The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, August 26, 1922, Image 1
CONSOLIDATED AUG, 2,1
PASSENGER ;J
TW? HALTED
AT SPENCER:
-.- !
Trainmen, Switchmen
and Clerks Refuse
to Move Trains on
Account of Military
Guards
* ? ? ??
Spencer, N. C, Aug. 21.?All
trainmen, switchmen and clerks of j
the Southern railway here last j
night held a meeting and agreed!
not to take another train out of j
this terminal until. 9:30 o'clock this i
(Tuesday) morning, when decision !
will be reached as to whether the
walkout is to be permanent or not, j
according to' announcement made :
by brotherhood officials about mid- {
night, following adjournment of the
meeting. The action was taken, it ?
was explained, because of the pres- i
ence of troops, on guard duty here.
AH trains arriving after midnight!
are tied up here and will be, ac
cording to present indications, until
9:30 o'clock, including many main
line trains running between W;ash- s
ington and Atlanta and those on a ?
number of Other lines, including j
that toAsheville.
Clerks in the yard office quit st
a late hour last night and returned
to their homes, leaving only a girl
telephone operator on duty. When
asked as to why they had quit the !
only answer that was forthcoming
from them was that they were;
afraid of the soldiers stationed at j
; the yard office. The telephone op-J
erator stated last night that shel
would also quit her post unless j
she had some one there with her. ]
At a late hour last -night a large I
'. - crowd of people had congregated, in
front of the main entrance to the
shops. All were orderly, their sole
purpose in being there, it was said,
was" to see just what move was to;
be made next.
>. Greensboro. X- C, Aug. 21.?It!
was learned j here early, this morn- |
ing that all railroad brotherhoods!
met .last night in .K Spencer and j
. agreed hot to enter the South- ]
ern,"s property as long as the sol- j
diers remain on. guards duty,on the]
road's property. A titifhTser of j
trains are said to be tied up there J
tonight.
Spencer members of the "Big j
Four" brotherhoods, yard workers, j
ana" clerks in a meeting last night
refused^ to handle trains so long!
as troops remained on Southern j
railway property, according to
statements made early this morn- J
ing by Southern officials in Greens- I
boro.
The decision/ involves all classes
of trains, including those handling
United States mail.
Xumber 38 reached Greensboro
at*12:25 this morning not quite two
hours late, but at/that hour Xo.
138 was stilt standmg in the yards
in Spencer. Officials announced
shortly after that hour that a force
to- handle it was being arranged
and that it would come through,
, though they were not certain when
it could clear" Spencer.
For Xo. 30 they were still trying
to make arrangements at l o'clock
but without success. For all trains
scheduled to come through Spencer j
at later hours they were also try- f
ing to make plans.
Acting on the news from Spen- !
cer, officials in Greensbc ro held
here about midnight two freight
trains from the north headed for
points south of Spencer. They
said it was no use to let them go
through to Spencer 'as they would
be held up j there^. Accordingly,
the freights were parked in the
yards until some disposition could
be made and the engines were
prepared to turn around a!W head;
north with other trains. The plans I
at 1 O'clock called for three other j
freights from the north to be held
in Greensboro also.
Hopes of getting trains from the
south through Spencer rested i
mainly on the belief that at least j
some members of Big Four broth
erhoods and other railroad workers j
would not join in the refusal of the
others to handle the trains.
? .i
Louisville, Ky.. Aug. 21.?Offi- !
*bial notice of a walkout of the Big j
Four brotherhoods of trainmen on j
the Western division of the South
ern railway from Danville, Ky.. to '
St. Louis. Mo., was received late
today by officials of the campaign
here following a second strike of j
firemen at- 12:30 o'clock this af
ternoon at Princeton, Ind. Orders
were given for the annulment of
trains between Louisville and St.
Louis until further notice.
"The firemen today repudiated
their agreement they made with
me at Princeton." said J. F. Sher
idan, superintendent of the Louis
ville-St. Louis division. . "The set
tlement had been made," he said, '
."on the condition that the guards
be zoned off and kept from the ;
. railroad yards. The claim upon ;
which the men are baling their j
new strike is that the equipment ;
is unsafe and that they refuse toj
work where guards are located." \
The 50 firemen who quit work at
Princeton Saturday morning re
turned to work yesterday, but sus- j
pended service again this after- j
noon.
