Workers,
which stated that the workmen at
the strip mine who are members of
the Shovel Men's Union were 'common
strike breakers.'"
Writing from Herrin, Thoreau
Cronyn said in the New York Herald
of July 12th:
"A veteran of Williamson County
to whom the correspondent showo
PHes Cured in 6 to 14 Days
Druggiatd refund money If PAZO OINTMENT falls
to cure Itching, Blind, Bleeding or Protruding
Piles. Instantly relieves Itching Pil*s, and you
can get reuiful aftp- first annHeatlon. 60c.
All the
WA
Real and per
before Janua
I FOUR
nSTT
For $300.00 F
All and singular that
tract of land known as ^
the Isaac McCray land, of lan<
or Brunson land, contain- . /ork
ing one hundred (100) y *
acres, more or less, in less,
Simpson Creek Township,
Horry County, ,?ount>
South Carolina, and lownsl
bounded on the north by North \
the public road leading former
, from Red Bluff, South n?wio
Carolina, to Pireway, N.
C,t on the east by Simp- ^ ?y
son Creek, on the South Charle
by a line commencing at South?
the I. J. Parker line, r<1
and running thence his
line South-cwvst to Wes- Westw
ley Barnhill's line; known
thence BarnhilPs line tract;
Westward to run of Wftrfi'i
Todd's Swamp; thence
the said run to the pub- ?* "(
He road. lands.
i
Irt-rc:
One tractor engine and boilei
One mortgage on the gas boat
I have also the W. K. Holt tim
I will dispose of this property
II II
it. ri
ed the copy of this (Lewis') telegram,
Rushed his spectacles up on his foreead
after reading it and said:
44 'Everybody down here knows how
the union miners felt about this and
how certain words would inflame
them. I should not say that the word
outlaw riled them so much, but when
Lewis officially told them that those
fellows out at the Lester mine were
to he treated like any other strike
breakers, 1 should say that it was
about the same thing as saying:
'Hike out there to the mine and
clean 'em out.'"
Prominent business men of Marion
and Herrin say that, when they heard
the men on the streets and in business
places talking excitedly about
the message from Lewis that they
felt certain a violent outbreak was
but hours distant.
Out of these meetings meantime
the conspiracy to stop the operation
of the mine had been developed. The
initial move to invest the strip mine
has all the earmarks of an organized
effort and it resulted in the first
open act of hostility.
i no f irst Hostile Act '
On Wednesday morning, July 21,
at eight o'clock, say the union miners
entrusted with keeping any more
men from reaching the strip mine,
additional workmen were unloaded!
from the Chicago train at Carbondale
111., about fourteen miles from
the mine. These men were put into
a mine truck which was followed
by a mine automobile. There were
eleven men in the two machines. At
a point three miles east of Carbondale,
men in a strange automobile
proceeded the truck, fired shots into
the air, as if by prearranged signal.
Immediately, shot gun firing
was directed from underbrush along
the roadside.
Some of the eleven strip mine
workers were wounded seriously and
others fled, followed by volleys of
shot gun firing. "Mark" Delaney,
who was in charge of the strip mine
party, made his way back to Carbondale
and telephoned to Supt. McDowell
at the mine, relating how
these two automobile loads of men
had been fired on and stating that
some of them had been wounded and
taken to the Carbondale hospital.
Events Known to Officials
All these events had not escaped
the ears and eyes of state, city and
county officials. Colonel Hunter,
after visiting the mine, talking to
the sheriff, State's Attorney, and
?r n*%/l ?v ^ flP?/?i o 1 f?
uutci i/i\,y auu tuunt^y un iv.iair? 111
Marion and Herrin, had concluded
as early as Monday, June 19th: that
"the local officers were in sympathy
with the belligerent miners, but
had agreed to maintain order." He
stated further, however, that he had
no confidence in the sheriff's avowed
"ntention or his ability to cope with
he situation and protect the men.
le made this report by telephone
to the Adjutant-General.
Will Se
remaining prop
RD-BATE
sonal. Must be
ry 1, 1923.
