The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-06


 the most lawless ever conducted in the Birmingham district. Coming as 1t did simultaneously with the railway strike l of that year, which affected the whole | nation, a condition was brought about which was finally curbed by only the most forcible and oppressive measures
 At that time Judge Thomas G. Jones was governor of Alabama. At the ses- sion of the legislature which convened in the fall of 1894 Governor Jones, in his message to the legislature, reviewed the strike and the manner in which it was handled. The Age-Herald, feeling that the subject will be of interest to it's readers at this time. reproduces this morning that portion of Governor Jones' message dealing with the strike, which is taken from the Journal of the House of Representatives for the years 1S94-1S95. In his message the governor said:
 Strike Began In April.
 "On the 14th of April, 1894, over 1000 coal miners in Jefferson. Walker and Bibb counties joined in a strike partly for reasons of their own and partly in sympathy with the general strike or dered by the United Mine Workers of America. The strike was destined to be of long duration, and had the sympathy and assistance of large numbers of the people in those counties. which. until finally alienated by repeated acts of violence, were often misinterpretd by the lawless as tacit, if not open en- couragement of their own violence, and added very greatly to the difficulty of maintaining law and order.
 The country was then slowly re- covering from the terrible depression of the previous year. and this strike added to the number of unemployed and suffering, and the consequent dan ger of turbulence.
 Success of the strike depended upon restricting the output of coal: but the work of the large number of convicts in the mines threatened to defeat that result, and infamed resentment to such a pitch that many of tho more violent strikers advocated force to remove the convicts. Among this violent class. a few of whom had purchased arms and drilled together, were rumber of ne- gro coal miners, some of whom were ex-convicts, quite number of white miners who could not speak our lam guage, and many who had left Ten nessee because of their participation in the Coal Creek War A heated po- litical struggle was then in progress, and there were not wanting men, who, for partisan ends, fomented irritation and made appeals to the lowest pas sions of the unemployed. Serious com motions and turbulence seemed inevit- able, and therefore kept in constant communication with the sheriff, and perfected arrangements for promptl. gathering and receiving intelligence of any changes in the situation.
 Intimidation Begins.
 During the first few days of the strike conservative miners checked open acts of violence, but it was ush- cred In with intimidation and threats a against the persons and property of those who continued to work. Appre- hension that these threats would be carried out caused many appeals to the civil authorities for protection, result ing in the stationing of scores of depu- ties around the mines, which further feeling.
 "In consequence of representations of trouble next day I visited Birmingham dn April 24 and conferred
 
 (CONTINpED ON FACE e.l