Denver labor bulletin., 1918-03-16

"ouiu iot pS anu WOulu go
no farther than to any one but my
local.
Thursday morning the convention
was called to order at 10 o'clock The
| first thing Moran did was to instruct
the reporters present that they or
somebody had quoted him wrong, mas
much as they had quoted him as en-
| dorsing the action of the industrial
commission and he wished to inform
them that he had condemned the in
dustrial commission. Then he started
in by saying I'VE have a man in the
hall who has not worked in or around
the coal mines since 1910 (Which
will admit is true). He had attended
all the conventions for years at his
own expense" (This deny; my local
has always paid all my expenses to all
the conventions l ever attended, which,
with this, is only four. Anyone wish
! ing to verify this statement can do so
by writing to Thos. J. Bynon, finan-
cial secretary, Local 1888, Lafayette,
Colo.) "He has been trying to get a
tabulated report of this convention,
even going so far as to try to bribe
the stenographer by offering her $40
for report (Which is correct, gen.
tlemen), and it is an evident fact that
his presence here is not to the interests
of the United Mine Workers of Amer
ica." Which / will admit at that
time was true, for l had seen and
heard enough of their methods of do
ing business for the rank and file that
had made up my mind that the
sooner the rank and file broke away
from the U. NJ. w. of A. and formed
a new union, the better off they would
be, because the rank and file has not
got look-in while corrupt gangs rule
a union of any kind, so / shall recon-
mend to my local as well as all others
to break away from any and all unions
and for a new union, or at least, re-
fuse to pay any more district or ma
tional per capita tax until they all
step down and out, for l am convinced
now that the U. NJ. w. of A. is not
being run for the good and welfare
of the rank and file, but solely for the
purpose of maintaining lot of high
salaried officers and organizers. The
national was paying John P. White
$4,000 per year, and he resigned long
ago and went to work for the govern
ment. The national also voted him
$1,000 or $4,000 as a present because
he refused to take a vacation. Pretty
nice, isn't it? And the rank and file
the actual coal miners, have to pay
the bill. Now Frank Hayes is getting
a salary of $4,000 and then there is
lIlt NlCt-DTtSlutHl. 10 say IlOlnlnR Ol
the great army of well paid and well
fed district and national organizers to
be paid. The national per capita tax
will be 80 cents per month starting
April /, and the district tax has been
raised to 25 cents per month, instead
of 10 cents for six months and 25
cents for the other six, so with this
raise and other expenses of the local,
the monthly dues will have to be at
least 81 or more per month for the
local to get anything out of it at all,
while the new union will be so cents
per month.
Again going back to the opening of
| Thursday morning, after Jim had told
all he knew about me and some things
he did not know, he said 81 refer to
Mr.. Webb, sitting over there" point
ing to me, "and | request him to leave
this hall Immediately or ! will have
the sergeant-at-arms take him out"
arose and addressed the chair and in
formed him l would leave, which /
did, and as l passed out at the door
or four more in here" but that is all
i heard. l will say for the benefit of
those who don't know that there were
several more put out for various rea-
sons, but the main reason was because
they were friends of Lawson and
Doyle, or at least thought to be.
Let me say this to you, Jim Moran!
When you talk about John r. Lawson
you are talking about man, every |
inch of him a man, physically, men
tally and morally, and you are not fit
to clean his shoes. You have placed
stain on my name that no doubt /
some unscrupulous and narrow minded
people will cherish as long as they
and | live. Don't think / am telling
you this, Jim, thru the "scab sheet,
known as The Labor Bulletin" which
you referred to so often in the con-
vention, because / am afraid of you,
for ! am not. / would have told both
you and the delegates everything /
have written, yes, and more, in the
hall before l left had ! been allowed
to do so, but / knew to attempt to say
anything or explain myself would
have meant that l would have been
thrown out by force and no doubt been
well beaten up, In all your time in
District 5 you have yet the first time
to show your face in Lafayette, or any
of your organizers. / asked you again
in Denver why you had not been out,
and you told me you was afraid to
come Why should you be afraid |
You must have been afraid of several
other camps in the north, too, for you
have not been to them.
l will tell you why you have not |
come into the northern fields. You
knew, or thought you knew, that Law
son and Doyle had more friends in
the north than you did, and / will tell
you plainly they have. The U. M. W.
of A. has about done itself up in the |
ganizing an Independent union at
Huntsville So far as the II M w of |