!. TRACTS OF I
No. 2 No. 3
or $400.00 For $1,320.1
that certain tract an(? &*ngu^ar
certain piece, parcc
\ containing twen- tract of land situa
) acres, mere or the Countv of Horr
lying in Horry State of South Car
r, in Conway an^ being in
Kip, and bounded way Township 01
vardly by land R*de of the
ly owned by W. SPlin? r?ad, an
Moore, Eastward- tween th6 fiftb
lands claimed by s'*^ posts, b
s R. Scarborough ninff at a sta^e 01
vardly by lands of afit side of said
is Stalvey, and SPrinS road and b
ardly by land ed North by lan<
as the Rollinson ^rs*
being the South- ky ^and ?f
lalf of lot No 95 Smith, Sout
OI 'ot N?\ Vb' land of B. P. ft
>mewood Colony and Wcst by
Spring road.
SONAL PROPE
r, on Dog Bluff Road for $1,000.00 as i\
Ty
"Norman" for $226.00.
iher near Loris, just now tinder option,
before January. Soe me if* you want
Wood'
Attorney-at-Law
t
THE HMLEY HKRALP, OONW
Hunter told the Adjutant-General
that the sheriff had promised to protect
property and life at the mines.
The Colonel advised the AdjutantGeneral
to have companies of
the Illinois National Guard, one' "at
Salem and one at Cairo notified to
be in readiness to entrain for Marion
on an hour's notice. These two
companies could have been in Marion
within four hours.
The Sheriff's Inaction
The Adjutant-General told Colonel
Hunter at this time to "lay down"
(bear down) on the Sheriff and have
him do his full duty in the way of
securing an extra force of deputies.
That afternoon the Colonel asked the
Sheriff what he was doing to get more
deputies and also informed him that
the two companies of troops were
ready to respond to any request the
Sheriff said that he felt his regular
force of deputies was sufficient for
the present, and for Colonel Hunter
to tell the Adjutant-General, "Troops
11 A 1 ?
wouin not oe neeoea to put down trouble
at the mines."
Later in the evening1 Colonel Hunter
reported to the Adjutant-General
that the Sheriff had not sworn in
more deputies and did not anticipate
tbo use of troops. Colonel Hunter
pot after the Sheriff again on additional
deputies. The Sheriff replied
that the wild talk was dying down,
and Colonel Hunter asked him if this
was not a result of the wide-spread
rumor that two regiments of troops
were headed for Marion. The Colonel
declared that this report was out
and did have a noticably quieting effect
011 the streets until nigthfall
when there was a resurge of excitement
pnd anger attained new heights.
The Colonel talked to miners on
the street, found they were at the
breaking point anYl went again to
consult with the Sheriff. He reported
that he "demanded of the Sheriff
that he swear in a large force of deputies,
including business men" and
was informed by the Sheriff that he
"had the situation well in hand," to
which Colonel Hunter replied:
"Swear in deputies or ask for
troons."
Wednesday morning, the day before
the massacre, found events moving
swiftly toward inevitable disaster.
State Senator Sneed, who had gone
to Springfield on official business on
Tuesday evening, was not available
to advise with the sheriff next morning.
When Colonel Hunter stepped
out on the street early on June 21st
and found the whole countryside boiling
with excitement, he immediately
went to the Sheriff's office to see if
that official had not finally been stirred
into action, since it was absolutely
clear that a mob of unprecedented
size was being gathered to wreak
vengence.
Calling For Troops
Colonel Hunter found the Sheriff
quite placid, with no new deputies and
iT I
>erty of 0
CO.
