The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1916-02-12
-Four Months Struggle Gains In
creased Wages and I'M =
proved Conditions. :
GOV. w. p. HUNT HERO
OF BITTER CONTEST
Hated By Mine Owners, He
Stands Pat and Forces g.,
Them to Settle. = q

terial increase in wages, improved
working conditions, with no discrim-3
ination against the union, are pros
vided in the agreement which termfn-'
ated the strike Of the copper miners:
of the Clifton -Morenci. district, in Ari-,
zona, according to a statement issued
by Charles Tanner, general organizer
for the Western Federation of Miners,
who has been in San Francisco for;
some time raising funds for the
miners and their families. i;
Tanner says that the men have re-,
turned to work at an increase In wages:
of from 81 to $3.50 per day, improved
working conditions and with the as
surance of the employers that they
will not discriminate against union
men when employing miners. > ::
Tanner say that the agreement
reached, while not all that the miners
would have liked, it is big victory
for the union and is the best that,
could be hoped for under the CIR
cumstances.
Not a Single Arrest Made.
Perhaps the most remarkable mine
strike in recent labor history was the ;
Arizona trouble just ended, as reported
in the above dispatch. For four
months an entire mining community
was on strike, and not single arrest
was made. Though the people were
actually in dire want, many Of them
starving, there was no disorder. :
Gov. George w. p Hunt of Arf-
zona, probably incurred the undyingl
, hatred of the mining interests of his
state by his behavior in the strike. Re- ]
|membering Colorado, Michigan and
West Virginia, Governor Hunt issued
a. proclamation advising the nation Of
the miners distress, promising thena.
immunity from the attacks of gunner
and hired strikebreakers. $500 So.
I The miners Of the Clifton and Mo-
renci districts we're unorganized and
the victims of dozens of abuses and
poor wages. Federal investigators
found that the companies were rob-
| bing their men of their full pay; that
the men were cheated out of part Of
their weights; that Mexicans in the
shafts were Disseminated against, and
that many other abuses existed.
When the miners struck in sponta-
neous revolt the mine owners fled on
a train, leaving the towns in possess
sion of the strikers, at the same time
attempting to inflame the public mind
against them by vivid portrayals Of
depredations and violence. They ap-
pealed to Governor Hunt to send the
militia into the struck regions to. drive
the strikers back to work.
Governor Bans Scabs.
But Governor Hunt wasn't that kind
of man. Instead, he sent an agent
into Clifton to investigate, learned the
truth, and, by judicious use Of the
state militia, kept the strikebreakers
out Of the trouble zone. Militia ana
deputy sheriffs kept order, distributed
food and helped maintain order.
Federal mediation, instigated by
Governor Hunt; failed, because the
mine operators refused to compromise.
Because the governor had recognized
the professional strikebreaker as a
menace to the community and had
used the authority Of the state to keep
order, attempts were made to have
him unseated, and petitions for his re-
call were circulated. They failed, be-,
cause Hunt, by his fair methods, had
won the ready sympathy Of the people.