Until 12:01 a. m. Thursday,
when the strike of trainmen be- ;
comes effective on the Western di- !
vision, daj; trains will be operated I
iblisbed April, 1850.
TRAINS ARE
MOVING,
_ t
? i
Southern Officials and j
Others Are Man-j
ning Trains in Place!
o f Striking Engi
neers and Firemen
at Spencer
Salisbury, X. C, August 22?Only
ore southbound passenger train on
the main line of the Southern rail
way has passed, here up to nine
thirty -this morning, since train
service employes, switchmen and
clerks early today agreed, as indi- j
viduals,. not take out trains from j
Spencer, or go on the railroad j
property, until the meeting to de-:
cide whether their action is to be j
formal and permanent on account j
of guards being placed around the'
Spencer shops has acted.
-*
All Passenger Trains Being Moved j
Spencer, X. C? August 22?AH'
Southern railway trains have been \
cleared out of the Spencer termi
nal with crews made up of offi
cials and others, it was stated at the
office of" Superintendent of Rich- j
mond Division at 10 this morning, j
!
Greensboro, Aug. 22. ? With j
railroad officials substituting for|
striking engineers and firemen, who j
refused to work in or out of Spen- j
cer while state troops are on guard;
duty, the Southern railway today]
began clearing away the virtual tie- I
up of passenger transportation be- j
tween Washington and Atlanta.|
Freight trains, however, are not be-!
ing moved.
Washington, Aug. 22.?President?
Harding although hopeful of sue- j
cess for the Xew York rail strike {
settlementc onference, it was saidj
at the. White House today that he(
was unready to take any further j
steps than those stated in his re- j
cent address to congress.
. - ? - j
Salisbury, Aug. 22.?Troops were j
ordered removed from the South
ern railway shops at Spencer today, j
after transportation men had voted j
to remain out as long as soldiers
were on duty. Members of the
trainmens' organizations and clerks
were reported returning to work at j
noon. The removal of the troops;
was ordered by Col. Scott at- the,
request of General Superintendent!
Simpson of the Southern, following j
a conference with representatives!
of employees.
? ? ?
Emergency Fleet
Corporationi
Status of Organization to Be
Decided by Supreme Court
Washington, Aug. 23.?Asserting j
that there is an "apparent irrecon- {
cilable conflict" between the doc- I
trine-announced by the supreme!
court in recent decisions defining
the suabiiit.v and status of the
emergency fleet corporation as a
government agency and the "set
tled rule" established by court inj
a number of prior decisions the
government has filed a petition
asking for a rehearing. The pe
tition seeks a definition of the au
thority of the shipping board over
government funds for payment o.
debts of the emergency corpora
tion.
I ? j
S from Louisville to Huntingburg,
Ind.
The train due out of Louisville
at 9:50 o'clock tonight for St. j
j Louis was ,the first passenger be- j
j tween Louisville and St. Louis an- J
j nulled because of the strike, it was
! stated by Mr. Sheridan.
Xotice of strike wras given the
railroad officials following a meet
ing of firemen and engineers this
I afternoon. It will affect approxi
mately 400 men. located at termi
nals at East Sr. Louis, Ills.. Prince
ton and Huntingburg, Ind., it was
said.
St. Louis, Aug. 21.-?Service on;
I the Southern railway again was
I ordered suspended tonight, accord- j
ling to the local Stationmaster, fol-j
i lowing receipt of information that
trainmen at Princeton. Ind.. had
I decided to strike Thursday. A train
- to Louisville, scheduled to leave
j here at 9:20 was annulled indefi
j nitely.
-
Salisbury. X. C. Aug. 22.?South
ern railway train No. 138 left;
Spencer terminal this morning at;
1 o'clock with Clyde Keever, gen
eral foreman of the Southern shops,
at the throttle.
It was stated tonight by officials
that the fai e of the other passeng
|er .rains tied up here by the re-;
jfusal of the trainmen to enter the:
Spencer yards with troops on duty,
remained uncertain.
Raleigh. X. C, Aus. 21.?"I'd be
a pretty fool going to Spencer to!
Stake charge of troops," was the'
[comment of Governor .Morrison. ;it :
i the Manufacturers' club in Char-j
I lotte at 2 o'clock this morning.