5 disposed of ^
'
:
AND J I
No. 4 I
30 For $6,000.00 0
' that . ? . M i
, All that certain tract U 1
;1 or I te
jn of land in said County n
y and and State known as the U
olina, Hammond and Red [1
Con- Bluff lands, containing U
n one thousand acres n
Cool ' 11
d be- more or lcss? bounded 9
an.i North by the Conway H
iegin- and Pireway road; Ea*i
n the- Todd and Simp H
son Swamps and Wacca
ound- PI
is of maw Hiveir; Sou on b> n
pivey. lands of T. W. Livings- M
Mrs ton and lands of T. J. M
J1 b.\ cox> an(f West l?y the I
loore n
Cool Conway and Pireway y
road. I
RTY [
b stands. I
but it may be open later. []
ward J
t *
s'hviiw
4Y, 8. 0, NOV. 16 1822
uttering his stereotyped expression: ]
MI have the situation well in hand." 1
Colonel Hunter grew emphatic in <
urging the Sheriff to make a request i
for troops. This was done in the
presence of State's Attow\ey Duty, i
Thfe Sheriff said he had no idea of i
calling for troops and Duty offered i
the Sheriff the advice that, "If I <
were a Sheriff I would not call for t
troops under any circumstances." i
To Colonel Hunter, Duty said that he <
had full confidence in Sheriff Thax- *
ton. Colonel Hunter hurried away t
from the Sheriff's office resolved to
lay his case before the business men 1
of Marion. He got C. R. Edrington, 1
L n A\ ^ m
secifiary 01 me ureater Marion As- i
sociation, and informed the latter j
that the Sheriff had absolutely balked i
at swearing in deputies or making' a :
reouest for troops. !
Colonel Hunter and Edrington 1
agreed that something ought to be 1
done immediately. They decided the 1
best move would be to get a commit- 1
tee of reputable business men, mine '
owners .and union miners to visit the
strip mine and ask the men there to
suspend operations. By telephone 1
they summoned A. R McLaren, a 1
weabhv and influential business man <
of Marion; Ralph Mitchell, General i
Superintendent of' the Earnest Coal
Company and W. H. Rix. a union miner
and official. This conference had ]
hardly assembled before the news was ]
flashed about the attack on the strip ,
mine truck near Carbondale. The ,
*ive men at the conference decided to ,
do all they could to have a larger
meeting of business men in the eve- |
ning. ,
Edrington continued for s^me (
hours to telephone to responsible people
asking them to attend the cm- |
templated evening conference. Petween
messages he received reports
that armed men were coming into the
Herrin district from far away points.
The business men in touch with Edrington
told him that they had this
saillP infni'>Yni + in? 1
i.iuviuui iaii ami
Hunter a Rain tried to locate Sheriff
Thaxton to apprise him of what the
business men's committee was attempting
to accomplish, and to tell
that a concerted assault on the strip
mine was in prospect, but the Sheriff (
had gone, it was said, to investigate
the shooting- at Carbondale. |
Raids on Stores Begun ,
Beginning about one o'clock and (
continuing for a couple of hours telephone
messages were received at the
offices of the Greater Marion Association
relating how hardware stores
had been raided in Herrin for guns
and ammunition.
Alarm was immediately spread in
Marion advising merchants dealing
in firearms to conceal their stocks.
Two places in Marion did not get ?
this warning in time and were raided.
One small band of would-be looters ;
called upon lEdrington as head of the ,
local American Legion Post, to deliver
to them several rifles belonging <
to members of the post. Edrington
refused, explaining that there was no
ammunition available for the guns.
The lAfternoon Battle.
On Wednesday at 1:37 p. m. Colonel
Hunter telephoned to AdjutantGeneral
Black reporting the attack
on the truck and the looting of three
stores in Herrin. Colonel Hunter also
Vtold the Sheriff's office about the
stores being looted and was informed
by a deputy sheriff that this was
the office's (first word of the occurence.
In the meantime the organized
armed force of union miners, following
the meeting in the ceinetnw
Herrin, had moved a- couple miles
east and was ready to launch the attack
on the strip mine. Attacker^
deployed over a front of several
hundred yards long' land put the
mine under a heavy fire at about
3:30 o'clock. At 3:10 Superintendent
McDowell called the Greater
Marion Association's office and Informed
Colonel Hunter that a bat- '
tie was on in (full swing: and that ,
five hundred shots had been fired
by both sides. McDowell said that \
:he "miners had marched up close to
;he mi tie and had tfonc under cover.
