Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 June 1894 — MINERS SHOT DOWN. [ARTICLE]

MINERS SHOT DOWN.

fatal encounter between STRIKERS AND DEPUTIES. Rilled Outright and Others Mortally Wounded— Officers Cilre the Order to Fire Seemingly Without Provocation—Operators Arm for the Conflict. Scene of Slaughter. At daybreak Thursday morning the battle which had boon threatening at the Stickle Hollow. Pa., mines of the Wa hington Coal and Coke Company for the past few days occurred, and as a result at least seven strikers aro lying dead aid many are seriously wounded. - Shortly before midnight 2,000 strikers a sjmbled at tho Stickle Holli w plants, coming from Lucyville, Fayette City. Treuort, Allenport and many other points on the Monongahela River. Home of them were armed, but tho maji rlty were not. They wont into samp near the plant, where they remained until ;i o'clock in the morning, when they adjourned to the public road leading to the works, over which the workmen would have to pass to the pit Here they formed a line to intercept tho workmen and attempt to get them to return homo. According to program thoy stopped the first delegation of minors and after a little persuasion induced them to join the strike. _ The men turned back, and about the timo they were starting homeward with tlioir dinner buckets the deputios, who wore m guard and witnesses to the affair, were ordered to shoot. They fired into the mob at close range, am fired to kill. It was the bloodiest conflict of the present strike, and the awful work of destroying human lives was accomplished in throe rapidly tired volleys. The promiscuous rovolvors and small arms of the strikers were no match for the ■Winchesters of the deputies, and the strikers cuiekly relreatod, leaving their dead and dying on the battleground. Many arrests followed the oonflict. and the jail is flllod to overflowing with tho disheartened strikers, who offered c miparativelv no re ist,anoo to the officers of tho law. There wore e ; ghty deputios, and all continued to shoot as Iqug as tho men kept in range. This informant saw four dead in the road and throo in the wheat field. The labor loaders, according .to reports, aro paralyzed at the turn ulTairs havo taken. They refuse to talk about it. It is thought no more attempts will bo made to bring out those workmen unless a ama'l army is raised. A llniontown dispatch says that efforts aro being made by tiio strikers to provo that tho attack of tho deputies upon the strikers was unwa rantable, and that thoy wore slaughtered without warning undor a galling fire delivered at a dlHtav.ce of fifty feet. Hut later reports indicate clearly that the encounter was a two-sided buttle—the first engagement in which both officers and strikers were shooting to kill. All the doad aro strikers. Officers of the coal company say that tho strikers served nottco upon thorn that thoy expected to assault tho works. Tho deputies considered the interference with the workmen as they proceeded to the works tlio beginning of tho assault, and oponed lire.