The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-09-10


cor and proposed invasion OF
Mi sounty by armed miners" in
as ent issued here tonight BY
Ha 0lmstead, chairman Of ttle
| ope. ) association Of the vii
liza coal field. The statement
I wa clared to be in answer to
that Of Samuel Gompers, president
Of the American Federation of La
! Dor, F-hich Mr.. Olmstead describ-
ed as 'hypccritica1 and in many in
stances false and misleading"
Mire guards and private detec-
tives are not employed by opera
tors in the Williamson field, Mr.
/ Olmstead said. adding that Mr.
Gompers had deliberately misrep-
resented conditions that have pre-
ceded and sllrrounded the attempt
ed armed invasion"
The charge Of Mr. GomperS that
the uprising had been caused by
the failure OF the operators TO put
{! into effect the award of the govern
ment wage board, was characteriZ-
ed as another falsehood" The
mine operators were under no OBJ
legation to do So" the statement
said, they having no sort of con-
nection with the coal fields covered
! by that award.
Nevertheless, the increases al
lowed by the United States govern
ment were adopted in this field
promptly after the amount Of in
crease had been fixed.
1T nas never before been alleg-
! ed tha; the strike in the William
! son fisld was due to wage adjust
ment or any cause other than to
compel recognition of the United
Mine Workers organization.
Coal is, measured rather than
weighed in this field because it is
the easiest and most satisfactory
method Of accounting between the
miners and the employees. The
men nave never asked to have the
systerA changed. They don't want
! it changed.
The earnings per day, or week,
or month are the real test. Such
a statement comparing the earn
ings IN the Williamson field with
those in the unionized Kanawha
field was submitted to the senator
! ial Investigating committee in July.
Possibly it was envy aroused by
that exposure that caused the Kan
awha miners to attempt an invaS-
| ION OF the non-union coal fields.
Mr.. Gompers makes himself RI
diculous to West Virginians when
he makes his plea about the min
ers protesting against lawlessness,
| in SO far at least as he refers to
the United Mine Workers. The
miners themselves are generally
law abiding. Every disorder that
has ever occurred in the Mingo
! fields Of West Virginia has been
occasioned by the thugs and out
laws the United Mine Workers
organ 2ation who came into the
state - compel the unionization Of
these soal fields.
This invasion Of Logan county
and the threatened invasion Of
Mingo county was not spontan-
eous uprising. 1t was threatened
by the United Mine Workers or
ganization in the Williamson field
as early as April and May, 1920.
in the counties of Logan and
Mingo, West Virginia, and Pike
county, Kentucky, having an ag-
gregate area OF. 1858 square miles,
and an aggregate population Of
116,S47 persons, there We're not
EN- ployed as many as 100 peace
officers prior to the invasion by the
organizers of the United Mine
Workers. They We're not needed.
NO. any of these peace officers
were Baldwin -Felts employees,
but included only regularly chosen
deputy sheriffs and constables and
other officers.
when the United Mine Work
ers Of America was formed in
1890 it was recognized as a lawful
organization and continued as such
until 1898 when they entered a
conspi acy with the central COM
petitive field to control the btu
minous coal markets Of the United
States.
Since 1912 it has been the policy
of the United Mine Workers to
compel, by the use Of force in ev-
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