;
?ures Malaria, Chills and Fever, t
}encrue or Bilious Fever. It kills the
:erms.?tf? 1
A T i
JTal# JL ? "
WHOI
1
Flour, Hay
DROP J
?
. j . *
k ,-.x'oo x iU i
ta u t;
McDowell requested Colonel Hunter
Lo inform the Sheriff of the battle.
A.t the Sheriff's office Deputy Storm
reported the Sheriff still absent.
"I instructed Storm to call on all
available deputies and proceed to the
mine to disperse the mob and to remain
there until the Sheriff return3d,"
says Colonel Hunter, who added
that He asked Storm to get the Sheriff
by telephone and tell him that he
jutfht by all means to put in ;.i reluest
for troops. Storm's reply was
;hat they "could handle the situation."
Adjutant-General Black was told of
the latest situation by telephone and
lis advice to HUnter was to "see that
he Sheriff on the job." Hunter
jot the Sheriff's office on the wire
\*rain and was informed by whoever
answered the telephone that Deputy
Storm was en route with deputies to
the mine. That Storm or deputies
A'ent to the mine is unverified. A
few minutes later Superintendent McDowell
called from the mine to tell
Colonel Hunter that the mob had got- ;
ten bigger and to inquire if Sheriff
Ihaxton had been located. Hunter ]
told McDowell that he had been informed
by the Sheriff's office that the
deputies were on the way to the
mine.
A Survivor's Story
Engineman Tracy, in his account of
low he saw the Wednesday afternoon
battle start, gives his opinion that the
*hots fired at his locomotive, at that
Line unite a distance from the mine,
were the opening ones of the attack.
Hardly had he reached camp before
bullets began to rain in from a house
and from neArbv clumps of trees and
embankments. McDowell grabbed a
?un .and gave Tracy one. He mounted
a ridge and began shooting.
Under oath, Bernard Jones, a mine
guard says he saw union scouts in
the woods .Tune 20th, and that the
following, afternoon bullets began to
whip up the earth near him. He and
three companions mounted an elevation
and made the attackers retreat
to a white farm house five hundred
yards distant.
At 3:50 p. m. Assistant Mine Superintendent
John E. Shoemaker, brother-in-law
to W. J. Ix?ster, telephoned
that fire from the defenders had
struck down at least two union miners
in the attacking party. McDowell
took the telephone again and inquired
if the Sheriff had been found
and had made a request for troops.
All Hunter could tell McDowell was
that be was still trying to locate the
Sheriff.
At 4:14 p. m., when Colonel Hunter
got McDowell on the wire and
found the battle still raging and no
sheriff and no deputies could be
found to intervene, McDowell put his
case in Hunter's hands and asked for
advice. Immediately Colonel Hunter
suggested that a truce be effected and
outlined terms. McDowell agreed and
Hunter told him that he would act at
once.
The Truce.
While Colonel Hunter was tvying
to locate union mine workers' officials
relative to the truce, he got word from
Mr. McLaren and C. F. Hamilton,
business partners of Lester, that they
had told Lester that the mine was
under heavv fire and he said he would
close it, and that he would try to get
a telephone message through to McDowell
to this clTect. McDowell's
agreement to accept a truce was put
before Fox Hughes, Sub-District VicePresident
and ranking U. M. W. of
A. ofTiicial on the spot. Hunter asked
Hughes if he thought he could get
nttn/'lf inir r.rn'f < 4-^. ?
V,.v wv^vik i 1 * ?S pill V?%v 1/Vi rd^lUC ,'*'
truce on the terms as outlined to
McDowell and Hughes replied that
lie thought this arrangement would
bo agreeable to the union miners who
were attacking.
"1 told Hughes I would instruct
McDowell to put up a white flag of
truce when ho saw the union miner
officials approaching under thoir white
flag of truce," Colonel Hunter says.
Vhe Colonel then .asserts that Hughes
old him that he (Hughes) and Hugh
Willis and William G. Davis (the later
secretary and treasurer of the
niners' union)?these are three of
ho hest known and most prominent
J. M. W. of A. officials in Williamson
bounty?would go to the mine under
heir white flag of truce.
