Fraternal Societies     Labour Activism

R.N.W.M. Police, 
Frank, June 14th, 1905. 

The Officer Commanding, 
R.N.W.M. Police, 
Macleod. 

Sir, 
Re your telegram received here to-day, re trouble at Lille, I have the honour to report as follows:- 
On Tuesday the 6th June, at 8 A.M.  I received a telephone message from Mr. Williams, Manager of the W.C.C. Co., at Lille, asking for two policemen to be sent up at once.  I went up immediately with Const. Thunder, arriving at Lille at 9 A.M. I found Mr. Williams, and he informed me that he had discharged eleven Italians, who were Miners and Assistants, and he intended to pay them off at 9 A.M. and he feared trouble would arise over their dismissal, as the night before a shot had been fired in the direction of the office, and several of the Italian assistants had demanded the same as the miners were getting.  There had also been several violent quarrels amongst these Italians and in one case a knife had been drawn.  These men did not appear at the office at 9 A.M. to draw their time-checks, and as they all lived at No. 1 Camp, (about a mile) Mr. Williams asked us to accompany him whilst he made the payments, as he feared violence.  He also stated that he intended to give them two hours to vacate their houses and leave the premises.  I informed him very strongly that as far as the ejecting of these men was concerned, I would take no hand in it, but if any violence was used, he would have Police protection.  Mr. Williams gave these men their cheques and told them to leave the place in two hours.  As far as the Police are concerned I gave no orders whatever to these men to vacate their houses.  We were merely there to prevent any breach of the Peace.  There were no signs of trouble, and we returned to Frank at 11.30 A.M.  Your telegram was received at 4.30 P.M. to-day, by Const. Thunder, who saw Mr. Williams immediately afterwards.  He said that all these men were on the premises yet, and four of them had been re-engaged to work.  I intend to see Mr. Williams myself to-morrow, and will get a full report from him in connection with this matter, which I will forward to you at once, and which, I think, will show that the Police gave no orders at all to these Italians to vacate their houses.  I may say that there have been several quarrels recently amongst the Italians and English-speaking men, and in several cases the White men have been threatened, several of them saying they do not care to work in the mine, as they are scared of getting a pick in the back, when they were not looking.  

I have the honour to be, 
Sir, 
Your obedient servant, 
(Sgd.) S.J. Kembry, Corpl.

Reprinted from The Prairie West to 1905:  A Canadian Sourcebook edited by Lewis G. Thomas, with permission from Oxford University Press.

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