INDUSTRIAL WAR.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 413, 23 January 1909, Page 6

INDUSTRIAL WAR.

SYDNEY COUNCIL. THE POWER TO ORDER, STRIKES. BROKEN. HILL. ; {BX, TZWJGBAPH—TEES3 ASSOCIATION—COFYEIQnT.) * Sydney,. January 22. Tho Sydney Labour Council discussed a resolution modifying the previous resolution (adopted ,by onty.one vote), which gave the council the right to order a general strike without reference- to the various unions. The now resolution proposes that no union shall order members to cease work, or take any action calculated to involve affiliated unions in industrial troublo, without first affording the council an opportunity of investigating the matter, with a view' to securing a peaceful settlement where practicable. •It was - explained that the intention was to prevent 'unions from prematurely commencing'a strike before consulting the coun-i cil, and then coming to the council for financial assistance. The discussion is unfinished. The council has dispatched two delegates to Broken Hill to investigate the trouble there, with a view to future action. SUBSTANTIAL SENTENCES. ' [ RECENT RIOTERS. (Rec. January 1 23, 0.40 a.m.). , --" Sydney, January 22. At -Broken Hill the following convictions and sentences Jiave been recorded in the case of men taking an active part in tho recent riot:—

:; Winson, / three'months.. ;.'.'-.."■•'■"■ -.'•' -..:■';': j■'.'■ ;.,;.- ■'.'■;_ >',Harris; ;fiyo months;/. '..'. . //^/V:;.:.'- : : Writing-.under ."date January 18, our Sydney correspondent says:—The conflict ; between ' the. police and the/;mob. at Broken Hill, inevitable : for. some : days,-ocourred on Saturday./ Those, -/who/watched;,the,progress of"events knew/that 'it.'-must .comeatsome time, ~'and the. sooner-the Better.""With:the'atmosphere charged with elec- ; tricityi'Tan'd':-. the 'angry .crowds beginning/ to •take-charge:-of >things;; with, mine .officials belihg: assaulted?in',' the ■ most cowardly way, dyna T mite, outrages /being/perpetrated,' and: thepolice attacked-/ withV-road. metal,.it: was : clear that it 'was. about; time that .lawfully-constituted /authority asserted'":itself. '. -,•■':.:' : ; :.y.>•'.•• /Hbw/the; Disturbance ißegan.//: : : ;: /:':/ /-'There were actually two riots on,' Saturday- . trouble began early in. the afternoon,, when it : .became clear ,?tb the. unionists; that an, attempt/was' to/be made: to take a load- of provisions, to .the,. Proprietary.. mine, from - the 'railway, station' ;aV Railway;. Town, about;, a mile .away/ as 'no;;business :ihan .in Broken.' Hill . would have '.had - the temerity to furnish; these supplies. ■jA.t'iabput,'.!!' o'clock in the.afternoon,, .more /than. 100 -'police' gathered/at the '-Sulphide' Street. entrance; to 'the,. mine, a "fact /which in.dicated! that;something;unusual was about ■ouiv:Tho'Crbwd quickly.-increased/in/numbers;-, ;-but tha, police, kept- tho : people back,': ; - so that ah /open , passage :-.should,/,be,left to-, the/mine., i entrance."-'. Not -long' afterwards, amid: a'Btorm ,bf/ hooting,*'a' force of 21 mounted men'ro'de into"' ■Sulphide Street frpmy Argent-Street,- and; trot-, .ting up" to/ the Proprietary office, disappeared ;fromV ; yiew.'::b-''Presently''.the'.';trobpers -emerged • again,;steoundin'ga'"horse : .'ahd cart.driven;by "a I ! mahv.iA'i.'ciyilian? clothes.:*' The; presence : ; 'of 'this-manrm'-particular.>excited the resentment "of,:,the ..crowd,i/mhp',.:hooted::,himrloudly: as?the .'procession/came'ithrbugh. the/;raiiks-'bf. the, foot '.pbUce,7'and/;tu'rneli;i'down-VCrystal Lane '. on 'its' /..way.;to' the.',:railway i .;;statiqn.i::.Th , e v spread that the .mine'.authorities were sending i f or. j" provision's,'-, ;'.'and ■.•'immediately.'- there -. were ;• sinister .'hints- of "trouble:-"The. throng: "so; ih-cr'eas'ed'-'tliat'./liy.' 3"''o'clock "there were, it is estimatedi;. betweenr4ooo-arid''sooo. pebple 1 massed ■in/Sulphide: Street .'beliind''the/lines/of-police-men,,who kept the ; -way clear to the.mine.: The. |i-lorig, wide> balconies - of- the: Australian' Club jHotel'and/the Palace Hotelcwere. thronged with 'sightseers.:-''"K-V; /:'"' ~,, .-;:' V>' ;^:>*:K>V : ',

