Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1921-09-06
GENERAL REPORTS ALL IS QUIET
IN WEST V|RG|N|AN COAL FIELDS;
G0MPERS FLAYED BY NINE OPERATOR
Olmsted Claims Labor
Chief Misrepresented
Facts in Statements.
Bandholtz on.Inspection
Trip in Hills Where
Battle Ragged.

Washington, Sept 5.-Officials Of
| the Unite Mine Workers of
America were charged with response
billy ''for the invasion of Logan county
and proposed invasion Of Mingo county
by armed miners" in a statement is
sued here Monday by Harry Olmstod,
chairman of the operators association
of the William son field. The state
ment was declared to be in answer to
that of Samuel Gompers president Of
the American Federation of Labor,
which Mr.. Olmsted described az hypo-
critical and in many instances false
and misleading"
Employ No Guards
Mine guards and private detectives
are not employed by operators in the
Williamson field, Mr.. Olmsted said,
adding that Mr. Gompers had ''dehber-
ately misrepresented conditions that
have preceded and surrounded the at
tempt at armed invasion" The charge
of Mr.. Gompers that the uprising had
been caused by the failure of the oper-
ators TO put into effect the award Of
the government wage board was
characterized as another falsehood."
The mine operators were under no
obligation to do so," the statement
sd1u udfluk uU SoIt o1 ConuCCt4OA
with the coal fields covered by that
award.
Nevertheless, the increases allowed
by the United States government wore
adopted in this field promptly after the
amount of increase had been fixed It
has never before been alleged that the
to wage adjustments or any cause
nfhor than tn of
the United Mine Workers organixa-
ton.
Coal Is Measured
Coal is measured rather than
weighed in this field because it 10 the
of accounting between the miners and
the employers. The men have never
asked to have the system changed.
They don't want it changed.
The earnings per day. or week, or
month, is the real test. Such q state
ment comparing the earnings in the
williamson field with those in the
kanawha field was submitted to the
senatorial investigation committee in
July. Possible it was envy aroused by
that exposure that caused the Kanaw-
ha miners to attempt an invasion Of
the non-union coal fields.
MIR Gompers makes himself ride
ulous to West Virginians when he
makes his plea about the miners pro-
testing against the lawlessness In 10
far at least as he refers to the United
Mine Workers. The miners themselves
are generally law abiding Every dis
order that has ever occurred in the min
ing fields of West Virginia has been
occasioned by the thugs of the United
Mine Workers organization, who came
into the state to compel the unionixa-
ton of these coal fields.
Uprising Planned.
The invasion of Logan county and
the threatened invasion Of Minso
county was not spontaneous uprising,
It was threatened by the United Mine
organization in the William
son fields as early as April, and May
1920.
In the counties of Logan and Minxo,
West Virginia, and Pike county, Ken
tucky, having an aggregate area of
IL 1888 square miles and an agxresate
population of 116,s47 people, there
were not employed as many as 100
peace officers prior to the invasion by
the organizers of the United Mine
Workers. They were not needed.
Not any of these peace officers
we're Baldwin Feltz employees, but in
GUIDED only regularly chosen deputy
sheriffs and constables and other Of
'icerS