The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1922-04-11
suffering
BEGINS IN
Coal ZONE
Workers Are Forced to Give
Up Homes When 0perat-
orS Boost Rents
ny c. G LYON

NFk.klsEl. w. Va. Apru H.
In PARTS Of this southern West Nir.
rinsa coal field the rent Of n four
room shack house will cost you $50
= month II you don't work In
ccai mine.
II YOU win work In a mine. OF
course the rent Is chcaper--some-
thing like So or s. a month.
The striking miners call II the
~sQueexc play" Lewis nlankenship
helped organize a union in tho Rho
dell Coal Co.'S mine. near here. since
The ti>up and quit work along with
eeher members Of tho new union.
He ect this letter from the com
Dnny:
ssHr. Commencing tomorrow. April
6 yeur rent will be Increased 20
90 per room per half" In coal
Rine vernacular per hair' means
~ half month. Blankenship Is
~n1y ens Of many. Their rent was
hIksA not 100 per cent hut a thou
snnd per cent month by the
oporntcrx In retaliation.
'14cly maeker~i." Biank~nship en-.
clnimed. tho darncd house l live 10
wsuldn't sell for much more than
o1o.~
hut Bisnkenshlp and the others
ar0n't going 70 pay the 1000 per
eat Increase They haven't the
money. They'll have all they can
- during the tieup 70 get few
groceries for the wife and Kids.
r. serious trouble develops In tho
noalunion mines Of southern West
Virginia. the trouble OF IL will be
III housing question
\ large proportion Of the nom
unlon operators have taken the %
oltion that miners who quit work
e1thor thru having joined the
unicn or thru sympathy for tn.
union and who rcfttse To 70 back to
verk must move out Of the houses
In which they live and get of
the company's property"
Thruous tho district hundreds OF
miners are receiving orders TO VA
cate Getting off the company's
property virtually means getting off
~ earth for most OF these fam
ilian-
Win the operators owning or ieas-
ING practically every foot Of ground
n this part OF tho state. outside the
railroad rtghtof.ways. IN. public
hlGhwAys and the Incorporated towns
fherefs no place for miner and his
1nmf1y to move to unless he leaves
tn district entirely.
Net all the operators are as hu-
nnns ~ -oid Ed White. who owns
nco-union mines at Glen White and
Ssotsubury.
odd Ed" II . vigorous ha,cr OF
unionim and he won't tolerate union
oruxnixers on his property. So no
Z y weeding out rorne Of the most act
- - his rnen who have joined the
- and quit work since the tieup
y falling them 10 move out.
~ can take 90 days 10 ind an
49, house. but you can, stay in
ny houses after that II you won't
Nerk = my Mines says Whit. In
effect. II you're not out in 80 days
IN - what ! can do to make you
Ut out
Many N the miners say they won't
move out That can only mean seri-
Gus trouble with the armed deputies
that are on the payroll OF tho oper-
afors. The situation Ii daily becom-
1nx more acute.
Two tent colonies are already IN
existence in the districf--one near
Prince with nearly so families and
the other at Oak Hi with 10 fami-
lies.
Hokh started some week ago when
the men refused TO accept cuts In
wages and were later forced out OF
their homes Hundreds more faml-
Hes may be forced 70 take to tents.
The unions have made steady threads
into this stronghold OF non-union
operators In recent months.
OF the district total OF Is. 900 min
ers. 1900 are now organized Thir-
teen new unions have been chartered
since the strike began April /.
Most Of the non-union mines are
still loading coal. but with reduced
forces.
Acute suffering already exists In
the families OF most Of the miners
who are out. Some outside aid in
the way OF food Is already reaching
them but not a great deal