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Show IS "Bull Pen" for the Strikers . -MM the Trouble at Helper F? ' The "Bull Pen" at Price. I Special to Tho Tribune. ttvRICE. Utah, :Iay 20. The other fij day as the westbound passenger J train, on Uie Rio Grande "Western railway passed through Price, a drummer said, "Now look on the north side of the track, and see how Carbon county, Utah, and the Utah Fuel company com-pany are settling the coal strike." Binco Monday, April 25, the long- shed close to the track, a half-mile east of the Price depot, has been an object of interest and comment to all who passed In daylight and many at night. Various stories havo been told, few of which arc accurate, concerning the men who greet each passing train with a cheer and a waving of hand, hat, tin plate, or loaf of bread. Thoso men were ence employees of the Pleasant Valley Coal company and Utah Fuel company They are, all but one, Italians. There Is but American In the number. Before the advent of "Demolll, the Rgltator," they could and did earn from $75 to $17G per man, each month. At tho suggestion of Demolll, they Joined the Miners' union and struck for btter conditions, all of which were granted, except what they most desired, de-sired, recognition of their union and right to arbitrate difficulties through a committee of members. This was refused. They were given a. number of days to return to work, ! and those who refused were paid In full and discharged, and told to get out of camp. This occurred at Clear Creek, "Winter Quarters, Castle Gate and Sun-nyslde. Sun-nyslde. Homes Upon, leased Ground. Many strikers lived in homes upon leased, ground of the coal company. They wcro given time to move their 2iouses from company ground, or to sell at a price set by an arbitration committee commit-tee on their homes. This committee was composed of a representative of the strikers, a representative of the coal company, nnd another man satisfactory satis-factory to both sides. Probably it was as fair-minded a committee as ever appraised ap-praised values of homes anywhere. There was no appeal from Its decision deci-sion and none asked. The homes were bought In by the coal company and occupants oc-cupants moved from company ground, generally they went peaceably, but if not they were compelled to go by deputy depu-ty sheriffs, armed for the occasion. The leases held by the occupants of the houses called for delivery of peaceful peace-ful possession of the premises to the coal company after thirty days notice. In some cases it was necessary to institute in-stitute eviction proceedings, which was done. The strikers moved to the half-way house, a rock house half-way from Castle Gate to Helper, run as a saloon by an Italian. Here they erected tcnt3 and established what was afterwards known as Strlkctown. Here It was that under leadership of Demolll and Price, parades were formed to march to Helper and to Castle Gate, to defy the coal company, and it was in these parades that the Stars and Stripes were trailed In the dust and carried with a rcd Hag tied to the standard above it. It was here that fifty men armed Capt. John P. Cory. themselves with rifles and marched within a hundred feet of the dead lino below Castle Gate, and defied the guards, telling them they "could not arrest ar-rest them, nor could any body of men do so, as there were not enough men In Carbon county to do so." It was to Strlketown that the notorl-I notorl-I ous "Mother" Jones was taken, from a quarantined room at Helper, by a guard of 1115 Italians, who had fifteen armed pickets at a point of rocks commanding com-manding the road toward Castlo Gate, with orders to shoot any one who came down to make an arrest. This is evidence evi-dence In the court of M. A. Ward, Justice Jus-tice of the Peace at Helper. ' "Went for "Mother" Jones. Next day Deputy Sheriff "World went to Strlketown to arrest "Mother" Jones and the leaders of her rescue party. This time the deputy sheriff was defied, and told he would be killed and his team shot and was further told that If Sheriff Wilcox or Quarantine Physician Physi-cian Holmquist had accompanied him they would have been shot. That mischief was meant was evidenced evi-denced by tho ai-ned Italians peeping from behind every sheltered place, as he returned after failing to arrest his men and their leader "Mother" Jones. It looked like a big job to tackle, but after an appeal to the coal company for I help, Capt, Cory of the company's guards said ho had thirty men who with ten others would go to Strlketown and either arrest the men wanted, or Bpill some carmine fluid trying to do It. This was after an appeal had been made to Gov. "Wells for help, wblch was refusod. Sheriff Wilcox found ten men who were willing 10 Join the guards to make the arrests, arul at daylight Sunday morning. April' 2H. Capt. J. F. Cory, Sheriff Wilcox, Special Agent C. W. Shores and M. P. Braffet headed a party or forty" nion led by Capt. Cory, marched to Strlketown and arrested all the men who could be found. They were marched to Helper ajid othor strikers added to the capturo, until a hundred and sixteen men were arrested, arrest-ed, and hold for action in the Justice's court of Helper. At Helper they woro arraigned, pleaded not guilty to cluirges through Attorney Truman of Salt Lake, and then loaded on a special train and brought to Price. The "bull pen," as It has since been named by1 popular consent, con-sent, is when they were conflnod, under un-der guard, during tho "weeding pro-coss" pro-coss" in Justice Ward's court. The expense, so far, to Carbon county, has been about $L'000; it has coet the Utah Fuel company much more. Only Five in Pen Now. The "bull pen" today holds but five of those held from the original 11C; tho rest are either diacharged or out on bond. That the arrest of so many was an expensive luxury cannot be denied; that it was the only way to convict the guilty guil-ty oncB seams equally certain. Tho coming session of the District court will bring forth evldenco against the strikers and against many who were not held. That serious bloodshed was averted will then seem almost a miracle. That more of the prisoners should be held Is asserted by many. In the meantime, thoso who were held have had good dry quarters, in a shed 21x225 feet long, only a part of which Is shown in the illustration. illus-tration. Capt. John F. Cory, the most prominent promi-nent figure in the raid and subsequent detention of the striking Italians, will be recognized by many as a resident of Salt Lake City for many years. He has seen to it that the prisoners have been well fed, sheltered and bedded. bed-ded. He had even mended their shoos free of charge and has shown the community com-munity that his guards are not thugs, but men, thirty in number, sober and gentlemanly, who are here to preserve order and do only their duty, rain or shine, uncomplainingly. They have been culled from more than 300 men, hired and fired a3 being unfit or negligent. |
