Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1922-07-14
TERRORISM FAILS
AGAINST WORKERS
AT NEWPORT, KY,
by Ben I. Davis, Editor Amalga.
mated Journal.)


international Labor News Service.
Cincinnati, o., July 1.-THE iron
steel and tin workers lockout at New
port, Kentucky, famous as the frs
place where army tanks were uset
against trade unionists, ranks in tbs
labor movement with the Homestead
strike when Pinkerton gunner wers
first used.
The Newport lockout is due to tho
attitude assumed by the Newport
Rolling Mill Company towards it
employees. In two consecutive years
prior to the lockout, the Newport
Rolling Mill Company had negotiated
wage scales for all its department.
and last year had agreed TO do SC
in conference at Atlantic City
where the hot mill scales had beer
agreed to. Several Industrial con.
ferences were held with a view oi
effecting agreements in the industrial
departments, but for reasons known
only to the Newport Steel Company
and without any explanation, the
negotiations we're broken off and the
company declared for the non-union
shop, so-called the "open shop" The
Newport Rolling Mill Company broke
its agreement and at once started a
campaign of terror in peaceful COM
munity. The mill was barricaded
gunner we're imported, and under
the pretense that the locked out men
had fired at the mill the company
thugs shot up the homes and business
places adjacent to the mill and started
a reign of terror. Mothers, with their
children, were compelled to seek shell
ter in cellars time and again without
the slightest justification.
To place the onus on the workers
the Newport Rolling Mill Company
conducted a propaganda in the Gin
cinnati Enquirer, and some other
dailies, to make the public believe
that he shooting its ounmen engaged
in was to repel an attack made upon
its property, in order to have sem
blance of justice to ask for an in
junction to restrain the workers from
picketing. Judge Cochrane, of the
United States Federal Court, very
speedily granted it. The restraining
order stripped the locked out workers
of all the rights granted citizens un-
der the Constitution of our country.
1t even went further than recent
decision of the Federal Supreme
Court, which allows one picket to
keep watch at the mill gate.
injunction, the Newport Rolling Mill
Company persuaded Kentucky State
Governor Morrow to send the state
militia to Newport. The city was at
once placed under military control
and there followed reign of auto
cratic regulations, the like of which
has seldom been equalled, if ever, in
the United States. The workers were
not allowed to hold lodge meetings
in Kentucky and were forced to trans
fer their lodge meetings to Cincin-
natl. The right Of free speech was
taken away from citizens as well :
from the workers directly affected.
Even public officials were arrested
if they expressed their opinions in a
manner that was not pleasing to the
military powers. Men not identified
with the lockout were arrested and
incarcerated within the mill barri-
cade on the slightest pretext. Th-
sworn statements of those so arrested
were published in the press and are
a matter of record. Pregnant moth
ers were handled roughly, old men
were shot down as were those who
did not understand English, because
they did not move on fast enough to
suit the guards. Girls of ten years
were forced and militia men are un-
der indictment for the crime.
In order to make the prosecution
of the workers even more intolerable
the Newport Rolling Mill Company
Incorporated under the corporation
laws of the state of Delaware after
it had revoked it's Kentucky state
charter. This enabled the Newport
Rolling Mill Company to enjoy the
advantages of the Federal Interstate
Commerce regulations. This brought
to their aid a United States marshall
to exercise the power of the Fedora
Government to the full. The screws
of oppression were frightened to the
limit. The chairman of the Workers
Central Committee is now under five
different bonds to keep the peace anc
numerous other leaders are resting
under four, yet they have not dons
one unlawful act.
In the face of all those awful
prosecutions, the morale of the mer
affected is unbroken. They have suf'
fered those indignations for a whole
year. They are standing, a solid pha'
lanx of union men. No better exhi.
bition of unselfish devotion to the
principles of trade unionism has evei
been given to the world. They are
determined to carry the contest or
for another year if need be, or unit
victory crowns their efforts.