Evening star., 1922-08-20
MINERS FAMILIES
!: HAIL STR|KE'SEND
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.Impromptu Parade With Tin
. Pans and Horns Follows
H%.' Good News.
WORKERS ARE CHEERED
Men Overjoyed Over Prospects OF
s Returning to Jobs at Pits in
Illinois Fields.

Qfrecial Dispatch to The Star.
p SESSER, ILL.,. August 19.-The small
maps don't show Sesser at all, and
&even on the large ones it is little
ssYnore than a dot. But every person
in town depends for existence. direct
Sly or indirectly. on the three big soft
sJcoal mines, and 1t can be considered
rs a representative of the hundreds
OF other towns in which the strike of
G1he miners has been an actual life
6and death struggle.
y Consider Sesser a week ago. Hard
s+ly a man could be found on the
sstreets Those in sight had scarcely
.snything to say TO each otneI. ne
women mended and sewed or Knit IN
s&heir sitting rooms. The porches
Nere deserted and they forgot to gos-
dip They wondered whether there
Eeer would be another pay day. Even
Sthe children, il seemed, had little en-
ergy for play The long weeks of the
$xtrike and the constant effort at home
TO scrimp and save had made them
sad.
) But today the sun couldn't shine
brighter if the pennies that are left
in the cups in the cupboards were
Xyery one double eagles Men are re-
pairing the mine entrances and get
ting them in shape to be reopened
N
orators and union officials in Chicago
tomorrow. They feel certain that an
agreement will be reached. Black
smiths and timbermen went to work
soon after dawn today. although the
strike is not officially at an end and
cannot be until tomorrow night at
beast.
+s,s Cheers Replace Curses.
The miners watched these men start
with smiles. Women leaned from
the windows of summer kitchens and
waved a joyful greeting as, laden
les strolled toward the pit mouths.
Where last week there would have
been jeers and curses. today there
were cheers and smiles.
The change came when the word
arrived from Cleveland that there
had been ratification of an agree
ment to end the strike in seven
states. Although Illinois was not in
cluded the word also came through
that conference to deal with this
state had been arranged. Three hun
dred men gathered within twenty
minutes in crooked Main street. They
cheered and they laughed. Others
came until soon there were more
than thousand on the ground. Wom-
en- and children joined the men.
bringing horns and tin pans from
the kitchens. A wild impromptu pa
rade was started. 1t wound through
the residential section of the hamlet
There was more noise than on Ar
mistice day. because there were more
men voices and almost as much hap
piness.
Herrin Pits to Open.
At Herrin. near where twenty-five
men were killed. the men are anxi-
Gus to go back to work the first thing
next week. Throughout the entire
mining region of the state the work
ers apparently are we'll satisfied with
the Cleveland agreement and expect
that a similar understanding will be
reached in Chicago. No attempt has
been made to open the strip mines in
this section since the Herrin Staying,
following the Importation of nom
union strikebreakers. but the own
ers are expected to begin Immediately
an agreement is signed.
Blacksmiths and timbermen re-
sumed work today also at West
Frankfort. Union officials standing
at the mouth of one of the shafts
told them to do a good job in getting
the mine ready. Reports from Spring.
field. state headquarters, indicate the
same conditions at all other mining
points.