Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-05-12
LONGEST STRIKE KNOWN
Miners and Operatives at Logger
heads for Fourteen Months.

in the history of labor unioniszn in
this country.
Over 10000 miners, living on an al
towance Of $3.50 a week collected
through fifty cent assessments from
every union miner In this country and
forwarded from the headquarters OF
the United Mine Workers of America
in Indianapolis, have been eking out
an existence amid the greatest vicissi-
tudes within a stones throw of TWEEN
ty-eight of the richest coal mines in
this country without having swung a
pickax or lifted a shovel for over q
year.
As for the owners Of the twenty
eight mines. they publicly made the
statement not long ago:
We pay the stste of PENNSYLVANIA
100000 a year in taxes, yet we
haven't mined ton Of coal for over a
year"
The mine owners in explaining their
refusal to arbitratc the strike or &c
consent to the strikers terms say that
they are merely trying to manage our
own business in our own way without
Interference from the labor unions"
The striking miners, on the othel
hand. say that for many years every
wagon of coal they have filed has
been unfairly measured by the com
pany officials and that they have had
TO work twelve hours day instead OF
the desired eight hours. They say they
have been obliged TO patronize the
companies high priced stores and that
they have been discharged by mine
forenen because they refused to vote
a certain political ticket
They say they were forced to bear
the cost OF the new explosives and OF
she safety lamps which the compa MES
have prescribed in the mines during
the last two years. They say that they
held grievance meeting in Green's
burg fourteen months ago to protest
against these costly prescriptions and
that a score of the men who had par
ucipated in this meeting were dis
charged by the coal companies. They
say that they felt that the only way
TO protect themselves from continued
oppression from the companies was 20
insist on the companies recognizing
their newly organized union.
The companies, on their side. retort
that the miners objections to the new
explosive and safety lamps are mere
pretenses and that the miners were
ali perfectly contented until delegates
of the United Mine Workers of Amer
lea came from the Indianapolis head
quarters and began 20 talk unionism
in the region
Since the 1900 miners formally
struck I'm March. 1910. and marched
from one mine to another in the dis
trict calling TO their fellows TO strike.
TOO. there have been bloodshed and
misery a-plenty throughout the Green's
burg district.
Scores of strikers. deputy sheriffs
and strike breakers have been beaten,
stoned and shot. Out of the $40 ba-
bies that have been born in the tenn
porary homes of the miners since the
strike began 100 have died The min
ers themselves, having been dispos-
sessed from the drab cOlored rows of
wooden houses rented to them by the
coal companies near the mines before
the beginning Of the strike. have built
q colony of wooden shacks.
These shacks, according to persons
who recently visited them. are not
even weather proof They are built
from whatever loose lumber the min
ers were able TO pick up through the
district Throughout the bitterest
days of the past winter they were
heated with pans of such coal as the
miners could pick up near the mine
entrances and along the roads.
Following this winter OF shack life
there are many tales of suffering. of
children born in open fields. Of fsmi-
lies that lived freless through fierce
storms OF snow. According to the
mine owners. the strike would never
have begun but for the mine workers
national organization. and both sides
q gree that but for the contributions
Of the national organization the strike
would have been broken long ago.
Every week since the strike started
$4,000 has been sent to GreensbUrg
from the rhine WORKERS national head
quarters ct Indianapolis, the money
being deposited in the shape OF a
check In q Greensburg bank
1t IS drawn out In specie and green
backs by a man named Mccartney,
who represents the national organiza-
ton in the striking district 1t is car
rfed by him TO the second foor OF a
deserted private residence in Greens
burg side street. which is occupied By
the strikers as q local headquarters
and which has paper instead OF panes
OF Elass In It's windows. Once a week
3 cross a kitchen table while line OF
almost 1000 men. women and children
ole by him be pushes bill or hand
sul OF silver across to each IN turn
50 so 10 each man. 80 cents TO each
woman and so cents TO each child in
every striking miners family. Every
mine worker IN this country. 1t is
said. IS being taxed so cents s. week 10
make up this weekly $4,000 coatribu-
ion TO the Greelsburg strikers.
According to a recent visitor to the
5trike gripped region. about ten per |
,ons have been killed and nearly 100 /
IN the course OF the four I
cen months strike.
The striking miners say that all they |