SOUTH BETHLEHEM, Pa., March 11, 1910.

The SUPERINTENDENT, DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE,

Harrisourg, Pa.

SIR: I have the honor to present report of operations of Troops B and D on detached service at South Bethlehem for the past 24 hours.

- Patrols have been extended to cover a distance of about 5 miles of streets adjoining the steel company plant and the homes of the workers. Numerous cases have been reported of intimidation and threats, and as the result we made two arrests yesterday on warrants issued upon information furnished by employees. Also rearrested one of the prisoners who escaped from the deputy sheriffs on February 26. The defendant was held for court under a thousand

dollars bail on charge of rioting.

Men employed this morning total upward of 5,500.

Eight troopers are ill with slight attacks of grippe and many of the men are suffering with sore throats, due to the patrols in the early morning.

The strikers intend to parade with the women and children Saturday despite the fact that a permit for such a parade has been refused by the burgess and by the sheriff. We may experience some trouble, providing the strikers make good their threat and parade.

Very respectfully,

J. F. ROBINSON, Captain Commanding Detachment.

SOUTH BETHLEHEM, PA., March 15, 1910.

The SUPERINTENDENT, DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE,

Harrisburg, Pa.

SIR: I have the honor to present report of operations for the past 24 hours of Troops B and D on detached service at South Bethlehem.

Patrols were maintained as usual. Three arrests were made for rioting. assault and battery, and carrying concealed weapons. At hearings before justices of the peace defendants were held for court.

At meeting of South Bethlehem councils last night Chief of Police Kelly was discharged, owing to neglect of his duties and his open avowal of sympathy of strikers. During the entire strike not an arrest was made by the South Bethlehem police force for disorderly conduct on part of strikers, and the removal of the chief is somewhat in the nature of a reversal of the ill feeling against the steel company and the State police.

Very respectfully,

J. F. ROBINSON, Captain Commanding Troop B.

SOUTH BETHLEHEM, PA., March 29, 1910.

The SUPERINTENDENT, DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE,

Harrisburg, Pa.

SIR: I have the honor to herein present report of operations of Troops B and D on detached service at South Bethlehem, Pa., March 25 to March 29, 4 p. m.

Patrols were sent out each morning and evening while the men were going to and from work-the patrols going out at 4.30 a. m. and remaining to 7.30 a. m., and again at 4.30 p. m. and remaining to 6.30 p. m. In addition to the above a reserve detail of 10 men is kept on duty at the office building at all times.

There have been no arrests and no disorder, with the exception of last night at about 11.30 p. m., when four shots were fired at Pvt. McGrath, who was on duty outside of the office building, two of the shots hitting the office building, within about 3 feet of where Pvt. McGrath was standing. The shots came from the rear of some old buildings across the street. A diligent search was made, but could not locate anybody.

Very respectfully,

LEON PITCHER, Captain Commanding Troop D.

SOUTH BETHLEHEM, PA., April 8, 1910.

The SUPERINTENDENT, DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE,

Harrisburg, Pa.

SIR: I have the honor to present report of operations for the past 48 hours of Troops B and D on detached service at South Bethlehem.

Patrols were maintained as usual and no disorders occurred. Forty-four members of both troops have been subpoenaed to appear at court at Easton next week as witnesses in riot, assault and battery, and manslaughter cases. Very respectfully,

J. F. ROBINSON,
Captain Commanding Detachment.

COPIES OF LETTERS, TELEGRAMS, AND REPORTS ON FILE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE, OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, RELATING TO THE CONDITIONS EXISTING AT ERIE, PA., AUGUST 23, 1913, AND THE DUTY PERFORMED BY THE STATE POLICE IN CONNECTION THEREWITH.

1. Report of Lieut. Thomas F. Wiechard to Supt. Groome, August 23, 1913. 2. Report of Capt. Lynn G. Adams to Supt. Groome on arrival of detachments from Troops A and D at Erie, August 24, 1913.