I where he communicated with Ad- j
jjutant General Yah Metts in Rai-;
eigh over the telephone. General'
Metts informed the governor of a j
rumor that he had gone to Spen
cer to take charge of the situation. I
"Be Just and Fear 2
MARTIAL LAW
AT SALISBURY j
N. CAROLINA;
Threat of Serious Dis- ?
orders at Spencer j
Shops of Southern;
Leads to Drastic
Measures
Salisbury, X. C, Augr. 21.?All
the eight companies of troops sent j
here Saturday on account of the j
tense situation developing from the i
strike of' 1,700 workers in the j
Southern railway shops at Spencer j
were placed on guard duty at the i
shops and the Salisbury postoffice j
tonight. Col. Don E. Scott, com- j
manding the troops, tonight estab- ;
lished headquai-ters in the postof- i
fice building.
A proclamation issued by Gov-;
ernor Morrison similar to the pro- j
nouncement on the occasion ^of re- {
cent threatened disturbances at the j
Atlantic Coast Line shops in Rocky |
Mount, was read to a mass meet- j
ing of strikers and strike sympa- j
thizers by Mayor Wade V. Bowman \
today. The military' authorities!
were requested to allow peaceful
picketing by the strikers, but they;
were directed ro "disperse all large i
assemblies brought together for the i
purpose of overawing and intimid- |
atign, by a display of numbers,
those who desire to go to work." J
The Charlotte and Burlington'
companies of infantry and part of
the Durham machine gun company ,
were placed on duty in and around
the postoffice upon request of
Postmaster A. H. Boyden. who al- j
leged that open'threats of lynching !
of John Sleep, postoffice clerk, who j
this morning attacked the Rev. Tom!
J". .Timison, former chaplain of the
Xorth Carolina Federation of La- j
bor, knocking him down in the
street, has been made.
Following the attack crowds be- f
gan to gather around the postof
fice and as night came on the situ
ation grew rapidly more threaten- '
ing. Sloop was on duty in the
postoffice and will remain there
through the night, it was reported, j
Up to late tonight no disorders had I
occurred but crowds were contin
ually approaching the postoffice,
only to be kept passing on by the
soldiers.
Soldiers Xear Shops.
The situation at Spencer rapidly'
became more tense until Colonel
Scott assigned five infantry com-!
panics and a part of the Durham \
machine gun company to guard;
duty at all the entrances to the
shop premises, covering about 75 j
acres and stationed detachments at '
the railway passenger station. Fol-!
lowing the placing of troops on j
guard duty, the situation was quier.;
Xo disorders had occurred up to a j
late hour, though another conting
ent of recruits for the shop work-1
ers arrived tonight and entered the {
shops. They were not molested, j
A report from Spencer late to- j
night said that the Rev. Mr. Jimi- j
son. who was at his home there,!
had some temperature and was suf- j
fering vsomewhat from the effects
of his encounter with Sloop. The ?
latter is to have a preliminary j
hearing tomorrow at 10 o'clock it?
was announced.
The companies on duty at Spen- [
cer are those from Concord. Mount
Gilead, Hickory, Lincolnton and j
Winston-Saiem. They are under;
direct command of Major Bowman]
of Hickory.
Xo disorders other than the at- J
tack upon Mr. Jimisou were re
ported during the day.
POLICE GUARDING
SOUTHERN SHOPS
Strikers in Columbia Protest
Against Action of Council
Columbia. Aug. 22.?Southern
Railway striking shopmen here ap- j
peared before city council this
morning with their attorney, and |
protested against members of the
police department guarding the I
Southern shops, where strikbreak- j
ers are working. A majority of
council objected to the patrol wag
on being used for hauling replace
ment workers to the Sou! hern J
shops, but were in .favor of proper
protection to both factions in the
controversy. Adequate police pro
tection will be given, it was stated,
and the city intends to preserve or
der at all hazards. The strike sit-1
uation has been very quiet here. theJ
only incident being the attack on I
the 11 strikebreakers last Sunday1
afternoon, and this was sporadic
and deeply deplored hy union lead
er , who are doing everything pos- '
sible to keep their men from deeds
of violence.
