The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1921-09-09

Washington, D. Samuel Com
pers, president of the American Fed
GRAFTON of Labor, has issued a state
ment setting forth the fundamental
facts in relation to the West Virginia
situation. He said:
With the situation in West Vir-
ginia at most critical juncture it is
almost beyond belief that there has
not been placed before the public COM
plete and accurate information re-
garding 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 negli-
gent 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 impression
that lawless bands of miners are row
ing the state without reason except
an unjustifed bitterness against the
mine owners. "Uneducated mountain
eers" 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;
1.-The mines of West Virginia
constitute the last refuge of autoc-
racy in the mining industry. In
these mines an unrestricted, unlimit-
ed greed dominates absolutely. Alb
sentee owners hold immense tracts of
rich mining land, demanding only
dividends.
| 2.-The appetite of this private
greed is upheld by a private army OF
killers the like of which no longer
exists in any other state This pri.
vate army is paid by the mine own
ers and naturally seeks to justify its
presence by making business" fol
itself in the form Of trouble. The
Baldwin-Felts detective agency re
cruits this army, but the mine own
ers pay the bill. Deputy sheriffs
paid by mine owners, form another
wing of the private army, equally
dangerous.
3.-The present strike is q direc
protest against the action of the mine
owners of West Virginia in refusing
to abide by the award of the United
States coal commission. If the United
States government at this time de
fends the mine owners and does no
destroy the private armies of tn,
mine owners the government is il
the position of sustaining a defiance o
an order issued by it's own authority
4.-The state government of Wes
Virginia has broken down, not be
cause the miners have protestet
against laWlessness, but because i
has failed to stop the NINE owner
from enforcing law as private bus
mess at the hands of privately pal,
and privately directed gunner.
These four paramount truths hav
been almost totally ignored. To neg
lect to present these facts is, in M
opinion, breach of public trus
upon which the integrity of the who'll
newspaper world must rest its clair
to confidence and belief.
These paramount truths have bee
found to exist by representatives O
the United States government. Th
government itself, through the Unit
ed States senate, established thes
truths. 1t found them after long an
painstaking inquiry. They are indis
putable. They are as they have beer
The federal bituminous commissio
rendered it's report on March 10, 1921
1t carried with it an award of twenty
four cents fiat on pick and machin
mining to the bitumnous mners of tn
United States. The coal operators {
Mingo county, West Virginia, refu: