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Show I Hisjpes. Hi Youthful Witness " Startles HI Committee Investigating Hi I Colorado Strike by Tell- 9 I ing of Explosions. B I DENVER, March 6. Arthur Lang-: B owski, 21. swore before the federal H m 'strike investigating committee lute to- ffl R lav that ho received $3 a day from H n the coal operators while exploding dy- B Tm namite for the United Mine Workers Hnfl ! of America. I Hy. The youth, sharply questioned by VSSk ihc committee, stoutly denied that ho tuBSt was a spv in the ranks of the union, 0n nlrhougji he admitted that he was ffflj "watching both sides,'1 and receiving jUj pay from each party to the labor (11 Langowski testified that ho was sec- m retarv and treasurer of tho Sopris lo- ft cal oV t he United Mine Worker;. ; If "Thev consulted me about ovory- j thing thov planned to do," ::e added. ETC "T tried to prevent; them doinr things KM that would have caused loss of life. tjH They tried to got mo to help Wow up HBff bridges with dynnmite, but I said, Ofm -What's Hie use of trying to dynamite Un bridges where there arc guards? You'll Km just no found dead the next morning Vn with tho dynamite on you.' ffln Explosions Every Night. VBM "iao we decided to oxplodo the dyna- 3nB mite out in tho prairie to scare tho ifi guards. Thero were explosions iu the ME neighborhood every night for six Mm weeks before the soldiers came. I wn helped pull off seven of these explo- fflflm sions and was paid two or three dol- jnn Jars each lime lor my work. jjfRjl "Ono time wo put four sticks of ljBBf . dynamite in a keg. It mado a big Wn n'oisc, but. did not do an- damage or jfHjf; bring the guards dowu whero we could Vf IL shoot them." jo Wf "Did you havo guns with you?" asked Mr. Sutherland, la "Of course we had," replied the I I I .witness. I 1 Tho youth said he heard nil (ho 1 ! 9 plots oi tho strikers and revealod them B to Montgomery Mcsinpale, town mar-g mar-g ehal of Sopris. I "lie paid me $3 a day," ho added. J "Where did tho money come from?" j '1 suppose tho company furnished K . Took Strike Benefit. M The witness explained that at the urn samo tiino ho was receiving $3 a week Iff strike benefit from the union, in addi- I ff tion to the bonuses he declared ho "was ' Br paid for dynamiting, j d "At a recent union meeting I heard i R President Lahune of our local say ft I jj that as soon as this investigating com- l , B mittce had gone away and the militia ft had been withdrawn, strikers would I start things again." Tho boy declared he had played his I self-proclaimed dual role until a few B days ago, when "'tho union men said re 3 was a sp- and threatened to hang I lie added: "I decided 1 would give t I them something to han" me for." I lie enmo to Denver, ho said, to tcs- H tify before tho committee. lie declarod 1 there were two other men in the Sopris BfB local union who were dealing with the Ball operators or the officers of tho law. K3m The witness said he got a militiaman to come to Denver "with him and sit in tho senate chamber during his testi-monv, testi-monv, "becauso I don't want to get shot' right here in. this room." "Who aro youafraid of?" demanded demand-ed E. P. Costlgan for tho miners. "Do you think .lohn Lawson, president, would Bhoot you?" "No, bur. ho might, get some other guv to do it." Later a member of tho committco asked him if he thought when tho strike was called that all tho mon who refused to quit the mines would get shot. , ... i j "Yes I thought thev would get. shot, or half shot," he replied, and explained that by tho latter term ho meant that tho men would bo beaten by tho strikers. strik-ers. Langowski said he went on strike last Soptembcr, but now oxpocted to go back to work in the Sopris mine ot the Colorado Fuel & Iron company. Hp admitted that ho was introduced to h. H. Weitzel, managor of tho fuel department depart-ment of the company, on a train coming com-ing to Denver. Militiaman's Story. Tho operators then called Montgomery Montgom-ery Mesingole, no.w a militiaman. "lie tuid that Arthur Laugowski one dav came to him and said ho wanted to quit the uniou and go back to work. "I told him," ho continued, "that 1 thought he could do more good by staving in tho union trying to prevent crimes and telling mo of tho plans of the striker." , . "J told him that if he would do this I would trv to sccuro him a .lob when tho strike wis over and would pay him $3 a dav for his services in giving mo information." , lie hnd furnished the money to Langowski Lang-owski as well M their fares to Denver to tcstif.y. f He supposed the Colorado Fuel Iron companv would reimburse him. Mcsingale 'testified that ho had hired union men to" secure information in 1910 and 1011 and that he hnd been reimbursed re-imbursed by W. II. Bono, special agent for tho Colorado Fuel & Iron company. |