PITTSBURG
WAGE SCALE j
Operators Agree to 19201
Scale But Refuse Check Off
Demand
Pittsburgh. Aug. 23.?The scale
committee of the Pittsburgh coal!
poducers association today order
ed the 1920-22 wage scale at all
mines owned and operated by its
members but declined to yield to
the demands of the United Mine
Workers that the check-off pro
vision of scale be enforced. About
45,000 miners are affected.
<ot?Let all the ends Tbou Aimst i
' Sumter, S. C, Satun
STRIKE
TROUBLE IN i
COLUMBIA
i
Special Policemen!
Armed With Pump
Guns Placed on j
Guard at Southern j
Shops } \
(The State, August 22). . j
Columbia. Aug. 22. ? Under,
heavy police protection. 12 railway
shop employees were carried to the .;
Southern shops on Blanding street j
yesterday about noon and were tak- j
en inside the gates. The men were
conducted at once to a coach which j
has been fitted up for sleeping'
purposes and rested^ throughout j
practically the entire afternoon. '
Thpy will begin work today, ac- ?
cording to officials of the shop.
William Fair of New York, one,
of the men who was taken to the!
police station Sunday afternoon for;
safekeeping after the disturbance j
near the shops, was among the ?
men taken into the shops yester- |
day. Late yesterday afternoon hej
was visited in the shops by a .phy- j
sician and. under the instructions
of the physician, was removed from !
the coach and taken to a hosj?tal
for treatment. Fair suffered' a j
gash on the head in the disturb-;
ance Sunday and the wound needed j
further treatment. All of the other
men remained in-the yards during
the evening. ? ,
The arrival of the 12 strikebreak
ers was witnessed by a crowd- of;
about 200 people, though many of!
them were mere sp'ectators and ap-;
parentlv were out to see "what wasj
up." : * ? :
About 20 minutes before the po-'
lice patrol arrived with the-strike-j
breakers, Lieutenant .Sv* earingen ;
of the police force, with 12 officers.!
ten of whom carried repeating shot
guns, arrived at 'the Blanding
street, gate of the shops. A group
of strikers was near the entrance j
and others were in the vicinity.
The sun was .shining brightly
and the glint of.the polis-hed gun
barrels could be. seen far up Bland^
ing street and it was not long uutil j
numerous automobiles and vehicles '
of various kind* had gathered j
around the yards. Lieut. Swear-!
ingen assembled his force near the j
main entrance to the yards and in ?
a short time the police patrol ar- j
rived with the strikebreakers, they!
having been assembled at the union j
station, where they had been kept j
after the Sunday afternoon dis-!
turbance.
Chief Strickland, six plain clothes
men and 12 officers, some of whonf:
carried pump guns, arrived with
the patrol wagon. The police at j
once formed a double line from the
police patrol to the gates of the
shops and the strikebreakers walk
ed between the lines. Hardly a j
word wax uttered when the police
patrol arrived: the strikers assem-j
bled on both sides of the gate and :
looked on; some one cried "Hur-:
rah for Columbia" and another In
quired: "Where's Coleman?" but
for the most part the crowd was
tensely silent. Automobiles were
parked along the roadway and nu
merous pedestrians were on both
sides of the street and porches and j
windows in the vicinity had their i
quota of observers, but there wasj
no move to rush the strikebreak-j
ers. The police officers did their I
work quickly, the men being con-!
ducted into the yards without any j
delay or disturbance and the police j
patrol leaving soon after. Chief
Strickland left the scene when he'
felt that there was no danger ofj
disturbance and went to headquar
ters, where he kept closely in j
touch with the situation. Lieuten
ant Swearingen and his officers re-j
mained on duty: most of the offi-|
cers remaining carried pump guns, j
and were distributed around the
yards.
After the strikebreaker;-? had
gone inside the yard, the men on
strike assembled in groups about
the entrance and some went to the
rear side of the yards on Gregg
street. At the corner of Laurel
and (Jregg a considerable crowd
gathered as Irain No. 31. which was
running late, was heard coming.
