The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1910-03-03

ehe houses ana Threw their household
goods into the road In some instances
these guards were aided by deputy
sheriffs of Kanawha county.
On the following day, in company with
BENZ. F. Morris, Secretary, and Luke F.
Lanham, Vice-President, L went to Cabin
Creek and met these men and ascertained
the true stated facts. had the men
make sworn complaints, and thereupon
caused warrants to issue for the arrest of
the men implicated in that work on the
charge of trespass to personal property.
These guards were arrested and
were tried before Squire U. B. Atkin-
son at Charleston, on the 18th day of
July, and were convicted and fined in a
total sum in all cases of $625. 90. Where
upon the defendants appealed to the In
termediate Court of Kanawha County and
were placed under the proper bonds At
ter this We learned that these same men,
with perhaps few others, again forcibly
evicted other miners from their homes,
Whereupon L had other warrants issued
for the arrest of the men implicated, on
the same charge. These cases came up
for trial on the 14th day of July, and
were fined in all in total sum of $500.
Whereupon the defendants again entered
into appeal bonds for the purpose of
carrying their cases to the intermediate
Court of Kanawha County.
Since these last cases were tried. no
further evictions have taken place on Cab
in Creek, so far as we have learned.
Following this, the operators had eight
miners arrested, each on charge of tres
pass on real estate. defended these
men and all were dismissed with the ex-
ception of one who was fined $1,000,
whereupon we gave bond and took an
appeal.
In the trial of the cases against the
guards the attorneys for the coal
companies, who represented the
guards contended that the "guards' ,,
were acting under the orders of the opera
tors and that they had the right to evict
these men, using no more force than was
necessary. They contended that the re-
lation of landlord and tenant did not ex-
list between the operators and the men,
but on the contrary that the relation of
Master and Servant existed and that the
occupancy of these houses by the men
was contingent upon their employment by
the operators and that whenever the men
for any reason ceased to work for the
operators, that instant their right to oc.
cupy the company houses was at an end
and that they were, therefore, trespassers
and the operators had the right to evict
them.
am aware that in a number of the
States in this Union the Supreme Courts
have decided that such is law, but this
matter has never been decided by the
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Vir-
ginia. Such a construction of the law is
to sound principles of law re-
lating to landlord and tenant which have
been in force for centuries, and in my
Judgment is against good common sense
and public policy and tends to breed con
tempt and disrespect for courts and laws.
I cannot, of course, say what would be
the decision of the Supreme Cour tof Ap-
peals of this State on this question, but
even though that Court should decide
against the miners, as the Courts in some
States have done, the men implicated in
this work Cabin Creek, are neverthe.
less, guilty of the charges which We
brought against them for the reason that
in each and every instance more force and
used than was neces-
sary. In each instance articles of per-
sonal property were forcibly thrown into
the roads and broken, and pictures torn
from the walls.
Since those cases were appealed to the
intermediate Court of Kanawha County,
two terms of that court have passed and
the cases were not tried. We have been
informed by the Prosecuting Attorney,
whose duty it is to represent the State in
prosecutions, that according to his con
struction of the law, the operators had
the right to evict these men whenever the
men ceased to work for the operators The
cases are yet pending in the Intermediate
Court, unheard and undecided
Quite number of these men, if not
all of them, contemplate bringing civil
suits for damages against the said coal
account of the evictions
and it is likely that as result of these
cases the whole matter will be heard and
FATAL AND NON-FATAL ACCIDENnI
STATE SINCE 1901, AND THE
WIDOWS, AND THE NUM-
FATHERLESS, AND TT
OF COAL MINED