Troops Defending Concord Mills, Aug. 15, 1921

Concord Quiet With State Troops on Guard at Cotton Mills. . . Only One Arrest Made During Morning at Locke Cotton Mills

By Brock Barkley

Concord, August 15—With the Concord troops surrounding the Locke mills and the Charlotte troops assigned to the Hartsell mill property, the textile strike situation here today appears to be in competent hands.

There was very little excitement incident to the coming of the State troops. The militiamen are in command of Major R.R. Faison of Greensboro, who arrived at 2 a.m., Captain Kenneth Caldwell heading the Concord troops and Captain Melvin Caldwell the Charlotte company. The 84 soldiers of the Concord company were stationed at the Locke mills when it opened at 7:30 this morning and formed a barricade along the sidewalk in front of the mill. About 150 former employes passed through the doors and went to work. An increase of 15 over Saturday. About the promises were some 400 to 500 strikers who were jeering and hissing those who went to work, but aside from this species of heckling, there was no disorder.

One Arrest Made

Only on arrest was made by the soldiers. One man who persisted in breaking through the line which the militiamen established and who was repeatedly warned was finally taken into custody, but this was the only arrest made, the nearest to a disturbance being the delivery of a couple of rotten eggs in the direction of Superintendent Means.

One Charlotte Military company went on guard duty at this mill at noon and were expected to remain there throughout the afternoon. A detachment was assigned by Captain Caldwell to picket duty while the others were held in reserve on the mill property. No fears of violence were entertained by the military authorities at 2 o’clock.

Little Excitement

The atmosphere in the town, while indicating a somewhat excited populace, does not justify sensational statements as to the status. The strikers are displeased with the fact that the mills are re-opening and current opinion is that it was their disappointment over the continued running of the Locke mills which brought forth any demonstration at all.

The strikers believe that the mills would soon find they did not have a sufficient number of workmen to keep going and when the mills continued through Friday and Saturday and announced their intention of running right along without interruption, some of the more hot-headed leaders of the strike restored to threats. This was the reason that Governor Morrison was importuned to dispatch troops here. It was more through fear of what might happen, as a result of forebodings from angry members of the strikers’ delegations than what has already happened, that local officials put the burdens over on to the shoulders of the State.

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From the front page of The Charlotte News, Monday, Aug. 15, 1921