Hell in Harlan - front page

coming from Harlan with warrants for the arrest of five hundred miners and whoplanned, after the arrests, to ravish the miners' wives and daughters.4. That there was a conspiracy to prevent a scab, named RoyHughes,from moving his furniture next day from Verda to Black Mountain.Attempting to prove these allegations, Fred Lester, Commonwealth witnessin the Jones trial, testified: "Then he, (Jones) went ahead and said to them. 'All thathas not got high-power rifles,' he said, 'take shotguns, and them that has not gotshotguns, take pistols, and anybody that has not got a pistol, get a red handkerchief,and anybody that hain't got any gun at all, get some rocks,' and said, 'if there is any ofyou not able to throw rocks, get a red handkerchief, you can wave it/ "Hugh Lester's testimony was a shameless echo of his brother Fred's story.Hugh said " and he (Jones) said, 'Every man get him a gun, - and them that has notgot a gun can get a pistol and if they hain't got a pistol, get a load of cracked rocks;and he says, them that has not got rocks, get a red flag or a red handkerchief and waveit' . . ." All of this was purported to have been said by Jones in a meeting of the LocalUnion the night before the battle.Other Commonwealth perjurers also changed the "red handkerchief" into"red flag." But the enthusiastic prosecutors failed to school their witnessessufficiently. There was no testimony showing that on May 5 anyone carried redhandkerchiefs or red flags, or threw rocks.Many of the state's witnesses who testified about the May 4 meeting werepersons who themselves had been charged with the murders and were testifying to savetheir own lives. Examples: Fred, John and Hugh Lester had been indicted on a chargeof poisoning a nephew to obtain $20,000 insurance. They also were indicted asparticipants in the May 5 battle. Both the May 5 murder charges and the poisonmurder charges were dismissed after they had testified for the Commonwealth, butFred, chief beneficiary, was unable to collect the insurance.What does the evidence actually show on the four conspiracy theories?1. That union miners had petitions bearing thirty thousand signaturesasking Governor Lafoon to remove Sheriff Blair and other county officials becauseof terrorist acts. Much testimony proved the union members had gone out of theirway to secure removal of those officials peacefully and legally.2. There was no conspiracy to kill Daniels to keep him from testifying againstBurnett. Frank White and George Lee, deputies who took part in the fight when30