The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1899-09-19

OrOuS meLnOQ6bO TO secure tine enforce /
ment by the Department of Justice |
of the act of congress, work on these |
will be indefinitely delay
ed and the year 1901 will find the same |
technical objections existing as today |
exists.
The labor trouble in the Choctaw
and Chickasaw.n nations, according to |
reports received at the Interior De-
partment, is assuming a serious
aspect. The dispute between the |
miners and the mine owners and |
operators is of several months stand
ing and.if settlement is not reached |
soon the government authorities may
be called upon to expel tae striking
miners from the territory. The
matter was brought to the attention of
Secretary of the Interior some days
ago by the mine operators and the
secretary in turn informed William
T. Mitchell, President of the United
Mine Workers of America, of the
methods employed by the strikers to
influence the men who are still at
work. Secretary Hitchcock notified
Mr.. Mitchell that he had been in
formed that labor leaders from Iowa
and Arkansas had gone into the
Territory and were using every
means in their power to influence the
working miners to quit and TO join
the strikers. The men now at work
in the mines are non union men and
it is stated that mass meetings are
being held and that the miners are
gathered together by means of a
brass band and are then urged to
quit work and join with the strikers
in compelling the owners and oper-.
ators to accede to their demands.
In letter to Mr.. Mitchell protest
ing against such methods the Sec
retary of the Interior says:
"Such proceedings are entirely
contrary to law, and are calculated
to incite riot and bloodshed and will
not be tolerated. 1 request that you
unite with the Department in sup
pressing such contemplated viola
tions of the law"
Mr.. Mitchell in reply stated that
the meetings referred to were held
for the purpose of persuasion only.
He said:
cit is our understanding that the
constitution of the United States
guaranteed all citizens the right of
peaceful assemblage, and all meet
ings held and contemplated were in
accordance with this understanding.
l cannot understand why miners
have not as much right under the
law, to secure a brass band and
march to a given point for the pur-
pose of holding a meeting as any
other class of citizens. However, l
assure you that our organization will
not countenance or tolerate the com
mission of any overt act or violation
of the law"
The conditions under which the
miners work in the Indian Territory,
IL 10 dAC PCCIlAdI. hC
mine operators only occupy the min
ing lands, and work them, it is stated
at the will of the Indians, and In the
event of any of these operators or
miners becoming Objectionable to
the land proprietors it is in their
power to cause their removal from
the Territory. When trouble first
arose between the miners and oper-
made to settle the differences. Then
it is said. the operators endeavored
to prevail upon the authorities of the
Territory to cause the striking miners
to be expelled. Steps looking to this
end were taken last spring but with
out effect. In the meantime the
labor leaders throughout the country
filed protests with the Secretary of
the Interior stating the circumstances
of the case and giving IN detail the
causes which led to the trouble.
Since then the mine operators have
petitioned the Secretary of the In
terror to remove the strikers from
| the Territory should they refuse to
return to work or should they con-
tinue to use any effort to induce the
men now at work in the mines to
quit.
The matter has been referred by
President Mitchell, of the United
Mine Workers, to the American
Federation of Labor, and will prob
ably be considered by that body at
special meeting Iof the executive