The Forrest City times., 1902-10-24
PLAIN TALK BY MITCHELL.
He Wanted All to Understand the Situatioa
Exactly Before Reaching
Decision.


Wilkesbarre, Pa, Oct. 20.-At ths
afternoon session of the miners dele
gate convention, Monday, President
Mitchell felt called upon to define the
position of the Mine Workers of
America and their officers toward the
| entire body of miners and mine work.
ers generally. His remarks were i'm
promptu. but presented the status of
the situation clearly and forcibly. He
said
Gentlemen of the Conventional
desire to inform you that the presi-
dent of your organization has done
all he can to learn the attitude of the
companies towards the men who are
now on strike. As you know, the
companies refuse direct negotiations
with us. Through Intermediates we
have received assurances that the
companies are going to meet the is
sues fairly; that they are not disposed
to blacklist the men; that they do
not propose to be vindictive; that, rs
far as possible, men are to be c..-
take some time before that can he
brought about, and it may be that
some few men will not be restored
to their former positions at all. When
you vote on this proposition, you
must do it with as full knowledge of
the situation as l can give you.
snow let me emphasize this point:
EAnx h.
in a breaker is as dear to us as the
man who ran the best engine; that
while we shall try, with all the po wer
we have, to get every man that struck
back to his old job, we will make
special efforts for none and show spe-
cial favors to none. We want the en-
gineers and the firemen and the
pumpmen and the inspectors and the
| bosses, to go back, but we do not
want them to go back one bit more
than we want the little breaker boys
to go back. There was no single class
| of workmen who went out on n SYM
pathetic strike. Every man who
struck, struck for wages; he struck
for exactly the same thing the mi-
ners and the mine laborers struck for
AS far as it is within the power of
the union we shall afford protection
to every man, union or non-union,
who went out on strike with us. But,
gentlemen, it may be true that some
will be sacrificed and, much as we
| shall regret that, desire to say that
mo battle was ever fought, no victory
was ever won, that did not carry with
it some victims. Lives have been lost
to gain the most brilliant victories
| that were ever won in the world. 1t
appeals to your judgment to accept
the recommendations of your officers,
if you decide to defer to the judg-
ment of the president of your coun-
try; if you wish to be guided by the
advice of your friends all over the
land, and decide to return to work.
the United Mine Workers of America
will protect the man who happens to
be left out of his job. In our pledge
to the president of the United States,
in which we notified him that we
would recommend to you resump-
ton of work, we said to him that we
should recommend a return Of our
people to their old jobs; and il the
coal companies fail to give our men
their old places, If they fail to treat
! them reasonably, we shall carry the
question to the tribunal named by the
president. and ask that tribunal to
decide that we are entitled to the
work we left when we went on
strike.
"Now, gentlemen, those are my
| views. | have no assurance that il
you return to work on Wednesday all
Of you will be given back your old
places. | do believe, however, that
the coal companies will gradually dis
place the men who have your jobs and
give you your old places again. l dare
say that hundreds of the men who
were brought here from the cities and
from the farms to take your places
will return TO the cities and farms
| when you go back. | have no doubt
at all that before two or three weeks
have rolled by there will be no ques-
ton about the reinstatement of the
men. However, remember this, that
when your votes are cast | want you
to cast them with the full knowledge
that some of you may not get your
old places back. l dare say the COM
panies are as anxious to have COM
petent engineers, firemen, pumpmen
and inspectors as you are to fill those
places; and you know that the men
they brought here to take your places
are not competent. You all know
that the men they brought here to
take your places are not competent
TO run the hoisting engines: that the
firemen they have brought here have
not been successful, and while the
companies will not go out before the
public and say they will sacrifice
the men who stood by Them" as they
call ii, they will, in most cases, be
! glad TO have their old and comnetent