There had been rumors that more
strikebreakers were on this train,
and when the passenger slowed
down at the street crossing the
crowd watched it closely. Some one
Cried*. "They've got one down at
Blanding street crossing" and be
gan running through Cregg street
to Blinding. The crowd rushed to
the corner only to find two police
officers and a few spectators. This
crowd was mnde up partly of boys
who were out to see what was hap
pening.
l^ater in the afternoon two boys
apparently about 17 years old. one
of whom carried a suit case, came
to the gates of the yard. They
weie soon surrounded by strikers
but would givel ittle heed to ques
tions and went to the police officers
who were at the gate. Strikers be
gan talking to the two boys, they
being told thai if they went to
work in the shops at the present
tin!" they would be thrown out of
work when the strike was over,
and that if they went away, efforts
would be made to find work for
them after the strike. Another
man said :"lf you go to work in
there, it will be thrown up to your
grandchildren that their grandfath-;
at be thy Country's, Thy God's and
lay, August 26, 1922
TARIFF BILL
SENT TO HOUSE
BYSENATE
Measure as Amended
by Senate Has Not
Yet Been Reprinted
and Consideration
Delayed
I Washington. Aug. 21. ? The
house got the administration tariff
bill back from the senate today,
but did not send it to conference.
This next step in the now long
drawn out journey of the measure
must await a reprinting of the
(amended bill which is expected
to be'completed tomorrow or Wed
nesday. . The experts had hoped
to have it ready today, but they
jfound the senate had made so
, mnny and complicated changes in
j the original house bill that their
? task proved far more difficult than
they had anticipated.
! When the reprint is ready Re
| publican house leaders plan to send
[the measure to conference under
special rule which may permit
I of little or no discussion on the
J floor. At the same time the house
j conferees will be named and they
i will have their first session with the
I senate managers probably on
Thursday.
! In anticipation of action, on the
i tariff the house had a quorum to
|day for the first time since it re
: assembled last week. The an
nouncement of the senate clerk
ithat the measure had been passed
j by the senate and a conference re
I quested was greeted with mingled
j applause and laughter. As the
j measure was not laid before the
.house that body went ahead with
j other work, but the tariff formed
the chief topic of private discus
jsion on the floor and in the cloak
j rooms.
i Some of the senate rates, princi
pally those in the cutlery schedule,
i apparently are opposed by a num
! her. of house members and these,
along with American valuation and
^the duties on dyes, are expected to
i furnish subjects of sharp contro
versy in conference- Some leaders
jjo^the Republican agricultural bloc
in the house expected approval of
! the agricultural, sugar and wool
rates as fixed by the senate.
It was the judgment of a major
ity of the conferees that the Amer
ican valuation question would be
! the first subject coming up for set
tlement in the conference.
! The four Democratic conferees
probably wiU not sit constantly
with the six Republican members,
some of whom favored calling in
[the Democrats after the work of
adjustment had been completed
and the bill whipped Into shapa
for final action by the senate and
j house. Others of the majority
I thought, however, that the Demo
crats should be in attendance af
I ter the valuation question had
been settled and a program of pro
I cedure mapped out.
It was explained by some of the
majority conferees that it was not
customary, to have-the Democrats
present throughout the adjustment
work.
er was a scab."
I One of the boys said he had seen
ithat men were wanted at the South
I ern shops and he had come for
j work. He said he was from Sum
jter county, as did the other youth.
iAfter considerable discussion, with
!the crowd about the boys listening
! closely, the youths were escorted to
ian automobile and left the vicin
I ity. Last night W. H. Stebbins.
(spokesman for the shop crafts, said
[that he had bought tickets for the
boys and that they had gone back
to Sumter. He said he told them
of conditions and they informed
them that they could either go
home or return to work in the
I shops. He said they decided to go
i home.
f None of the strikers carried
j weapons as far as- could be seen
! and most of the men were with
out coats. A number of them car
ried strong > ticks about the length
i of a walking cane. It was difficult
j to distinguish striking shop em
, ployees from other citizens, and it
I may have been that mere spectators
I also carried sticks.
In speaking yesterday of the
I strike Mr. Stebbins said. "The city
I has taken the strike in charge now
I and it is up to the city to see after
; it and he responsible for the con
i duct of it."
j W. A. Goleman, mayor, said,
j "Some time ago a committee from
; the union came before members of
j city council and we had an agree
j ment with it. Members of this
Icommittee said that they would see
to it that there was no violence.
Mr. Stebbins and Mr. Fetner were
among those present. This com
mittee said it violence occurred,
it wanted the mayor to take action.
