Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1906-02-08
LOVERS LEAP.

SbeSiaI to The Ne70S
Mr. Editor, as | seat myself to give
a few items to your most valuable lit
tie sheet my mind is filled with many
thoughts and | scarcely know how TO
express myself but will do the best
can under the circumstances.
News is scarce in this part of God S
moral vineyard.
We are having fine weather and the
health Of this community is good.
R. Foster and son, Will, went to
Tracy yesterday. Also w. A. Price.
G. W. Davis, Key Rust, Fred Nolan
and We writer went to Tracy yester-
day.
There was considerable excitement
over the shooting of Orbry Coldwell.
He was shot from ambush by an un-
known party Thursday about half past
nine. He and two of my boys, Wiley
and Tom Almany, have been engaged
in cutting props for the Reid Hill
mines, which they thought they had a
perfect right to do as they had been
hired and paid by a private indivi-
dual, but some Of the miners union
thought it was working against them
and ! heard it said that some one said
if they could get the prop cutting stop
ped that the coal digging would have
to stop. Now, Mr. Editor and the
public in general, this leads me to ex-
press myself further on this subject
but not through any ill-feeling to-
wards the miners union or any one
belonging to the union, but it is an
evident fact that the shooting of Cold
well was done for a purpose, but could
any fair-minded man think that the
| stopping of the prOp-cutting would
have any effect towards the stopping
of the coal digging? Don't any person
with reasonable sense know that if the
/ Company is determined ON running the
mines at Tracy, that if they can get
props cut near Tracy they will ship
| them there on the cars, and | will tell
you, my good friends, that they are 60
ing to run them at all hazards. Come
let us reason together in love and
friendship, and state nothing but
facts. / haven't been able to fully I'M
derstand what the miners union call
scabbing or blacklegging, but my idea
| is this Blacklegging is when man
has job and some other takes it and
scabbing is digging coal at non union
camps l don't see how they can make
coal digging at Reid Hill blackiegging
for they are getting as much or more
for their coal as the union minerswere
getting before the lockout and besides
they are working for different. COM
pany altogether. think their case is
lust like this: If were working for
man and did not suit him and he
turned me off, l would have no right
to say some other man should not take
my place. The union miner did moi
suit the company and they shut then
ont, so l don't think any one ought tc
kill men for taking his place. AS tC
the prop cutting, it is a work that those
boys have followed ever since they
have been large enough to work al
such work in timber, cross ties log
cutting and saw-milling.
| don't know whether the unioI
people call it blacklegging or scabbine
or what they call it but every time
they shut down at Tracy every mar
that could get job in the woods wal
out and at it, but we outside laborer
could not go to union camp and ge
job unless we would join the uniol
and we could not join unless we wer
coal digger. So we have been crow
ded out of work until we had to TAX
the prop-cutting job or leave home t
work like some of our good un1ol
friends have had to do but as the jo'
was rendered us we thought we had
right to take it, Then to think tina
while the boys were at work to max
an honorable living for one of them t
be shot down! 1t is horrible to thin
about. 1t looks like a man is not al
lowed to act as his own free mora
= agent and work where ever he can &c
work.
= Now, my dear friends, if you wi
= allow me to call you such, | don
claim to be a smart Ellie, but | wan
to say to the public that have bee
: about little if | was raised in tn
mountains of old East Tennessee.
have been in seven different states IAN
worked in five and never have bee
debarred the right to work, either l
! my boys, wherever we pleased. al
/. not writing this to make case againi
the union or any one belonging to
, for believe all classes of labor shout
| Dt OIRdnlLtus anu 4 bCANfN 80 -
principle of the miners union, but
do not believe in the way it has bee
conducted in some instances.
want to say further that | hay
been in and near Tracy for about eigl
teen years and have said and still sa
that Inever was among freer and MOI
generous hearted people anywhere, an
C / thought that l had some OF as goo
/. friends in and around Tracy as HAY
: anywhere, but some of them hay
t treated me coldly of late, but yet
Q have a kind feeling for them all {
o not wish to get into a controversy wi
: anyone but have stated facts, and
hope all the correspondents OF q
News will stop vilifying and bulldo
ing each other and come down to FAC
on both sides
t Wishing the News and its readers
!, both sides Of the subject success.
X c. V.