The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1922-04-26
Continued from First Page.


the newspapers had credited the pom
union miners with making $25 a day.
That's true" he told the attentive
hillside; you really do earn it. but these
Internal coal companies only give you
few dollars OF It,"
The big coke companies have best
Frick Company. whose model towns and
welfare work are copied by other corr
porations desiring TO improve the lot
OF their workers. Bittner's argument in
tended to discount this was:
you don't imagine the companies
have given you anything. They give
you just whar they have TO, and all
they have given you men gave them
with your labor. Don't get the idea
from this that We want to take away
the mines from the companies. We don't
want them, but we should have some
thing to say about wage scales and
conditions. IL you go into a store. you
men, and buy a sack of flour or a pound
or meat you don't put the price on II.
The grocer or the butcher does. You
have the same right to tell the coai COM
pany what the price for labor is It's
exactly the same thing"
Seven dollars and half a day for
driving a mule? Why shouldn't you get
It? 1t isn't enough. and we don't intend
to stop there" The miners who under
stand English, as a majority seemed to
do sufficiently to grasp the idea OF $3.50
day for mule driving. applauded this
sentiment and laughed over II. The
speaker then went on:
Denounces the .'Judases."
Every mining company has few
Weddings. a few starving men who
would 'scab. but man who would scab
is a thousand times worse than Judas
Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus Christ. Men
who won't strike won't work anyway.
Its up to you men here to grind your
teeth and stay with the strike until its
won. If you are sent to jail, what of 1t?
Jail is better place than wet entry in a
Connellsville mine.
Some folks say the rough men who
went to France with our army and came
back with new ideas are responsible
for this strike. II so, God bless them
l have no more use for Kaiser Rainey
or Kaiser Frick than have for Kaiser
Bill. What right have these coal own
ers TO tell you you can't go into the
union? The Prick company didn't ask
your permission when ii went into the
United States Steel Corporation. 1t was
free to go where it pleased and so are
YOU"
Bittner. as he rushed along. made the
miners wet their lips as he pictured the
coal operators making enormous profits
out of the war. He failed to remind the
miners that their wages skyrocketed in
war time. He told them the union was
roc .rt1 Fr.r t1,1fv- .x,yxa
they got them, and that If the union
lost the strike and its men were cut to
So day the non-union men would avail
anche down TO $3.50. He warned them
that the union would pay no strike bene-
fits and they would have to get along
ION their own"
All Raised Their Hands.
IF God took care Of the birds in the
air. as the Good Book tells us. He'll
take care OF His people here" said
Bittner. Now will all you men who
won't go back to work but who will
stay on strike raise your right hands,
In the presence of such cloud OF
witnesses any OF the miners who may
have been thinking longingly 81 the
mines and the payroll did not venture
TO declare themselves.
Two thousand quickly raised their
Z hands and presently Slovak orators
stepped forward and with peltinG
shower OF consonants bade them stand
firm in their faith OF the union men and
strikerss.
Such are the camp meetings that arc
being held daily among the hills OF Fay
cite as Feeney and his organizers and
spelbinders proceed further and further
eastward in their assault on steel's
reservoir of coking coal
Inspection of the Monongal,ela River
above and below Brownsville bears out
the reports from Pittsburgh that most
OF the non-union mines along the river
are closed. The big Prick operations
suspended. or nearly so. are those at
Bridgeport. Maxwell. Romeo. Gates. Lam
port, Iecrone and Edenhorn. all OF
which ship coal to the Steel Corpora
tons by-products plants at Clarion.
A few miles inland the Prick colleries
at Burlington and F'ilbert are down"
and the colliery at Footdale did not
send out any cars to-day. The Pitts
burgh Steel Company river workings.
Alicia No. l and 2, have been closed
since the strike began. It's steel max
ing plant at Afonessen is scheduled to
close May !. but It Is explained that
this is not due 10 dearth OF coal.