"Disorder has occurred and the
city has taken action. Of course
we do not intend to say that mem
bers of this committee from the
union countenanced or in any way
eneouraged the outbreak Sunday
afternoon, but they failed to con
trol the crowd. I have nothing at
all to say as to the merits of the
strike, but I believe I know my
duty as to law and order.
"Ten extra men have been put
on the police force and men will
be on duty at the shops at all
times to preserve order."
Troth's."
DODGING
THE BONUS
QUESTION
Republicans Are Try
ing to Keep Up the
Hope of Bonus Seek
ers Without Doing
Anything
Washington. Aug. 23.?The sen
ate moved forward so rapidly today
in its consideration of ihe soldiers'
bonus bill that some, leaders re
garded prospects of the measure
being passed before the end of this
week as more than a possibility.
Opponents were understood to be
disposed&to let the bill take its
course at this time in the belief
that Preside^ Harding would.veto.
Should he do so they planned to
centre their fight against its pas
sage over his veto.
There still was. however, no offi
cial information before the senate
as to the executive's view other
than that contained in a letter read
lothe house last March just before
that body, passed , the bill. The
president then advised that con
gress either find a means of financ
ing the legislation or postone its
I enactment and some friends of the
j hill as well as opponents believe he
; still is of that mind.
Replying to a question by Senator
Robinson (Democrat) of Arkansas,
Chairman McCumber of the finance
committee told the senate today
that there was no official informa
tion as to ? what the president \
would do'. He added,, however, that
the changes in the bill by which
there would be no heavy draft on
the treasury for the next year would
seem to meet every objection the
president - had urged against the
original measure and that he could
see no reason why the executive
should veto the bill as now drawn.
After it got to work on the'bonus
late today, the senate agreed to!
47 committee .amendments to the
house bill in exactly 15 minutes
and then it got ahead of itself to
such an extent that the measure
was laid aside temporarily. With
the committee changes cleaned up.
Senator.- Bursum Republican) of
Xew Mes3,c ocalieH* up his substi
tute proposing half cash and half
certificates of indebtedness for the
veterans but this was rejected
without a roll call or any discus
sion.
Senator Bursum protested, say
ing there should be some debate
on an amendment which he believ
ed would save'something like $3,
000,000.000 to,the government. He
added that he wanted to speak on
i his proposal, but would not be
I ready to proceed until tomorrow.
By unanimous consent action on;
I the substitute was reconsidered
and as no other amendments werej
proposed the senate turned to oth
er work.
BONUS BILL I
DELAYED
Unanimous Consent Agree
ment Not in Sight
Washington, Aug. 21. ? Senate
Republican leaders continued ne
gotiations today for an unanimous
consent agreement for a final senate
vote on the soldiers' bonus bill,
but apparently with little prospects
of immediate success. Some pro
gress was reported, but it was un
derstood that four or five senators
objected to an agreement at this
time.
The bonus measure is the sen ?
ate's unfinished business and will
be taken up after the senate re
convenes tS&dnesday. Chairman
McCumber of-the finance commit
tee, plans to deliver a prepared ad
dress at that time in support of it
and some majority leaders said
that unless there was an agreement
meantime for a time for the final
vote the legislation would have to
be fought out to a finish on the
floor. Estimates as to the time
[ which would be required to pass
the measure in the absence of any
agreement varies, but it appeared
that it might require several
weeks.
After the bonus is passed by
the senate?and the general belief
at the capitol is that it will go
through finally by substantial ma
jority? it would, in the usual
j course, be sent* to conference for
the composing of differences be
tween the senate and the house.
In that event it would be han
j died by the same conference cqm
j mittee to which th*> tariff measure
will be deferred this week with
little prospect that it would receive
attention until after the committee
had completed its work on the tar
iff.
-If it Takes All Summer.
"If it means war. to run the
Southern Railway, then let us have
it now?not later." is the message
Fairfax Harrison, president of that
great system, sent to the strikers
who had gone back on the terms
they had previously :igreed to ac
cept and in the spirit of the great
citizen of Rome, he determined
that "having done ail. to stand."
We much mistake the temper of
the southern people if they fail to
stand with him. "Thrice is he
armed that hath his quarrel just."
?Spartanburg Journal.