3. Report of Capt. Lynn G. Adams to Supt. Groome, August 31, 1913.

4. Report of Capt. Adams, commanding detachment on duty at Erie, to Supt. Groome, September 5, 1913.

5. Letter from Supt. Groome to the commanding officer, Troop A, instructing him to withdraw members of Troop A on duty at Erie, Pa., November 8, 1913. 6. Letter from Supt. Groome to Mayor W. J. Stern, Erie, Pa., informing latter of withdrawal of 20 men from duty at Erie, Pa., November 8, 1913.

Superintendent JOHN C. GROOME,

1216 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

ERIE, PA., August 23, 1913.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report of my investigation of the conditions as to law and order at Erie, Pa., where a strike of molders and foundrymen is in progress.

Arrived at Erie at 9 p. m. August 20, and visited the strike zone, and from inquiries made from men employed at the several foundries I learned that the strike was called in an effort to unionize the shops in Erie; that about 1,500 molders responded and were engaged in doing picket duty on the streets leading to the houses of the men still employed at the foundries; that the strike was inaugurated in November, 1912, and has continued since that time.

I next called on the sheriff of Erie County, arriving at his residence about 11.30 p. m., and found the sheriff in a state of nervous distress; so much so that he insisted on our conference being held in an unlighted room, and at the termination he escorted me from his residence by the rear door. The sheriff outlined the conditions to me as being absolutely beyond his control; that he had put forth every effort to handle the situation but was unable to do so; that he had advertised for deputy sheriffs and about 50 men responded to his advertisement but was able to select only 15 men of the right caliber, and some of those selected were doubtful. He told me emphatically that he was positively unable to cope with the situation; that the strikers had established a system of picketing in which violence was resorted to and in the past 10 days one man had been killed and several seriously wounded and that he was now appealing to the department of State police to assist him in putting down the disorder. At 10 a. m. on the 21st of August, I met in conference Mayor Stern of Erie, the sheriff, chief of police, and the county and city solicitors. The situation was gone over in detail, and the mayor told me that conditions had gotten so far beyond his control that he had placed the matter in the hands of the sheriff and that he (mayor) had heartily indorsed the sheriff's request for intervention by the State police. I next interviewed the secretary of the manufacturers' association, and he showed me a list of casualties and statistics substantiating the statement made by the mayor and the sheriff.

The foundries are located in two distinct sections of the city; one section on the east and one on the west side, and the territory covered by the 20 plants involved is so extensive that the Erie police and the extra deputy sheriffs, even though they were properly instructed, would be unable to handle these con

ditions. I would therefore recommend that a troop of State police be sent to Erie, and they are assured of absolute cooperation from the local authorities. It is my opinion that sooner or later our department would be obliged to take this matter in hand as the disorders are multiplying each day, therefore intervention by a troop at this time will doubtless save serious trouble and the mobilization of the entire squadron.

Very respectfully,

THOMAS WIECHARD, Lieutenant, State Police.

ERIE, PA., August 24, 1913.

Supt. JOHN C. Groome,

1216 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

SIR: I have the honor to report that the detachments detailed from Troops A and D arrived Erie at 6 a. m., and were detrained successfully without more than a dozen inhabitants being aware of our presence. At 6.30 a. m. 20 men were on the streets in the affected districts doing regular patrol work, preventing the crowds from congregating and picketing, and there was no case of violence reported during the forenoon. The men on the streets were relieved by the other half of the detachment who remained on duty until 1 p. m., when they were relieved for dinner. It was not then found necessary for our men to go on duty until 4 p. m., when the men at work in the various factories begin to leave for their homes, when 20 men were detailed to patrol the streets as in the morning.

At about 4.30 p. m. a crowd of about 500 men congregated between Eleventh and Fourteenth Streets on Parade Street and refused to obey the traffic regulations, and resorted to violence, which in consequence caused the arrest of seven men, charging same with disorderly conduct. Two arrests were resisted, which necessitated the use of considerable force and the conveying of two men to the Hamot Hospital for repairs. The only injury sustained by the members of our detachment was the destruction of one summer helmet. After these arrests the crowd was dispersed, and at 7.30 there being no further necessity for our men to patrol the streets they were relieved.

