Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1921-09-09
WEST VIRGINIA COAL
MINING SITUATION ANAlYZED
BY PRESIDENT GOMPERS
fFrom A. F. of l.. information and
Publicity Seryiee)

"A. f.
Publicity Seryice)
Washington, D. c.. Sept Samuel
Gompers. president of the American
Federation of Labor. has issued a
statement setting forth the fundamen-
tai facts in relation to the West Vir
ginia situation. He said:
With the situation in West Virginia
at a most critical juncture II is almost
beyond belief that there has not been
placed before the public complete and
accurate information regarding the
events leading up to the position taken
by the president of the United States.
There are certain basic facts which
must be considered before there can
be fair and proper judgment OF the
West Virginia situation. These facts
have not been presented adequately
and In many cases not at all
The public press has been negligent
and the federal government has been
equally so in not presenting to the
people the full underlying truth.
The great mass of news relating to
West Virginia conveys the impress
sion that lawless bands of miners are
70 wing the state without reason except
an unjustified bitterness against the
mine owners. "Uneddcated mountain
GERS" they are called.
There are four basic facts which are
consistently ignored and which it is
the duty of government and press to
present. These are:
The mines of West Virginia con-
stitute the last refuge of autocracy in
, the mining industry. In these mines
an unrestrained, unlimited greed DOM
/ mates absolutely. Absentee owners
hold immense tracts of rich mining
land, demanding only dividends.
! 2-The appetite of this private
greed is upheld by private army of
killers the like of which no longer
exists in any other state. This pri-
vate army is paid by the mine owners
and naturally seeks to justify its pres
! ence by making business" for itself
in the form of trouble. The Baldwin
Feltz detective agency recruits this
army, but the mine owners pay the
bill Deputy sheriffs, paid by the
mine owners. form another wing OF
the private army, equally dangerous
3-The present strike is direct
protest against the action of the mine
owners of West Virginia in refusing
~ abide by the award of the United
States coal commission. If the Unit
ed States government at this time de-
tends the mine owners and does not
destroy the private armies of the mine
owners the government is in the pc
sition of sustaining a defiance of an
order issued by its own authority.
| 4-The state government OF West
~. 4 lx.~
cause the miners have protested
against lawlessness. but because il
has failed to stop the mine owners
from enforcing law as private bust
ness at the hands of privately paid
and privately directed gunner.
These four paramount truths have
been almost totally ignored. To neg
lect to present these facts is, in my
opinion, breach of public trust
which the integrity of the whole news
paper world must rest its claim to
confidence and belief.
These paramount truths have been
found to exist by representatives oil
this United States government. The
government itself, through the United
States senate, established these
truths. II found them after long and
painstaking inquiry. They are in
disputable. They are as they have
been.
The Federal Bituminous Commits.
sion rendered its report on March 10
1920. IL carried with it an award OF
twenty-four cents flat on pick and
machine mining to the bituminous
miners of the United States The
coal operators of Mingo county, West
Virginia, refused to apply the award
and instead they arbitrarily applied
five, ten and fifteen cents on EACH
NINE CAR rate, there being NO
COAL weighed throughout that field.
The capacity of these mine cars var
les from two TO five tons. and the
highest rate paid per car was S1.4O.
This price for five tons of coal repre-.
scented and included all dead work
and tonnage rates.
When the award was granted the bi.
luminous miners by the commission.
the miners OF Mingo county sent com.
mitteemen to the operators and re-
quested that the award be granted in
full, and the companies refused It.
The miners contended that the
award was granted them by their
government and that they were going
TO insist upon il. Every plea to the
operators was met with refusal, and
finally the miners of Sprigg. Stone
Mountain and Red Jacket went on
strike, called meetings and sent a
committee to Charleston to interview
the officials of District II, U. NJ. w
of A.
They were told plainly by the Min
ers union that the union would nor
recognize them while they were on
strike. to return to work. nut all the