THE TRUE SOU
RADICAL
MEETING
! RAIDED
j _.
j Authorities Arrest
j Eighteen Leaders of
Communist Party
j Who Were Plotting
Trouble
j Washington. Aug. 23.?The" ar
rest of 17 alleged Communists af
? ter the secret convention of the j
j Communist party at Bridgeman, i
; Mich., yesterday by Michigan state
authorities disclosed a program
! for the organization of Communist
' groups in the army and navy, and
? for the initiation of militant action
on the part of radicals in the Unit
j ed States, according to information
; from official sources in Washington
j today.
j William J. Burns, chief of the
: bureau of investigation of the de
partment of justice, declined to
comment in any way on the Michi
gan arrest, but in other quarters
? it was said that a definite connec
tion between the Communist Inter
! nationale of Soviet Russia and the
: Friends of Soviet Russia in the
United States had been established
with the Communist parry, other- j
: wise known in America under its
[ reorganization name as the Work
ers' party.^
j Many prominent alleged Com
I munists who attended the conven
tion managed to elude the authori
i ties by automobile, according'to
? information here. These included,
I officials asserted, William Z. Fos
j ter of the Trade Unions Education
' al league, described as active in
Communist councils: Boris Rein
s' stein, formerly military propa
gandist with the Red army in Rus
sia who recently arrived in the
United States, and one Lozovsky,
r general secretary of the Red Union
j Trade - Union Internationale, who
j has been in the United States for
jthe last two years. Before attend
; ing the conference at Bridgeman,
it was said, he was in secret oon
j ference with several of the leading
"radicals'-* in Xew Tor* o&fcy.
I Officials- said last year the sec
ret convention of 'Communists'*
I was held undisturbed at Wood
. stock, N.-Y. This year, they add
i ed, the place of assemblage was set
. for Chicago, and the delegates were
! then taken across Lake Michigan
j to Bridgeman. Information', how
lever, was placed in the ha.nds of
j the Michigan commissioner of pub
i lie safety by secret agents and the
' trap, was sprung, but not before
1 some had escaped,
j The Communist party became an
"underground" organization, it was
'said, after the arrests of Janu
ary, 1920. and after its operation
had been adjudged illegal by the
government and various state
courts. The Workers' party was
then formed and this was declared
j by officials to be under the control
! and complete discipline of the Com
j munist party. Thousands of circu
j lars were sent out by the Work
I ers' party \ during the coal and
I rail strikes, urging workers to
j "mass?action," officials asserted,
j William Dunn, one of those tak
| en into custody at Bridgeman, was
j declared by officials to be the gu
! bernatorial candidate of the Work
j ers' party in New- York at the elec
i tion next November.
I Chicago/ Aug. 23.?William Z.
i Foster, president of the Trades
! Union Educational league, who has
been sought by federal agents as
one of those participating in an al
leged radical convention held in a
forest near Bridgeman, Mich.? was
taken into custody tonight while
in the offices of the Educational
league. Foster strongly denied
having attended the convention
which was- raided by federal oper
atives and state troops,
j Later a federal agent, accom
j panied by a representative of the
! police department, a private detec
jtive, searched Foster's apartment
! but declared they had found noth
I ing of value. Meanwhile Foster
? was held in a police cell for extra
dition to Michigan.
"My arrest is an outrage." Fos
I ter asserted. "I was not at the
i meeting in Michigan and I will hire
'the best lawyer in the West to
j fight extradition."
j It was said the answer was ex
: pected soon of two men said to
j represent the Soviet government of
! Russia.
m ? t
I PEACE IN I
NON-UNION
FIELDS
Operators Prepare to Sign Up
Agreement With t'he Coal
Miners
Washington. Aug. 23.?The West
J Virginia non-union coal operators I
j are preparing to sign up with min- j
ers an ageement raising the basic!
! scale from S4.6S per day to $7.IS. j
I it was reported today to federal
j fuel distributor Spencer. The new
river district it is said has already i
; signed up.
; Umpire Doyle, of the Florida j
j State league, has been set down j
for five days, the penalty for
I punching a player in the .jaw. '
EHEO.V, Established Jane 1, :iJ?j?.
VOL. LM. NO. 4
BORAH WORRIES
STAND PAT
REPUBLICAN
_ ?