Hunter immediately advised McDowell
that the U. M. W. of A. of'
COLLIN
CONWAY, S. C.
rcur nnm
.COALL IMUI
r, Orain and I
SHIPMENTS OUR SPEC
Phone 32
*
bJ??
ficials had agreed to the truce and
were headed for the mine. He then
got Hughes on the wire again and
told the latter of what he had just
telephoned to McDowell. Hugh
Willis and Davis soon thereafter appeared
at the mine under their flag
of truce and the firing stopped, they
later reported to Hunter. McDowell
telephoned to Hunter that the flags
of truce were flying and that gunfire
had ceased.
A short time later, Hughes and
Willis reached the State's Attorney
Duty at Marion, and called Hunter
and his Aide, Major R. W. Davis, to
Duty's office. Sheriff Thaxton was
there. "Hughes and Willis announced
that to the meeting that both
sides at the mines had flags up ancl
there was no firing," says Colonel
Hunter.
Th?? White Flag.
Engineman Tracy's version of how
the truce was established and firing
I .. l.i. i iia tir i i
orougni 10 an end late Wednesday
afternoon is substantially as follows:
he stayed on the elevated point using*
his rifle until Superintendent McDowell
went up to him and safd: "The
union President is there and I am troing
to have a conference to stop the
firing:." Tracy did cease shooting and
says that "A. P. Finley, the time
keeper, got out a white sheet and
sent it by o man named Jones to
Tracy, who hung it up on the wires."
Tracy estimates he was shot at about
fiftv times while he was hanging the
sheet up, but that this firing died
away and he crawled down and out
of danger.
Tracy makes this peculiar comment.
"then it developed the miners'
president had not appeared after all,"
and he adds that there was sniping"
all through the night. He said he
could hear the attackers drilling in
the field surrounding the mine and
that the commands "squads right"
and "squads left" came clearly to his
ears. ^
The Terms.
At the Wednesday evening meeting
in State's Attorney Duty's office,,
where Colonel Hunter and Major
Davis went in response to a telephone
call from Fox Hughes and Hugh Willis,
Sheriff Thaxton also being present,
Colonel Hunter says he repeated
the statement that responsible business
men of Marion who hat!
talked over long distance telephone
to the owner of the strip mine*
had given him (Colonel Hunter)
potitive and reliable assurance
that the mine would be abandoned
and closed so long as the
U. M. W. of A historl Thf* C!r?lr?
nel asserts that there was a clear
understanding of all the terms of the
truce, which both sides had accepted.
The Colonel says these terms were
understood by everybody at this meeting
to be as follows:
(1) Both sides to hoist flags of
truce and cease firing.
(2) The men in the strip mine to
be afforded protection in getting out
of the county and that the mine property
be not damaged. ?*
(3) The mine to be closed for the
duration of the TJ. M. W. of A strike.
Hughes and Willis left the conference.
Turning to Sheriff Thaxton,
Colonel Hunter asked him point blank
if he felt sure he could hold uj) his
end of the truce agreement and that
the Sheriff then- stated that he had
"deputies at the mine who could
handle the situation, and that he felt
certain that the truce would be observed
and the trouble ended."
Refused to Call Troops +
Despite this assurance giver, by
the Sheriff, Colonel Hunter was uneasy
during the evening. H(* found
that the telephone wires at the mine
had been cut and dynamite blasts
were heard from the direction of the
mine. Me urged the Sheriff, as a matter
of protecting the prisoners on
march from tho mine in the morning,
to make official request for troops.
The Sheriff refused. Colonel Hunter
then asked the Sheriff to go to the
mine with him and personally see ta
it that the truce was lived up to. The
Sheriff also declined to do this, say(Continued
Next Week.)
To Cure a Cold in One Day
Take I.AXATIVF BROMO QUININE (Tablets). k
stops the Cough and Headache and works ofTtbri
old. E. W GROVE'S signature on each box. :Wc.
15 UJ.
1 *
\
CERS J I
>rovisions I
IALTY" I
wmmmmmmammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmrnmmmmm H
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