The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-08-12


 other representative citizens met at the city hall tonight. Several speeches were made and the miners by a unanimous vote endorsed the strike and pledged their loyalty to the last.
 Among the speakers were President Ed. Flynn of the Alabama Mine Workersi Vice President Greer, and National Or ganizers Joseph Petoic and Joseph Pog- giani of Pennsylvania.
 The meeting was presided over by Presi- dent O'Hara of the Pratt City local, who introduced the speakers in a graceful manner. Long before time for the ses- sion to be called to order large crowds of miners gathered around the city hall and discussed the situation. They were laughing and joking with each other, and all seemed to be well fed and well pleased.
 President Flynn received an ovation. He spoke for quarters of an hour and his speech was frequently interrupted by applause, while his sallies at the op- orators brought forth much laughter. He spoke in a slow and measured voice and manifested intense earnestness. Standing
 
 with his large frame stretched to its full height and bringing his hand, developed to extraordinary size by hard work with the pick down on the table with force, he made a dramatic impression on his hear CTS.
 eve are assembled here" he said, "to review the situation in District No. 20 We have been all over the district holding meetings, and the men in all the camps are standing as solid and firm as @ stone wall.'
 l He then reviewed the entire history of the present strike from the time the min- ers' convention met until the present hour. '4The operators presented a scale to us to be signed this year which one of the operators themselves said was unjust remarked MT. Flynn. This operator was l Capt. T. G. Bush who has already sign ed a temporary contract" The name of Captain Bush was greeted with much ap- plause, a number of men rising. in their seats when his name was mentioned.
 The Operators Attempt.
 '"The attempt of the operators yester- day to break up the union was a com piete failure" continued the speaker. We have been informed that out of the ten men who went to work in the district six of these were former members of I the union. Mr. Bacon has said that he has 1 disunionized his furnaces, his steel plant, and his rolling mills and that he intends breaking up the miners union If it takes six months to do It. If he thinks he can accomplish it's ruin in that time he had | better call another meeting of his dlrec- 1 tors.
 I've got what we have now not by force but in the fairest way of settling strikes known to civiization-by arbitration. We selected for our chairman one of the most eminent jurists in the country. a man whose fairness is unquestoned. We intend to stand by what he and his board awarded us"
 "I understand that in one of the mines some superintendents, bosses and com missary clerks went down and hauled some coal out that had been on the cars since June 30, the day the miners quit work"
 In conclusion MT. Flynn deplored the condition of affairs. "No one regrets l StrlkeS more than uo 1Icy dIt uHlOf- tunate at best. No one appreciates more | the injury they do the business and in- , dustrial world. But we had rather let the local feed our families than to go down in the mines. risk our lives and work our brains out, then only get enough to keep hunger away. Let us conduct ourselves as we have in the past, uphold and reyer- ence the law show the ,Aonle that we are