Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1913-01-09
Protest Meeting
Well Attended

The mass meeting held last Sunday
afternoon to protest against the condi-
lions being inflicted upon the striking {
miners Of this State by heartless @al
barons, and to insist upon federal
investigation of the coal mine industry
in West Virginia was a great success.
The Victoria theatre was crowded long
before the hour for opening the meet
ing had arrived, and close attention
was paid to the teaches and great in
terest shown. on the patr of the audi
ence-an inerest which proves tina.
the working class is awakening to It's
own desires and that the days of in
human exploitation in the coal mines
of this state are numbered.
The meeting was held under the
auspices of the Ohio Valley Trades &
Labor Assembly, in behalf of the
United Mine Workers of America, and
T. ]. Hecker, of the Assembly, called
the meeting to order and introduced
Harry P. Corcoran as chairman.
n. P. Corcoran Chairman.
Mr.. COrcoran made brief talk ex-
planning that the meeting was nom
political and non-secratian, and that ii
was held in the attempt to arouse
public sentiment to demand federal .
investigation of conditions in the Yves:
Virginia coal fields. and the passage OF
remedial legislation by the. present
legislature.
Marco Roman.
He introduced Marco Roman inter-
national organizer of the United Mine
Workers, who spoke briefly in Italian,
giving history of the present conflict. )
Attorney Houston Speaks.
H. w. Houston, attorney for the
Mine Workers, followed, stating that
he was making an appeal from the SUI
preme court of the state to the Court
of last resort-the people" He review
ed the granting of political concessions
in governments from the Magma Charta
almost 700 years ago, and said that
all these concessions would now be
worthless until we abolished industrial :
slavery. Modern government, he said
makes workers be good while l. robs
them. Courts are daily w sting old
decisions in order to keep the work
ers in subsection. He cite1 the Hat
terS' case. the Iron Workers case, and
the Ohio county. case where, before
Judge Nesbitt, it was held that when
workers combine, and Ike y another
fellow out, they must respond in dam
ames, but when he asked if employers
could be held if they combined to dis
charge men in malice and blacklist
them he received no answer. He said
that Governor Glasscock established
martial law while the courts were
open. which is violation of the state
constitution. Then there were no jury
trials, and no chance to cross examine
witnesses. All the criminals Of the
state, he said, had never violated the
basic law of the state as had Governor
Glasscock. The military authorities
used the words of Wellington 10 justify
their deeds: THAT martial law was the
will of one man." The miner Nance,
whose case the supreme court refused
to DISMISS was always an aggressive
fighter for unionism and because Of
that he was arrested without warran'.
by the military authorities for an al
legged offense committed eight days be.
fore marital law was established and,
although the penalty in law for the
offense provided a. maximum punish q
ment of but one year in Jail or $500
fine. he was sentenced to five years IN
the penitentiary. He quoted the opin-
ion of the U.S.. Supreme court in the
case of Nance was not unanimous,
even Judge Ira E. Robinson dissent
ing, saying: Il stand for constitutional
law" Attorney General Conley, also;
refused to stultify himself by defend
ing the states unWarranted action be-
fore the court.
Mother Jones'.
Mother" Jones was next introduced
and spoke for nearly an hour in her
accustomed vigorous style. She recited
with much detail the horrors of the
situation throughout the strike region.
She stated that this fight had begun
twelve years ago; and told of the first
meeting ever held. Contrary tossgen-
eral opinion, she said, she had not
been in jail often but had had that
honor only once, When Judge Jackson
put her in Jail at Parkersburg. When
she came to West Virginia she had
been working for the shop men on the
Hartman lines. then on strike. and
she came down to help the boys she
knew. When she got here they told
her that stone wall was the dividing
| line in the Cabin Creek region and that
no organizer was allowed behind the
wall. She replied that no wall had
ever U00H DulIl ny Capitalist IOUU0IS
high enough to keep her out and she
proceeded to go in. And she had been
in ever since, except WIN she came out,
as she was out now, to tell the people
of this state and country about the
conditions that existed behind that
wall.
Ledvenka Talks.
John Ledvenka, another inNrnation-
al organizer for the United Mine Work
ers, followed, talking for five minutes
in English and for ten minutes in
Polish translating for the benefit Of
the Polish people present the informa-
ton given by the other speakers.
Collection Was Large.
A collection was taken up amounting
to $6397 which was sufficient to cover
the entire cost of the meeting.
When Chairman C8rcoran asked all
who favored calling a congressional in
vestigation to stand. the entire audi
ence stood.