The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-09-16
KENNAMER SAYS
 SUNDAY SPEECH
 M|SREPRESENTED
North Birmingham Men Who Made Report of It, States Union President, Twisted
 and GarbIed Assertions

J R. Kennamer, president of the Alabama local of the United Mine Workers, flatly denies the allegations of in- flammatory remarks, which seven citizens of North Bir- mingham charge that he made during the course of a speech to mine workers near Lewis burg last Sunday.
 These citizens alleged that he spoke disparagingly of the strike commission and uttered words calculated to pro yoke his negro hearers to violence:
 'I never made any such state
 ment,'' Mir. kennnmer said,
 neither at Sayreton or any other
 place. My remarks were garbled
 and twisted around in that letter
 50 as to make them mean some
 thing that l did not say and did not
 mean. One significant feature of
 the published letter is that all,
 nearly all, of the signers of the let
 ter are employees of coal com
 pany. One of the men, whose name
 Is signed to the letter, is Owen
 O'Hare, manager of the North Bir-
 mingham Coal Company. 1 have
 known 0'Harc for twenty years.
 He was in the crowd at the meet
 ing Sunday at SayretOn. He was
 seated in nutOOmbiie short
 distanee from me. Several times
 during my speech 0'Harc reminded
 me of certain facts and prompted
 me with dates. And after I had
 finished my speech O'Hare came to
 me and shook hands and said;
 Hob, that is the best speech l ever
 heard you make.' I cannot un-
 derstaud how he could sign any such letter the one published.
 "AlI of my life l have supported
 law and order and opposed disOr-
 der and violence in any form. In
 all of my speeches I have told the
 miners and others to obey the law
 strictly and commit no viola ti0Hs.
 I made the same statements in my
 speech at Pratt City last night. It
 is an outrage for anyone to make
 the charges against me that are
 contained in the letter published
 by the coal operators. It only
 shows the length to which they
 vii go to carry out their own pur-
 pOses."
 Speaking of the alleged shooting into a train carrying miners to their work at Bayview and Edgewater on Sun. day, MT. Kennamer said;
 Tt was either a cheap joke or a frame-up. This is about the season of the year and that was about the time of day on Sunday when men go forth to shoot at bullbats. Perhaps it was bullbat shooting that made some folks think a train was fired into.
 "Strange that not n pane of glass
 was broken and not bulIe hole
 could he found on the cars.
 Strange, also that hounds were not put on the scent of the shooters il something real had been going on anf a real attack had been made on tralr containing human beings. "Yes Il repeat, it was either cheaI 1 joke or a frame -up.'
 FEELS SANGUINE | MT. Kennamer went on to say: | Talk as they may to the contrary i the strike is growing every day an certain that 15.000 men are idle am | they are union men.
 AS to the production figures, let 1 be borne in mind that we have ap proved contracts with many mines ant that these mines are all at work pro ducing their full quota of coal. Thei production Is figuring heavily in tn total.
 We have not claimed that the In dustry is tied up. but we do claim tha the cause of recognition is gaining ground with more men Joining th' ranks every day"