,The, Pol ice ,'S to ned.,/.;'-.'. : // , -/; :,/ .' ; .-> after:.3■:o'clook...the.^noise"of .distant, that the cavaV i'cade esco'rtmgjthe/prbvisions 'was on its way to- , ./th'e/ ( mine:. v/Jnste.ad of coining along. Argent' Street, the' troopers and"the'.- lorry advanced by I 'another route, Crystal "Street,' .and the. crowd,,realising this, -broke, "and made' a rush i'a'crbss.a.Tacant-section/tp, Crystal-Street,.where, /a',-"scene":pf ;wU,d'' i exciteih^nt' : ;ensured! when V.the leading- troopers'/(horses'appeared,'..'/-:The i'nob yelled : ih'::"angry "derision,;hurled, imprecations a.t;;the.'he'ad-''Pf:th'6 i stolid : 'bffibial::who : ;!sat im- : lorry, and jeered/the iipot constables.::', When""-• the''advance :troopers •jfeaohed 1 ttie-Hippodrome- stones, began/'to -fly. Someone iurled',- a. * huge/ stone, which, landed the .polioemenisitting. with fthe/driver :on-'the/lorry. ~lnstantly, this was : followed. a;, shower,, of/, blue / metal;:. ; falling, "amongst/the troopers .and; on to. the vehicle, whilst -the'.yells and '■ hobtirigs of' the. crowd increased the uproar. ■ Several constables, iwere bit; - and/ the horses of the' troopers : were, also 'struck; but/the police held'.the fine firm, keeping, the way-clear, while the troopers, with" fine discipline; looked", neither, to/the right nor. to' the : leftyvbufcrode' straight, on, seve-. -r'al we're hit, pieces/of rock; .while, a /bottle'missed,by.a the officer in •charg6;;/.Senior,/,CpnstableJ-Egan..: In ,'the,same ,way the/policemen- sitting -on the-lorry .stuck /to. their' task''in; the.'midst/of;' the fusillade" with, ,;whicb thoy-were greeted, whilst the driver him.'self,: was'-'a-'mbnumenfof - restraint. The - lorry with its load "of* provisions "got safely through tb ; its destination-,.and as soon'as it had.passed -by',' 1 the; foot constables barred- the'way to the •mob.//■;;.:;,:/■/';:.'.;/. ;;' .>,-■■ -...'•?. :;"-':':.' ■ -,' :Seyb^al>,Men^Arrßsted. : ,:';I.V;:: '■ /// '•The stones . Continued: to-fly,-but S the police had 'npw/-,a.;-chance,!to ' some of the throwers.; One: piece of rock which/ struck a /policeman" .ih'.'tne "side'was .flung;:bjf,a man who was detected' by Superintendent Johnston. The officer, ordered,his _arrest." Two constables immediately -undertook the task, and forthwith ;there:was. a violent-struggle, .the prisoner re-sistihg-i.yigoroualy.-assisted by his mates,.,who attacked the constables;: until other policemen; promptly came (to 'their aid. According■' to the iof .the "Sydney. Morning Herald," •"a 'policeman/ was severely kicked in the - groin* and dropped, and it was with the .greatest dif r Acuity'fliat-Superintend'eht Johnston, kept thecrowd 'from"him,,until he regained'-his: feet. The ;man:who'' had been: arrested,, though/he "continued to:struggle desperately, /was Jiand'ouffed. Meanwhile,other arrests were proceeding.-' One man: was carried off by six policemen./ '-Several\ arrest's"we're made by .plain 'clothes' constables, "who were - mingling with the r orowd.-iThere were,- it- is said, less than 200 constables amid,;a,surging crowd of five or 6is: thousand poople, so that the police had no light /task.: It. was with great difficulty that: they got their prisoners to the.lock-up. ./There were frequent wild scrimmages and efforts at rescue. Finally ,the ; station • was'.reached,/ and before long tap crowd .quietened, down. :/ '..'.-,■.

