The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-09-23


 one of the greatest proiteering institu- l tions in the country, the tool of the cor porations.
 I've want abolition of the convict mines. Alabama is the only place in civ 1 ilization where the convict lease sys- tenn operates. Kentucky works it's convict mines Alabama leases her convicts at 50 | cents a day.
 "We want abolition of the company !, stores, in which miners are compelled to trade Oh, yes there are many issues besides recognition of the union. JUST BEGINNING STRIKE we are just beginning this strike Maybe the operators think it is over. They will know better next week. We just game them the rope to hang themselves and they have done it.
 Now, about the foreigners? Where II come from, if a man is man, 1t goes at that It appears that, accord ling to the operate you are foreign- CT if not born in Alabama. However I understand Senator Underwood is a native of Kentucky.
 There is James Bonnyman, chair man of the publicity committee of the coal operators. He is Scotchman. It ] takes three interpreters for a man to tell what he is driving at, to under | stand him. His brother, Alex Bonny- man, has finally seen the light. So will Jim in the course of time. How many Alabamians own stock in the T. c. l.? Not ten. English and French own chunks of 1t and the for mer kaiser had a bunch. THE RACE QUESTION i This race question. As far as the fmine workers are concerned, our union recognizes no race The negro in the | |. 2 living as the white man. There are seventy two per cent of them in Ala bama mines. The race question? It is a race between us and the operators" 1 The speaker denied that President Kennamer had counseled hanging ne gro preachers who opposed the union. He eulogized Booker Washington and quoted him as having advised every lnegro to get into a labor union. CRITICIZES DR. EDMONDS | MT Bittner criticized the Sunday sermon of Dr. Edmonds, pastor of the Independent Presbyterian Church, who, he charged, held the miners responsible for the death of Leon Adler. He agreed with Dr. Edmonds that one command ment said not to kill, but he would remind pr. Edmonds that another oEe said not to lie. He went on to say
 More men have been killed in Ala bama elections than in all the mine Istrikes in this states history. The miners are not responsible for the ldeath of Adler He was killed, if my Information is right, on his way te lshoot up the miners commissary. How labout that girl that was shot in his lcamp?
 "The days of 1908 when Conner cut down tents are gone. It won't be done lany more
 "That was no miners battle al Ma jjestic. It was brawl among them selves We want no shooting. We wan no killing, even though it be 8 lscab. The thing to do is to get them lall in the union and treat all the same
 The international union has :omt lhere to take over the strike and direct lit. There was no discord, but the unior lhas taken the fight over to win it fol lyou. Every power of the internationa lunion and it's millions are back of you l LAUNCHING AN OFFENSIVE
 "We are now launching our big al llied offensive. We have quite the de. fensive. Go home and get ready tt flight. Get the other fellows out. wish the women worked in the mines If they did, this would have been ovel
 la long time ago. Our big drive start:
 today. Gary and his crowd have throwr jdown the gauntlet. We will fight then according to rules that they lay down.
 "A DIFFERENT MILITIA"
 The militia of today are differen
 from the old ones. They will not GU
 down tents Union as we'll as non
 union are in their ranks now. I hay, had a satisfactory conference witt Hn Y, the militia will not take sides.
 You have different governor nov from old Conner. Conner cut our tent land dug his political grave when h. : laid so. He could not be elected con
 stable, MT. Kilby is so different tha the least we can say is that compares
 with Conner he is fair man.
 "Mitchel Palmer, with his injunc
 tions has done the democratic part 1 almost as much harm as that grea
 President. Woodrow Wilson. did lgood. Injunctions will not dig coal.
 Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Indi } ana and the other states are benin lyou, but you must win the fight your l selves by your own backbone. You vii lhave the millions of the internationa union backing you.
 Stay out at the mines and do you
 
 headquarters.
 Don't worry over what you see 1
 the newspapers; we will publish a 1t tie one of our own with the true stut lin it.
 BITTNER PLAN INDORSED ''Now lets every man who approve , Jour new policy and is willing to figr to the bitter end. I wish him to ~tan lup.'
 Every man in the hall stodd up. ] Speaking of the mines with whic
 the union has contract, Bittner said tn X Icontracts would be kept. but he als Isaid that If we want them, they wi
 icome.'
 THE COAL COMMISSION MT. Bittner does not take the Ala
 lbama coal commission seriously. H \ lsaid:
 d Don't worry about that coal con n mission. It was nearer passage -hre . ldays ago than it is now" d He disposed of it as more or less y Ia joke.