Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / Sept. 4, 1921, edition 1 / Page 16
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16 Federal Troops Are Taking Control Of Zone Of Fighting (Continued From "Page One.) I Mountain where the niost sanguinary ; engagement was raging. We had to scale the mountain to our ' left to give our auditory nerves a real j tingle of battle noises and turned back i looking for a path. We encountered two miners from the Boone county coal corporation workings, who told us they , had not participated in the fighting but believed they could take us up a path so we would look across a valley where . some miners were holding the line. We reached the summit of the moun tain after a hard climb and proceed ed along its brow for about a hundred yards. The mine guards were walk . ing ahead and we were commenting on the fact that ho firing seemed to be but little nearer when Well, hell broke loose. HELL BROKE LOOSE There was a crash of rifle fire right In our faces. I remember of thinking "gosh that's close." Then another crash and 1 felt a sharp pain on my right knee, which buckled under me. I fell behind a huge log and as I lay there trying to make myself as small as possible and congratulate myself on having this shelter, the air was shaken by volley after volley. The bullets thudded into the log about my head and I realized we were enfiladed and the log was no shelter at all. There were shouts "I'm hit", "we're friends," "We surrender", and I began to do some shouting myself. Finally the firing trickled off and we heard cries in front of us: "Come out of there you ". "Put your hands up damned high j and keep 'em up. As we arose to comply, there was an other volley from our side. ; This ceased, and we were amazed to . see several state troopers rise in front of us. W had all supposed we were under fire by miners. I had hastily examined my knee and discovered there was a comparatively minor bruise, probably from a ricochet ing bullet or a stone chipped by one. SPARKES IS INJURED I looked around at my companions and was horrified to see Sparkes limp ing forward, his face a mass of blood and the blood oozing from his leg. 1 turned to help him and got a tirade of cursing from the troopers. As we were rounded up, a sergeant came racing over from the other squad and assumed com mand of the situation. Then I saw one of the miners was badly hit in the leg, and Miss Morris had a scratch on the wrist. We produced military passes issued by Colonel Ford, chief-of-sta, to prove our identity and the soldiers seized one from Sparkes, read it, crumpled it and threw it on the ground. "How in hell do we know you're newspaper guys?", he wanted to know. "Where in hell are the federal troops?" we asked them. Then instructing another sergeant to take charge of us, he turned to a field telegraph and told one "Brown" down in the concentration camp at Ethel to "send up a car for six 'red necks' (Logan county for union miners), we just got". Barely had this message gone when there was a heavy volley from down : the slope of the hill, apparently not more than 200 yards away. "Get down", the sergeant ordered, and we got. We stumbled down the western side of the mountain, supporting Sparkes and the miner. The car carried them to Ethel first and then returned for the rest of us. I had time to get ac quainted with the sergeant, second in command, whose name I learned to be Rhodes and found him a fine fellow. eil, Wily UlUIl L JrVU iiu.iivii0v. ' - I finally asked: "1 have been held up at least fifty times by miners, some times pretty close to their lines and have never been shot at before". "Well," he replied, "we believe in shooting first and challenging af treward up here." VITUPERATIVE ABUSE The troops rode on the running board of the machine that took us into Ethel. One of them evidently had taken the "red neck" appeletion leter ally from our sergeant, for. without cause, he began cursing Miss Morris. Never have I heard more vituperative and filthy abuse. Craig and I protested and the torrent was turned temporarily on us. Arriving at Ethel, we found Sparkes and the miner had been given prompt surpical attention. Superintendent-of-Police Colonel Jackson took us in charge and saw to our wants. Despite our protests, the two miners who we had gotten into this mess were detained in Ethel. And all the way down the moun tain the wounded one was protesting to me that it was "sure death" for him. , Young Ball was taken away and I don't know how he fared. Sparks, fearing other correspond ents would send out the story of his wounding, was anxious to communicate with his wife in Washington and re assure her. I later found him m con stabulary headquarters pleading with Major "Tony" Gaudgot. DISPATCHES CENSORED. We were informed that we could send out press stuff by telegraph after it was censored. I sent a b:5ef dispatch to Huntington, together with some personal messages, and learned later that the former was delayed until too late to be of any use. This, however, was no fault of whoever the. censor might be, as he rushed my stuff through with but one deletion, the words "without arms" in a sentence describing miners leaving the battle front near Sharpies for their homes. That statement was a fact. I then case about for means of re lease from my detention- Luckily, Major f hompson had arrived and, despite the fact he was overwhelmed with details, he took time to straight en out my affairs and made it pos sible for me to get a pass "through all guards and lines to Charleston." I sought to aid Miss Morris and Craig to find Major Thompson, but instead met up with Major Gaugot again. "Ain't you got what you want?" he