Jack Battuello Memoir #1 - University of Illinois Springfield

Jack Battuello 6 9
we would have struck every mine down there and they would have eventually
became the Progressives. I think the Mulkeytown march was disastrous
for the Progressive Miners in this point of time, disastrous at least
chat's the way I analyze it now.
Q. At the point of ambush there was actually no battle, it was all
one sided, is that correct? There was no resistance on the part of
the marchers.
A. We never resisted, we were defenseless, we were weaponless, we
offered no resistance. As a matter of fact our whole tactic was one
of pacifying, of persuading, of pleadings, one of convincing with
logic and facts. We knew we could win with this tactic if we could
get in there but we had no idea we'd be ambushed. We had, as I
explained, we had talked about what they would do when we got there
and we discussed among other things an injunction which would be
issued naturally, perhaps even court martial law. We knew that the
police would harass us and restrain US from participating in the
community affairs and discussion with the citizens, we knew that.
But some how or another we could have overcome that but when the
ambush occurred all of that went down the drain and so we can only
I-oak back in retrospect and use the word if.
Q. You mentioned that there was no i.nvestiga.tion made.
A. No, there wasn't even a loud outcry of indignatiod on the part
of the citizens of Illinois.
Q. A number of peop1.e lost their property there didn't they? Their
cars, their trucks, thcir personal belongings, and all of that,
A. Oh, yes. Those Progressi.vc Miners, or sympathizers of Progressive
Miners that joined in sentiment with our movement they lost their job,
they lost their homes. Hundreds of them had Lo move out of there,
move elsewhere.
Q. There was no reimbursements for the cars that were destroyed?
A. None, not a nickel in reparations, nothing. There was no money--
who in the hell is going to give us reparations? There was no, the
signkficant or what word am I struggling for? The unthinkable thing
that happened in the state of Illinois, the lack of moral indignation
of what happened there, how it was done, how it occurred, nothing,
not even a governor made a mild protest about it. Not even a governor.
I know John Steele personally. 1 met with Homer. I've talked to a
lot of representatives. That was my job doing a lot of proselytizing
among senators, representatives, you know, a little lobbying up at
the State House, the most crooked Goddamn Statehouse outside of New
Jersey that there is in the IJnited States. But we never had no sympathy,
no help, not even any complaints on the part of the Illinois enforcement
agencies about the flagrant, violent, blatant violation of civil rights,
civil liberties not a centile.
Jack Battuello Memoir -- Archives, University of Illinois at Springfield