Hide Article Text (OCR)
:t stole whole freight trainnk►intoIntoBy PKBOIVAJL J. COONEY 'El Monte, CaliforniaQuite recently there dropped in on me at nay home in California, none other than “General Coxey” Hogan, now a prosperous fruit grower In Or-ofna,onLbqm-rillhehetnalatle,itofinisn;hengn-byofarare en adtt-P-snts-tieP-ley.n-aist-!elana-5-I,ctel-leh-itI-:sfifi,d[tifi-l-et-l-c*s, Wash. “Bill” or Coxey Hogan was the only man in the history of the world, I think, who was ever tried on the charge of stealing a train. He always denied, however, that he stole It, but admitted that he “took It.” And he would have got away with it, too, had it not been for the interposition of the United States army.AH the old-timers will remember “Coxey’s army,” the collection of the unemployed who in 1891 or 1892 were gathering in all-parts of the country, during that period of depression, to march to Washington and there demand employment from the government.Butte was one of the rallying points and soon there was an encampment of several thousand men on the flat under the command of General Hogan. Hogan, who in many ways was a remarkable man, was a genius at organization and soon had the army under splendid discipline. They gave the authorities no trouble, either collectively or individually. The merchants and people of Butte contributed liberally to their support and wished eagerly for the day when they would find some means of transportation toward the east, where at some point'in the middle west they were to join with the other “Coxey army” in their march on Washington. % ~~ ’ \ 4, ... : £One evening a group of Coxeyites boarded a long freight train, quietly removed the train crew, who offered no resistance, and went tooting over the divide towrard Bozeman. Hogan claims to this day that he had a secret understanding with the railway authorities that he was to take the train, and that in ordering a pursuit of the “army” that they double-croased him. .The train bearing the army of the unemployed pounded away east until they reached the neighborhood of Glendive, where they found the track crowned by an immense pile of ties and flanked by gatling guns, manned by a troop of soldiers.They realized the game was up and accepting the result philosophically proceeded to build fires along the track and prepare their evening meal.Meanwhile, a pompous, booted and spurred army officer, hustled about among the group, asking for “General Hogan.” Though Hogan was standing several times within a few feet of him, idly whittling a stick with a penknife, the Coxeyite addressed always peered around andremarked:“Well, he was here a few minutes ago, but 1 don’t see him now.”For over an hour the colonel went raging around fuming threats, until finally one of the soldiers, pointing out Hogan, told him that he thought that was the man.The army officer came to a halt in front of Hogan, who continued whittling the stick.“Are you in command of this dam rabble,” he roared.“I was until an hpur ago,” Hogan grinned.“Do you surrender?”Hogan ^ighed. “It is the fortune of war,” he said sadly. Then reversing his pen knife, with the blade in his hand, he handed it to the colonel, with a low bow and the remark, “Please accept my sword.”For a moment the colonel seeme about to Jiave an apoplectic fit, then not even military austerity was proof against his Bense of humor, and he joined in the roar of laughter that came from the Coxeyites.Hogan was tried in Helena on the charge of stealing a train, and served several months in prison, but his earnest contention that he hadfbeen double-crossed by the railroadpeople seemed to have made some impression on the court, as he was soon released and returnedto Butte, where he was for a number of years prominent in the reform and labor movement.Besides being a speaker of great ability, a wonderful organizer, and possessing a charming personality, Billy Hogan was one of the best read men it has ever been my fortune to meet. His honesty and integrity, no one, even his critics and enemies, ever doubted. His knowledge of English literature was remarkable. Especially was this true regarding Shawespeare, though he by no means agreed with the authorities in placing a high value on his works as they generally do. Shakespeare, in his opinion, was very little of a humanitarian, and was somewhat of a “bootlicker,” with little sympathy for the “under dog.” The writer well remembers the night ha listened to Hogan reading bis “The Humanity of Shakespeare” in the Miners’ Union hal!-He was fairly launched into his subject when from the ante-room came loud voices and a resounding . bang* followed by dull thuds. The chairman called on a miner standing near to investigate the cause of the racket. Hogan, who in spite of the noise outside, was holding the Attention of his audience, read on fmper-turbably.. “Bang! Bang! Thump! Crash!. Bump!” mingled with the discussion of Hamlet’s insanity.The emissary returned, stepped up to the chairman and whispered in bis ear. Hogan stopped for a moment and looked inquiringly at them.“Never mind, Bill, go ahead,” the chair invited. “It’s just Larry Neal and Pat Meaney hammering hell out of one another In the ante room. They're fighting the ’Anaconda for the Capital’ question over again. Go ahead, General, you were telling u$~~ about that nutty guy—Ham something—that was trying to get the bird that killed his dad.”oMany Killed in Mine FightOver 5,000 striking miners madean attack on the Lester Strip coal mine, near Herrin, Illinois, which was being operated by non-union labor. The guards and miners barricaded themselves in and finally surrendered. Forty non-union miners and guards were killed after they had surrendered. Troops have been sent to the scene.
Newspaper Details
Camas Sanders County Signal
Camas, Montana, US
Fri, Jun 30, 1922
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
IA, USA 08 Dec 2022
Other Publications Near Camas, Montana
Camas Sanders County Signal