growled at me. "Yes." "Beat it." I beat it. Eubanks' last admonition to me was to "give us a square deal." I assumed he meant to tell the truth, and I promised. I have kept my promise. Washington, Sept. 3. U(nited Press) Federal troops are peacably taking control of the situation in the West Virginia coal country, according to re ports to the War Department tonight. Three important messages were re ceived by the War Department as fol lows: 1 A dispatch was rceived from Briga dier General H. H. Banholtz, in com mand of Federal troops in West Vir ginia, that about 4,000 insurgent min- K7 Ky lb L Mr. B. EL Blalock Has acquired the interest of Mr. A. A. Knee in the firm of Knee & Blalock, authorized Ford dealers, and in the future the business will be conducted under the name The business will be continued at the present place at 509 South Tryon Street, with the same organization, composed of Mr. E. P. Tingley in charge of office; Mr. Orville Hawkins in charge of stock, and Mr. William C. Kimmons in charge of shop. THE CHARLOTTE NEWS, ers had surrendered at Charples and Madison, turning m about 80 firearms. 2 Orders, which had been issued for trains to be held in readiness on the sidings at Camp Dix, N. J., to rush the sixteenth infantry regiment into West Virginia, were cancelled by the War Department, in the belief that no ad ditional troops will be needed to aug ment the ninteenth and twenty-sixth regiments, now in V"est Virginia. 3 Advices received during the day by Secretary Weeks strongly indicat ed that the miners forces were dis persing in the face of the Federal troons. From developments during the day. Weeks was understood to feel tonight that the issuance of the proclamation of martial law for five counties in West Virginia, already signed by Pres ident Harding, would be unnecessary. NO MARTIA LAW? In the telephone and telegraph re ports that he has made to the War Department, General Bandholtz has not yet expressed any opinion as to wheth er the proclamation of martial law should be promulgated. Secretary Weeks explained, however, that Bandholtz will make no recommen dation on the martial law proclamation until he is ready to advise that it be issued. , Weeks said there had been no de cision not to issue .the proclamation, but that he simply was withholding it until it was shown that such a step is necessary, and that he will await the recommendation of General Bandholtz. Charges and counter-charges continu ed today in attempts to fix the respon sibility of the fighting in West Vir ginia. Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor, and James Lord, head of the mining de partment of the federation, told Presi dent Harding that gunmen and private detective agencies nployd by the mine operators are really responsible for the fighting. This was denied in a tele gram received at the White House from G. C. Pierson, sheriff of Mingo county and S. D. Stokes, prosecuting attorney of that county. Gompers also urged the President to call a conference of operators and miners to settle the differences between the employers and empes, but apparent ly he was giver no definite answer on this point. COMMITTEE TO MEDIATE? Sebagco, Maine, Sept. 3. Senator W. S. Kenyon, head of the Senate labor committee, is laying before his collea gues the possibility that they can act as a conciliatory agency in the West Virginia mine troubles, he told The Uni ted Press tonight. It had been suggested to the Sen ator that he advance the date for start ing the investigation from September 19 to a date as soon as possible after the "mine war" is settled. It was stat ed that the committee by that act might do a great deal to bring the con tending forces together for a general settlement. LEWIS BLAMES DETECTIVES Springfield. Ills., Sept. 3. John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers, tonight blamed the' West Vir ginia "mine war" on Baldwin-Felts de tectives. He charged they were the "original cause of all violence" in the coal fields of West Virginia, which has now "culminated in a miners' uprising." TO PREACH SUNDAY. S. White Rhyne, second year student at the Southern Lutheran Theological Seminary, Columbia, S. C, will oqf- cupy the pulpit of St. Mark's Lutheran church at both the morning and even ing services Sunday. The pastor, Rev. John F. Crigler, is absent from the city on his vacation. Mr. Rhyne is-a na tive of Charlotte and a son of A. S Rhyne, also of this city. Wn f1 (HP CHARLOTTE, N. C, SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 4, 1921. RENEWED ACTION TO PROTECT U. S. Hughes Has Sent New Note To Allied Governments on Treaty Mandates. By A. L. BRADFORD. Vnited Press Staff Correspondent. Washington, Sept. 3. The United States has taken renewed action to nrotect American rights and interests acquired in the Wrorld war. Secretary of State Hughes has sent a new note to the Allied powers. It is designed to protect more fully the interests of the United States in former German possessions mandated to the Allies. . The note, according to the best in formation here, proposed various changers in mandate drafts, one of them being a proposal for the inser tion of a provision recognizing the "open door" principle, guaranteeing equal commercial opportunities for all nations in the mandate territories. This new Hughes note is said to have been addressed to all of the principal allies Great Britain, France, Japan and Italy but it is understood to apply principally to the British mandate over Mesopotamia and to be primarily an answer to the last British reply to American " objection in that situation. It is . understood that this Govern ment seeks to secure some guarantee of protection of American