The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-09-03

, erson county miners to strike and the Jefferson county miners met the in- yaders at the county line.
 Miss High Lights
 The newspapers in reporting the so-called miners war in West Vr- ginia are featuring the actual fight ing as the high light of the sit- uation and in ny opinion are over looking, telling the public the under lying causes of the trouble" said $. l.. Yerkes.
 q am very familiar with the sit uation in West Virginia because of having been in that coal field prior to my coming to Birmingham and which acquaintanceship was renewed during war services with the fuel administration
 The miners to some extent m Fay ette and Boone counties, the dis trict better known as Cabin creek, Paint creek and Coal river. are mem- bers of the United Mine Workers of America. Across the mountain to the southeast in Logan and Williamson counties, districts better known as the Logan Ethel field located on the .C. X O. railroad the Williamson, Thacl1er, Mingo Pond creek districts on the Northern and Western, the miners are not members of the union. and they have been peaceably work ing for years under the fine Amerl- can open shop plan.
 Instigated By Union
 The miners in the Paint creek, Cabin creek and Coal river fields. commonly known as the Kanawha district have on several occasions at- tempted through intim dation to or ganze the miners of the other fields above mentioned. These attempts have been instigated by the officials of the United Mine Workers union according to information I have re- ceved. The miners and operators in the non-union fields have worked peaceably and more successfully than the miners in the union Kanawha district. Peace and harmony in any non-union field is always a thorn in the flesh of the union officials.
 "To illustrate the West Virginia situation, suppose the miners of Bibb county were in the miners union. which is not the case, and the miners oft Jefferson county were working under the American open shop plan which is the case, and the miners of Bibb county marched as an armed body on the men of Jefferson county and the men of Jefferson county met the Bibb county men at the county line in battle array, and in defense of their property, themselves and families, their rights to work as they, choose, you would have a paralleIl of the West Virginia situation.
 Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor, in statement published today states that the state government of West 1 .+ has failed to stop the mine owners from enforcing law as private busi- ness at the hands of privately paid and privately directed gunmen.
 MT Gompers has mis-stated the case. The mine owners were com pelled to employ guards to protect tneir employees and property because of gun play started by paid organ izers of the United Mine Workers, who were sent into the field for the pur- pose of stirring up discontent and prevent men from working who were satisfied with living conditions, wages, etc. Always nt Work
 Tn good times and in bad times the non-union districts in West Vir- ginia have operated more successfully | than the union districts of that state. |
 
 fully brought out than during the | World war, when against peace andl quiet and regularity of operation in | the non-union district there was all ways trouble of some kind in the union districts, and which trouble in the main came about as a result of | agitation on the part of union off, 1 cials who could never control their | men when they did not want to, but | who could readily control them when 1 some action desired by the govern ment was favorable to the union
 During the unwarranted coal | strike of 1919 the very life. of the ma tion was saved by the output of coal | by the non-union districts of West | Virginia, and ever since that strike. | and the saving of the nation by the | loyal American open shop and non- union workers in those fields the miners union has been more bitter