Tom Mann"Arrested. '' ..V;,,,;' ~ Then;; the 'second outbreak occurred.. This wa¥.:at v 4'b'clock,; the time for ,the change of the'strikers^. "pickets.. As;a rule there' were in these daily"processions,hardly more than the 'men'sufficient; to; take'up the picket/posts,'but on';this oooasion it was clear that 'a" demonstration.' of-.strength iwas to be made;. .The ; procession- comprised 2000 or. '3000 men; headed by Messrs.'; Tom Mann;\Nulty (president of the A.M;A.), Harrington (assistant secretary of the combined unions), and-Kosser (a prominent -Socialist), and was played, . down- Sulphide Street by a massed band.. A red banner, which had bn.ono'side the inscription, "The world for ithe workers of;the' world," and on the other, "Behold, the worker was carried at I the head of the,procession.: Tom Mann walked jauntily i in'.front of -the ■ banner, occasionally waving his hand in time to the music, and now and then-lifting his hat and-waving, that, either to keep, time, with the band or to recognise some-acquaintance in theorowd, But the /.'DailyTelegraph" representative states that as he-approached the disputed ground of the Pro-' -.prietary. lease, where the police wore drawn : up,',on'.the ; inin;e side 'of Crystal Street,• he' was seen to be'labouring under'great excitement. His. face was unnaturally, sallow, his eyes 'seemed to bo sunk back-in their sockets,, and he appeared like a person overcome by great emotion or fear.: Ho walked straight towards Superintendent Mitchell." Whon only three ■paces; separated a" tense silence .suddenly fell upon .the ; -crowd. • ; The superintendent, pointingto the'cleared'ways'up and down Crystal Streetj said quietly,- :■'■ .. i'-You. may go either this way or that way, but you cannot pass here," ••■ .•:'.',

: Mann kept on, and collided with the superintendent, who; at once seized him, and though he exhibited some slight resistance, be was held by about half-a-dozon , constables, who headed stationwards through' the crowd, with Mann in custody. Almost at the same time.the red banner, was. seized by another policeman. Whilst the police were at work, pushing, .the crowd back, and heading towards the station, the unionists '. suddenly: realised .the ' turn. affairs had taken, and broke into angry hooting, while a rush was made towards Mann and; the police who had him under their charge, and in the, excitement the.banner was retaken and waved aloft. .'"■'.-. • Wild Scuffling. Then'"the. disorder became;'serious again. There was wild'scuffling, in which blows were freely-exchanged in many quarters.-.Stones were and one of these struck a policeman, on the head, knocking ..off-, his helmet. Any attempts to rescue Mann were promptly dealt with, until finally the politfe got Turn and. the other men who had been arrested safely to the. station. As the effort'. to clear the streets by; the usual means did- not succeed, •a ,fresh detachment.of. police marchedi out -of the stations yard '.with their batons drawn. Then batons were, drawn by the other police--men, and violent excitement -and a series of scrimmages- occurred. One man,, who was struok heavily, across the head, was carried, by. his mates into.the Palace Hotel, bleeding profusely from., a scalp wound. An arresting constable.- was, struck.. a blow . on' the face by abystander,.'who made as'if to repeat the performance, when Superintendent Mitchell, mov-. ing amongst 'the crowd,: brought his i hunting, crop - so 'smartly down upon the back, of..his neck that the man fell like a log. . . . ■ In'all,-28 arrests were made. Bail was refused that .day,'and on Saturday evening there was a demonstration on the part of the unionists in the: streets. of Broken Hill. A procession was'formed, in which 2000 or 3000 people were included,' ana amongst those wha walked were several hundred women, some with.babies in arms.; The women, like the'men, earnedred flags.. • The oheering and • hooting of the thous'ands'of people drowned'every other sound, and the-speeohes could not be: heard. . „ , On Monday morning Mann-and his >feUow;prisohers,were.remanded, and allowed bail. ,