The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09
MINE UNION HEAD
|. THROWS CHALLENGE
/. TO THE OPERATORS
President White Says Small
Crowd Due to Threats
of Discharge
SAYS UNION WILL
BE REORGANIZED
Adds That They Hope to Do Their
Work Peaceably, But if
Not There Must Be
Conflict

| After rather dramatically stating that
the size of his audience was small because
the miners of the district had been threat
ened with discharge if they came 10 hear
him. John p White, president of the
| United Mine Workers Of America, said
| in his speech at the Jefferson theatre
last night some things about the coal
mine owners and operators of Alabama,
| and former Gov. b. b. Conner which We're
rot exactly complimentary.
| Mr.. White painted vivid word pictures
of what he called the deplorable cond-
| ton of the miners of Alabama on ac-
count of the nefarious check system, the
commissary, the ban ON unionism, the
| miserable wage and the helpless condi-
| ton of the miners on account of the un-
lawful and criminal usurpation of power
by the corporations.
His sallies against things in general
We're met with outbursts of applause and
shouts of approval. lie was frequently
interrupted by members of the audience,
but paid little attention to them There
were once or twice indications of dis
order but it never became serious.
Stands for WOman's Suffrage
1.-The United Mine Workers union
stands for shorter hours, better wages,
free use of the workers wages in buy
ing the necessafles of life, woman's suf-
frage and exalted womanhood, he said
Alabama would not today have the la
mentable child labor problem with which
she is faced If she had given the fran
chise to her women years ago.
Twenty years ago IN all parts of the
country the same conditions existed as
they do now in Alabama We were COM
PEELED to submit to the con1missary system
as you are here, that nefarious method
by which there is no competition and
the miner is helpless for IL he refuses
to abide by it he is discharged and black
listed. The commissary system is con-
trary to the law of the land. 1t denies
that liberty which is granted to every
man by the constitution. In Alabama you
also have a law providing for a check
weighing system by a weigher chosen by
the miners, and that ton shall be 200o
pounds. You observe neither of them
here.
This oppression is what is the cause
of the new spirit that is abroad in the
land. AS you know, new party and
new man have been placed in power
at Washington. scholar and a teacher
who has stood for progressive things is
now at the helm and we union men ex-
pect much from him. 1t is this new
spirit that has put him there. and he has
placed in his cabinet a former secretary
of the mine workers union"
Pays Respects to Conner
Mr.. White told of conditions In West
Virginia and the action there of Governor
Glasscock in calling out the militia the
dogs of oppression, and killing the strk-
ers." He told of similar incidents in Col
orado, where he said Governor Peabody
had done the same thing. Then he de-
seribed the strike in Alabama, when
Governor Conner in all his wisdom united
with the oppressive corporations and cap
tains of industry i'll crushing the life and
spirit of resistance out of the workers
of Alabama; when Conner called out the
militia and cut down the tents which
the union had provided for the strikers
for their families, cut down the only
covering between the defenseless women
and children and the blue sky above
them.
But Conner and Peabody and Glass
cock are now retired to private life, and
there seems but little doubt but what
they are there to stay. The great COM
monwealths which honored them have re-
pldiated them. n
THE union which we organized in Ala
banla then and which the operators and
the governor succeeded in killing in 1908
Will be reorganized. l have come on a
mission of peace. but il the operators and
officials will not let us do our work In
peace then we must have conflict. 1t is
a sad condition and a blemish on Ala
bama s name that such conditions exist.
And sooner or later we will remedy them,
peacefully if we can; il not, otherwise