The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1910-08-18
Is Maintained by Coal Barons to Fight Organized
Labor and Cypress the Miners Says a Cor
respondent Who Has Travelled Over
Non-Union Coal Fields.

armed guards" necessary and why can
not lawabiding citizen travel our public
highways without being subject to these
outraSes? In the first place the guards"
are employed to keep the miners from
joining the United Mine Workers of
America and to keep organizers and un-
ION miners and other union men from
getting in touch with the men working
in the unorganized fields.
| Under our State laws the miners have
a perfect right to organize or join labor
organization. So the only conclusion we
can come to is that these guards" are
employed for the sole purpose of depriv-
ing the miners of the rights guaranteed
them under the constitution of the State
and United States.
Another question here presents itself,
do these miners want to Join the organi.
zation? From all appearances we would
judge that they do. If they do not want
to join, why should the coal barons 90 to
the expense of maintaining an army of
armed guards" to keep them from or
ganizing? The coal barons realize that if
these men were organized they would
not stand for the deplorable conditions
that now exist, hence this guard" sys-
TEN is maintained by the coal barons for
the purpose of depriving the workers of
their rights and to force them to submit
to conditions worse by far than ever ex-
lsted under chattel slavery. These con-
ditions exist now and have existed with
in the shadow of the State capital for
years, and that fact is generally known
| to the State and county officials and by
our law making bodies, but have YOU
ever heard of any of the officials, either
republican or democrat trying to correct
these Infamous abuses or have you ever
heard of either republicans or democrats
advocating the passage of laws to prevent
these abuses? No, you have not, and
what is more you will not, because both
of the those old parties are controlled by
the master class and you belong to the
working class-your interests and theirs
are opposite.
| You have been switching your vote
oack and forth between the democratic
and republican parties for several years
without securing relief from the prevail.
ing abuses heaped upon labor by the
criminal corporations. If you will but
awake and take notice of passing events
you will see why it did you no good to
place the old plutocratic parties in power.
; as they represent only the master class.
SO how could you expect them to leeis.
late for the people?
Let us not make the mistake in the
future that we have in the past. Let us
profit by the sad experiences of the past.
and no longer vote for either of the old
parties-who have so brazenIy BETRAYED
us in years gone by-but pick men from
our own ranks, workingmen whose in
terest are the same as ours, who will pass
and enforce laws thatwill give them fair
and square deal. The Socialist ticket is
composed of such men, men taken from
the wealth producing class and most
every branch of labor is reprented by the
candidates on the. Socialist ticket.
i Workers wake upI Think for YOUR
selves. Don't let the two old party poll
ticians and the capitalist press do your
thinking any longer. Go to the polls on
November Sth and cast your ballot for
yourself, for your wife and little ones and
for the future generations. Vote for men
OF your own class so that your interests
Will be their interests, stick to them and
elect them. Then and only then can you
expect laws for your interest The So
cialist ticket is composed of such men
and every man on it is worthy of your
trust and support. Every man on the
Socialist ticket is wage slave like your
self. 1t is to your interest to elect these
men, If they are not elected it will be
your fault. If you vote against these
4 L
voting for the continuation of the guard"
system; so you must take your medicine.
Let every man do his duty next Novem-
Der and vote straight Socialist ticket
and give the guard" system a death
blow
j Demand the ,,r,inr, star,nn --