interests, Rnh as thft insertion of an "open door" clause in this mandate in order to safeguard this country's interests in the fa.ee of the agreement between France for a division of the oil supplies of Mesopotamia- Thisngol-French oil agreement was protested some time ago under the Wilson administration, and later it was the subject of an extended diplomatic correspondence between the American and British governments, in which the United States attempted to break the agreement on the ground that it was a violation ot the open door principle. Now, however, secretary .ungues seems to have taken another course, seeking to protect American interests in an indisputable way in the text of the mandate itself, without trying id break the Anglo-French agreement, probably an impossibility. This is the second Hughes note on mandates to the powers. The first was that of April 2, which dealt principally with the Japanese mandate over the Island of Yap. The American objections to the Yap mandate, however, are now about to be finally settled, a virtual agreement having been informally reached between Secretary Hughes and Ambassador Shidehara. of Japan. AMERICAN WORKERS URGED TO UJ.VK DAJl i Al HI xvL'SSlAJNS Riga, Sept. 3. (United Press) Ameri can workers are urged to give up one day's wages to the fund established for the relief of Russian famine, in an article written in The Investia, of Moscow, by Steklow, of the Russian Relief Commission, today. Thirty mil lion dollars could be raised in this way, it is estimated. European workers will also be asked to contribute a day's wages. Twenty ships have been mobilized in eastern Europe for the American Relief Administration. Today five of these are enroute to Russia with ten thousand tons of food, mainly condensed milk, flour, fats, can ned beans and meats. The offer of the Supreme Council in Paris to send experts to the fam ine zone and to aid in the relief un der their own direction, has not pleased the Russian government. However, the offer of the Allies is considered important. It is hailed here as quasi recognition. INDUSTRY SHOWS ffont'tHied From I'iik? OmO ployment has been uninterrupted. Dur ing the past few months, in fact, it has been accelerated, particularly heavy decreases in employment being recorded during June and July. It is believed, however, that a substantial increase will be revealed in the August showing; certainly it is expected- If so, it will mark the first upward turn since the be ginning of the year. Within the next few days the Labor Department will begin a new survey of which will be 'placed before. I i-resiuent Harding for use at the forth coming Hoover conference on employ ment. For the first time this year there will be shown conditions in the building trades in addition to the other major industries already covered. There are no comparative figures by which to measure the significance of the build ing trades survey, but it is believed that the summary will indicate a fairly healthy tone in conditions there. ROADS TAKE FRESH START Tb railroads have taken a fresh start. In June their net income was approximately fifty-one and a half mil lions, or at the rate ot 3.1 per cent on their investment. July figures are in complete, but already that mark which was a record for the year has been ervic tation Until the Completion of Our New Home We Shall Be Located At Adjoining D R Oil Station We Shall Be In A Position To Ren der Our Usual Prompt and Expert Service On The Electrical Equipment Of All Cars . , fmm 180 lines, oper- passed, a"""3 - thni(!f.nd itine about two hundred thousand at "! T npr cent of the total, show f sixtv-three millions during income of sixty-tnree i simply July. H the remaining .4 hold their own - &t tfae even tne ro ; - They rate of more than four per cen should show earnings ul for the month to be on a six per cent basis. The termer, the ledger shows a small balance anu is reflected in the pickup in business In ChSgo and other Middle-western cities. Iron and steel are reviving. There are still big stocks on hand but cog sumption has outrun now is back to higher output with consequent additions to the working forces. Coal 1 kewe is. coming back to recognizable out, put figures. Over-optimism in generally condemn ed by business men. They are lookmg for no boom but for a slow steady m provement in all lines with gradual '(tn!m0nr wrhans extending over months, of normal trade conditionb Location- iv L IF B outh Tryon and- Using Same Driveway BAD ELECTRIC STORM VISITS NEW ENGLAND Boston, Sept. 3. One of the ?.nr.. electric storms that has swept th-. . tic valley in years took a toll . .; ! life injured-six persons and inf:;r,((. severe property damage late tori,. , Donald Lewis, 12, of 114 Lmpir, street Lynn, Mass., was struH: i , bolt of lightning as he was retu, home along the shore from .ahin, a wnhnm. a two-story lean torv was lifted bodily by ' th, and deposited nearly1 25 yards in-' , j the structure a. uwsa m , r- Three workmen at the plant wer- , ,' '.; erely injured. NATION-WIDE HOUR OF PRAYER IS JfiturusKD Washington, Sept. 3.--A nation.-,, hour of prayer Wnen the disarm;. nsr; conference opens here ovemh?r. v6, proposed today by the League of yf. men Voters. Miss Elizabeth J. :u. pr beean a campaign to have n na. tional organizations join in the tnovt ment to have houses of worship -A ,n. ed for prayer at the exact hour the conference ope. rag attery any s Comp 1 i' 0 I e ii S n 0 a 1 y :t a: o 31 0' il s; il 1 it a; o il o t r r e: 1 a: 31 1 i g y. e n r n a ;i v i i Jringsian d button, Mgr.
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Sept. 4, 1921, edition 1
16
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