The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1907-02-21

may go on and on, seeking work and
not finding it while his loved ones
suffer
You cannot hope to write your
wrongs until you legislate against
the piack list. Then you have the
guard, or spy system, the next great
evil OF oppression.
During the N. G w. strike 1 sent
two of my men into the Elkhorn re-
gion to investigate conditions. On
arriving at their destination they
were met by-two men wearing stars.
My men asked them If they could
point them to an hotel. They did so
and when my men had started to
the hotel these guards followed and
assaulted them and beat them with
clubs. The 'justice?' arrested them.
who, the men who committed the
ASSAULT no. he arrested my men for
the gentlemen who have preceded
me. might express my
being licked, and they were only
given their freedom after promise
to leave the state.
about year later, sent another
man down. He was sitting quietly in
the car when a man approached him
and said: You stole my pocketbook.
1 did not replied my man.
oh, yes you did, said the other,
and. calling guard they proceeded
to search him.
Finally the guard picked pock-
etbook up from under "a seat, and
9cCnSinp ~f
there after having stolen it, he set
upon him and beat him terribly.
These are some of the outrages
of the guard system. 1 will say that
l believe an operator has a perfect
right to protect his property, but
deny his right to assault and main
the innocent.
Another great shame in your state
Is that little boys Of l 2 are permitted
to wear their young lives away in
the coal mines. Little children who
ought to be at school, destroying
their very being in the black gloom
OF the pit when they ought to be out
at school. or enjoying Gods sun
light.
'If there is one thing that has kept
me in this work, II there is one thing
that has given me courage to fight
and fight and fight for organization,
it is this cruel shame of child .abor.
a United Mine worker should be
the very last person 10 allow a child
to go down mine. Send your chill
dren to school, and let them grow
big and brave and strong and then
they can fight the battle of life.
II want now to consider the aucs-
ton of organization. Do you know
that III the year 1905 there were
194 persons killed in .Nest Virginia? :?
That during tne past five years there
have been 1SG TO meet a like fate? !?
Notwith standing the fact that min
ing rightly conducted is safer in
West Virginia than elsewhere, this
frightful mortality exceeds that of
the most dangerous occupation
known to statistics.
by passing wise laws you can re-
duce this death rate at least one
half"
Mr.. Mitchell then quoted Presi-
dent Roosevelt's letter in which he
tween accidents in European coun-
tries and this, and said that some of
our enterprises seemed to be con-
Quoted on the plan that it was cheap
er TO MAIN and kill men than TO
protest them.
He maintained that the order
was for the good Of the operator as
well as the miner and everybody
else. In regard to the miners keep
ing their agreement, he said that if
any miner signed an agreement with
him and failed to keep it he would
fire him from the unicn at once
! He then reviewed the history of
trades unions and told in early days
they were beaten and persecr ed,