Conditions on Sunday morning are very quiet, and chances of a general strike on account of our presence seems to be more and more remote as time passes. In my next report I will inclose blue print locating the various affected factories, and a map of the method that I shall use to protect the workingmen to and from work in various parts of the city.

Very respectfully,

LYNN G. ADAMS,

Commanding Detachments A and D, Erie, Pa.

ERIE, PA., August 31, 1913.

Supt. JOHN C. GROOME,

1216 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

SIR: I have the honor to report that the situation remains quiet in Erie. I have just had a conversation with Mayor Stern, and he believes the quietness of the situation here is entirely due to our presence, and would regret very much the withdrawal of our men while conditions remain as they are, because they would probably revert to the conditions that existed before our arrival.

The suppressed spirit of unrest was demonstrated last night by the stoning of houses occupied by those who had been on strike. This matter, however, was handled by the local authorities, who are taking precautionary measures to prevent a recurrence.

Very respectfully,

LYNN G. ADAMS,

Commanding Detachments Troops A and D, Erie, Pa.

ERIE, PA., September 5, 1913.

Supt. JOHN C. GROOME,

1216 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

SIR: I have the honor to report that conditions are comparatively quiet in Erie in connection with the strike. There appears to be, however, some unrest in the ranks of the strikers inasmuch as some workmen were stoned last night

at a railroad crossing on Chestnut Street, south of Twelfth, but was discontinued upon the appearance of our men. The residence of a nonunion workman was burned at 3 a. m. yesterday morning, the fire being apparently of incendiary origin.

I am inclosing herewith copies of reports of Burns's detectives in the employ of the manufacturers' association.

Very respectfully,

LYNN G. ADAMS,

Commanding Detachments Troops A and D, Erie, Pa.

NOVEMBER 8, 1913.

Commanding Officer TROOP A, STATE POLICE,

Greensburg, Pa.

SIR: You are hereby instructed to relieve the men of your troop now on duty in Erie and order them to return to the barracks on or before Saturday, November 15.

When you leave you can turn over the command of the balance of the detail to Lieut. Wiechard of Troop D.

Very respectfully,

JOHN C. GROOME,
Superintendent.

Hon. W. J. STERN,

Mayor, Erie, Pa.

NOVEMBER 8, 1913.

SIR: The detail of State police now in Erie that was sent to your assistance August 20, after repeated requests from yourself and the sheriff, with your assurance that it was impossible for the local authorities to maintain law and order, has now been on duty in your city nearly three months, and this detail, with the assistance of your men, has been able to maintain law and order during that time, and I now feel that conditions are such that your police assisted by a small number of State police can continue to maintain law and order in the city, and I am therefore writing to notify you that I shall withdraw 20 men of the force now on duty in Erie on Saturday, November 15. I feel that the local authorities have had ample time to make arrangements that will enable them to successfully handle the situation without outside assistance; and should conditions remain as they are, I expect to withdraw the balance of the men within a short time.

Thanking you for the courtesy you have extended to the officers and men of the force and the assistance you have given us, I remain,

Very respectfully,

JOHN C. GROOME, Superintendent.

LUMB EXHIBIT.

STATEMENTS OF STRIKERS AND OTHERS GIVEN AT HEARING IN PARLOR OF THE LOUGHRAN HOTEL, HAZLETON, PA., JUNE 11, 1914.

Mr. MAURER. Your men in this district since they came here have not been acting impartial in this strike situation, between the employees of the Lehigh Traction Co. and the Lehigh Traction Co. Their conduct has been so as to favor the traction company and reflect against the employees and to harass the old employees. That they have been, on the other hand, partial and favorable to the Lehigh Traction Co. That charge I stand ready to prove.

Another charge was that they arrested men here and took them to Pottsville for trial, and they could have been tried right here. My assumption was that the purpose of taking them to Pottsville was in order to railroad them to jail.

Another was that their presence and action on the streets tended toward disorder, and that their presence was not in the interests of order but disorder, and stand ready to prove this charge.