Radical Senator From
the West Preparing
to Attack Spineless
Administration;: r:
Washington. Aug. 24.?"Oust..the
minute men of privilege from th?
committee of education and labor
or I'll quit the chairmanship."
That, is the substance of an ulti-,
matum which Senator Borah, Re
publican of Indiana, has delivered
to members of the committee on
committees of the senate. -
What 'prompts Senator Borah
to serve this notice on the Repub
lican psuedo-leaders of the senate
is the evidence of a deliberate pur
pose on their part to pack rthe>
committee on education and labor
and keep it packed so long as thers
is any danger of its giving' favor
able action to any progressive leg
islation, present or prospective. -1
The men who have been assigned
to this committee as so many jail
ers of forward-looking measures af
fecting the interests' of labor are
Senators du Pont, of Delaware;
Phipps, of Colorado; Warren, of
Wyoming and Shortridge; of Cali-.
fornia?all Republicans and all as
reactionary as they are rich. They
are all conservators of the. status
quo and prophets of things-^s-tiiey
are.
Originally placed on the commit
tee as. executioners of. any progres
sivism that might be introduced
there.by former Senator Kenyon of
Iowa, they have remained to plague
Senator Borah. The latter .has
furnished a Veneer of liberalism to
the committee.' and thus made it
appear i like a. progressive instituP
tion from: the outside?while all ^e'
time It was ' filled with axemen
ready to slatighter any little pro
gressive proposal that strayed
within its precincts. . r
Senator Borah's ultimatum is the
climax to a good many recen: suc
cessful attempts on the part af hi* ?
reactionary . conferees to obstruct
and strangle some of his legislative
offspring. For instance, when he
soug?t^a--fe.W- w-eeks ago to pro
cure legislative sanction for a com
prehensive investigation of the caH
industry, with the object of ef
fecting federal supervision of mines
and regulation of prices, the other
four Republican members of the
committee, saw. that it was smoth
ered.
Behind. Borah's back the Re
publican leaders are pretending to
regard him as suffering from ? mild
type of communism which they
feign to regard as highly con
tagious. Ohjy the sort of a senator
who has been successfully im
munized against his form of ocla?
nomic and ^ political ?.iIm>-?;
thought a affe companion for Sen
ator Borah, .in the close ouarrers
of the committee room. That is
why Senators du Pont.. Phipps,
Warren and Shortridge have been
chosen as the men to be exposed.
They are in no peril of "catch'.ng/*
anything of a communistic nature.
There is another consideration
which moves the bosses of the .senr
ate to save the committee- from
even a chance of contagion. . T^ey
fear that there is a remote pos
sibility that some near-Progressive
like Brookheart of'Iowa'and Fra
zier of.North Dakota and a far
Progressive like Beveridge of In
diana might be superadded to
Borah and spread a few g^rxmt of
communism around the country via
the Congressional Record. That
would start trouble Tor 1924, and
the Republicans now believe that
sufficient unto the day. is the evil
thereof?including the ; Fordney
McCumber tariff, the soldiers' bon
us and Mr. Harding's indefensible
appointments
Senator Borah's closev* friends
have been aware for some time -&f
his intention to open a barrage or*
the administration because of its
wiggle at the capitol and its wabble
at the White House. The presidents'
message on the rail strike and xhe .
coal strike promise to furnish Sen
ator Borah the opportunity and
occasion for which he has been
waiting. This attack is confident
ly expected by Senator Borah's
confidants to prove a really signifi
cant event of the present session of
congress, - If this shouldn't he se
lected by him as the "zero houruft
doesn't mean the assault isn't to
be forthcoming. It only means
that his store of ammunition and
the intensity and duration of his
gunfire will be all the greater for
the delay.
Borah's plan for a federal com
mission to investigate the coal in
dustry was appropriated by Presi
dent Harding. This serves two pur
poses. It deprives Senator Borah
of any part in its creation or credit
for authorship of the idea and ?t
the same time it would help the
president give an impression of ac
tivity in the adjustment of present
and the obviation of future indus
trial upheavals. In default of ?
real settlement of the strikes a
long and impressive inquiry into a
situation that could have been in
vestigated and cured months ago
is the best the administration h?s
to offer.
? ? *
The caterpillar does not breathe
through its mouth, but through
nine holes on each side of his
body. ^ ? _ _ _ ,