Some people believe that these tree branches were placed here in the square in front of the church by police in order to exhibit them before news cameras and thereby discredit the strikers taking refuge inside. On the other hand, we must remember that the strikers had, in fact, been armed with tree branches. With these primitive weapons, the strikers had planned to stop policemen and strike-breakers from crossing picket lines. But the demonstraters dropped their weapons and returned home when they heard of police reinforcements and when their union leaders cautioned against violence.
