The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-12-18
BTTTNER'S CARD

pA | ANAIht o N1hND
 In part. MT. Bittner's card reads as fol- lows:
 Brig. Gen. R. F. Steiner. Office of Com manding General Birmingham, Ala. My Dear Sir--I have read your state-
 ment which appeared in the Birmingham Age-Herad Friday. December II, dealing with the observance of law in the coal fields of Alabama
 "It is indeed an extraordinary statement you make when you say. and now at this time we are openly notified by Van Bitt- ner of Pennsylvania that the laws of this
 state are to be defed and the purposes for which we have been sent to the dis trict nuilihed and destroyed, and I am forced to say that 1t is misrepresenta- tion of the facts.
 Allow me to inform you that the reso- | lutions passed in the Mine Workers con vention at it's session in Birmingham on Friday December 10, were not passed with any intent or desire on the part of
 the coal miners who are on strike in I Alabama to defy the laws of this state.
 "The United Mine Workers of America lis a law-abiding institution, and the rec
 ord of our membership as law observers
 and patriots will compare more than
 favorably with any other class of people
 that we have in tho United States. l "When the resolution was passed in the
 miners convention nstructing the local
 union officers to appont 10 men from
 each 100 to act as picketing committees and do all in their power to prevent men working and have those who are now working join them in the strike, I wish
 to impress upon you with all the earnest ress and forcefulness at my command 1 that these pickets were not to violate | law, but were simply to use all the per l suasve powers they had to have men I lax those who are working to join the strike When we asked them to do all in their
 power, certainly we meant all in theii
 power that they had lawful right to do 1 You, as the commanding officer of the
 military forces. and the commanding of- | ficers in the field have informed me and l the other leaders of the strike in the Alabama coal fields that we had righe to do all we possibly could to peaceaoly persuade man to join with us in this strike.
 "The resolution that you take excep- tion to asks that 10 men out of each lO) men in each local union do this, and we propose to do everything we lawfully can to prevent men going to work in the mines and to have those who are now working, join the strike. You know just 1 as well as I do as an American that when one American is talking to an
  power to accomplish certain objects 1t is | assumed that he is to do all in his power | in accordance with the law.
 l We are glad that MT Austin has been 1 detailed to the strike field to bring to
 trial those guilty of perpetrating the many crimes that have been committed since this strike began. It is our beief that those guilty of dynamiting and 1 shooting into trains, etc. are the pro. fessionaI gunnen employed by the coal companies who are still on duty in the strike fields of Alabama Notwthstand- l ing the fact that soldiers are in the field 1 at great cost to the citizens of Alabama. many coal operators in this state stiii
 have in their employ professional gun men. many of whom have never done , decent days work in their lives. 1 Again and again and again allow me ! to inform you and the coal operators ana | the citizens of Alabama that the UnIfed | Mine Workers of America expect to oo- serve the law, and we expect the mem bership of the United Mine Workers or | America to have the courage and ihe grit and patriotism that are necessary l to see that their lawful rights are not | taken away from them.