The Commonwealth. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914, 1913-04-18
Correspondent on the Ground Tells the
Whole Truth About the Struggle of
the Miners Against Coal 8arons in
Their Battle for Freedom and In
dustrial Democracy.
lRy Fred II. Merriok in Justiee.l

(By Fred H. Merrick in Justice.)
Charleston, w. Va, March 31.-The
class struggle is one of those peculiar
social phenomena which must be mi
croscopieally examined in its native
habitat in order to be understood 1t
is necessary to breathe the natural
and social atmosphere of mountainous
West Virginia in order to appreciate
the character of the struggle now go
ing on here. The outside world does
not understand sNest Virginia and the
Little Switzerland of America" does
not understand why the outside world
fails. to appreciate the significance of
the terrible strife there. Some years
since 1 was personally familiar with
this locality and the psychology of
the people, and until l arrived this
time l was disposed to feel that
understood things as they were. l
have discovered my mistake. Years
ago the miners were desperate but
cowed. Private guards and courts
bounded them from valley to valley
and the coal digger in blind, vague
way nursed his wrongs and as oppor-
tunity offered sought personal re-
venge or joined with small groups of
other miners in a futile attempt to i'm
Prove his economic conditions. Then
this rugged mountaineer radiating men
tai and physical virility, detesting
slavery in any form, contemptuous of
riches and luxury would fight any
definite program. He simply fought
because he felt he was wronged. He
had little hope of victory, but fought
as the worm that turns.
Miners Now Socialists.
But something has happened during
these years. These physical giants
intellects have learned of the propa-
ganda of socialism. They have heard
of economic classes. The West Vir-
ginian is an idealist and after they
had listened to socialist lectures and
read socialist literature these hill
billies" shut off from the rest of the
world began to realize they were part
of a great international movement
which had as it's goal the overthrow
of capitalism, which was typified to
them in the enormous coal corpora
tions, the brutal thugs known as mine
guards To them industrial democ-
racy became a great ideal for which
they were willing to die. Around the
socialist party and their union these
natural born revolutionists, men and
women, white and black, began to
rally. They had discovered a great
organized movement whose philosophy
and elemental principles not only gave
some rational explanation of why min
ing capitalists and politicians should
rob, shoot and betray citizens of the
state, but taught that the miners were
not only justified in employing what
ever force was necessary to secure
their rights, but that arbitration on
the industrial field was impossible.
These virile workers instinctiyely
seized upon the vital kernel of the so
cialist philosophy, stripped it of all the
husks of academic discussion and joy
fully appropriated as the basis OF
moral justification for their acts.
That is why the present struggle is
such a bright one to the miner. De-
spite the year of hardship and the bit
ter winter, these miners are as joyial
a set of men as you ever saw, and to
suggest the possibility of anything
but victory to them is sheer nonsense.
They have raised the present strike
to the plan of actual class war and
the fights between the miners and the
illegal mine guards whom the state au-
thorities have refused to outlaw and
disarm, have assumed the dignity of
great battles and are known as the
Battle of Mucklow, etc.
Dan Chain Loyal Socialist.
Scores of instances Of the idealizing
effect of socialism upon the miners
might be cited, but one is sufficient
When Harold W. Houston, state see
retary Of the socialist party and at
CONTINUED on Page Two)