The Butler County Press

STATE TROOPERS
Round Up Thugs Seeking to
Intimidate Strikers-
New Stunt

Allentown, Pa. (ILNS)--Allentown silk strikers have been treated to a spectacle new to labor situations in Pennsylvania. State troopers summarily bundled so-called guards escorting strikebreakers into the Pyramid mills out of their cars into the street in front of the plant and frisked them all for concealed weapons in the sight of a couple of hundred gleeful strikers. A piece of taped lead pipe was found on one of the thugs, whereupon the state troopers bundled the four dicks off to the city lock-up.

The Allentown cops, evidently feeling these ugly looking outsiders a bit out of their line, had the troopers come in and handle this matter for them. Fourteen in all of these "hard guys," most of whom drive in high-powered cars with Connecticut licenses, have now been rounded up as a result of the initiative taken by the strikers following an attempt last week, when a gang of the "guards" attacked three strikers, seriously injuring two. The governor then acted and the city cops and Sheriff Kellow of Lehigh then went along.

Nine of the 14 operatives have been identified by the strikers who were victims of their attack or who saw the fight, as having been among those who tried the murder and strong arm tactics. The rest of the 14 are being held on concealed weapon or other charges and all are in the county jail until the agency that sent them in comes through with bail. All of the men arrested admit being hired by the Manning agency of Newark and give addresses in and around that city.

The sheriff claims that only two of the local manufacturers, the Pyramid and the Majestic, are importing plug uglies to intimidate strikers; the strikers, on the other hand, are not convinced and suspect that all the employers are party to this little exploit. It is thought the experiment of Pyramid and Majestic in trying to run with help brought in from outlying places under guard of plug uglies is simply a try-out for all the manufacturers.

Consistent efforts to reach a settlement are being made by the workers; many unofficial attempts to have the workers come back to work and talk terms later are being made. It is hoped that the exposure of the methods of strikebreaking or private detective agencies in this situation may stimulate interest in the often repeated demand of organized labor for interstate regulation of these vicious parasites.