Mr. Matti is the man who was arrested here and taken to Pottsville on a charge of disorderly conduct or attempting to incite riot. He had a trial in Pottsville and was discharged.

ANDREW MATTI, vice president, United Mine Workers, called to witness stand. Q. What is your first name?-A. Andrew Matti.

Q. Do you hold any official position in the district?-A. A district superintendent of the ninth district, United Mine Workers.

Q. (By Mr. MAURER). What led up to your arrest?-A. On the 26th of May I went to McAdoo to attend a meeting of the local union of the United Mine Workers. Standing on the corner, I saw one of the

By Mr. LUMB:

Q. What street were you standing on?-A. Prinn and Railroad. One of the mine workers, a brother miner got off the car, and when I seen him getting off I went to him and wanted to talk to him. He stopped. I put my hand on him and said, “Do you know these cars are unfair." He looked at me, and we started to walk and talk.

Q. But you did put your hand on him?-A. Yes. I told him that I was an official of the mine workers. While talking to him, three men came along; I know one of them, Mr. Hennig. I don't know these other two gentlemen-that is, I would know them if I would see them. I walked away with this man, and was talking quietly. Mr. Hennig walked up and said, "Don't listen to a damned fool." I says, I know you; I know who you are." That is all that was done that night. I wasn't arrested or anything until the 28th.

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Q. What time was that?-A. In the evening, between half past 5 and 6 o'clock. On the 28th of May, at 8 o'clock in the morning, I was in bed. The three gentlemen appeared again. One of the constabulary I know, Mr. Hennig. Two other gentlemen were with him. I was just getting the paper to read.

Q. Where were you then?-A. At home, Hazleton, 625 Arthur Street. They came up to me and said, "Matti, you're arrested." I says, "What for?" They says, "Never mind what for; just come along." I says, "Do you have the warrant?" They says, "Yes," and showed it to me. I says, "The name of the justice is not familiar in this city. I know them all."

Q. What was the name of the justice?-A. Freiler, I think. They took me to Pottsville. When he took me from home I come down here and asked them, "Could I get an attorney to defend me?' Hennig says, "Yes; you can, if you can get anybody." I phoned for Abner Smith, but he wasn't at home. Hennig says, "You have only five minutes' time; we are going to Pottsville." I says, "What are you going to Pottsville for?" Hennig says, "To take you to jail." He says here on the corner before we got on the train, "If you pay $10, it will cost you that anyhow," he says, "if you give me $10 I will let you go.” He says "If you pay $10 to me you can go home." I says, "No, sir; I am not guilty." He says, "Now you can look for bail; you have ample time."

Q. Was Hennig alone?-A. He was with me all the time. Then when we got to Pottsville another officer took me up before the justice of the peace.

Q. (By Mr. MAURER.) Now tell about the saloon?

Mr. LUMB. Mr. Maurer, I object to your leading the witness, and request that he state his grievance in his own way.

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Mr. MATTI. I am coming to the saloon later.

Q. (By Mr. MAURER). Did you go right from the train to the justice of the peace? A. Yes, sir. I went in to the justice of the peace and I made a plea before the justice that I couldn't get my witnesses there. "Well," he says, you have to get bail"; never told me how much the bail was in Schuylkill County. I says, "I want to see my lawyer," and he says, "It will do you no good anyhow to see him because the district attorney is on our side." "Well," I says, "he will give me a chance to get bail or something." Hennig says, "Now, you are going to jail, remember that." He says, Now, you are going to jail, understand that." The other two gentlemen were there on the corner at a saloon.

By Mr. LUMB:

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Q. What saloon was this?-A. Right at the corner as you come in from the station.

Q. Which station did you go in?-A. The Pennsylvania. We came from the squire's office and went in that saloon. He set 'em up. Hennig took a whisky and the other constabulary man took a beer and one took a ginger ale. Q. There were three of them, State police, when they arrested you?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. How many appeared against you?-A. Hennig and another constabulary man and a man that used to be a constabulary. We came from the justice's

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