The Connecticut labor news., 1923-09-22
GOAL COMMISSION VIRTUALLY DEFENDS LAWLESS RULE OF OPERATORS GUNMEN,
 IS CHARGE OF UNITED MINE WORKERS
By International Labor News Service.

By International Labor News Service.
 Washington, D. C., Sept. 22.-At- tacking the report of the United States Coal Commission on the viola ton of civil rights in the coal min- ing industry as virtually a defense of rule by the coal operators gunmen, the United Mine Workers have issued the following statement:
 "The report of the United States \ Coal Commission on the subject of violation of civil rights in the coal mining industry reads very much like a well-prepared brief in behalf of the ron-union bituminous coal operators of West Virginia and Northeastern Kentucky. Those non-union opera tors should immediately hold meet ing and give rising vote of thanks to the commission for that report
 ''In the first place, the commission lacks but one hair of giving approval to the employment by these non- union coal companies of private armed guards, thugs and gunmen, in spite of the fact that these des- peradoes roam at will over the moun- talns of West Virginia and Kentucky with rowing commission to assault, beat up, blackjack and shoot mem bers of the United Mine Workers of America who dare to suggest that the employees of these companies join the union
 organizers for daring to go into these non-union fields and ask unorganized men to join the union In other words, the report clearly attempts to place upon the United Mine Workers of America the blame for what hap pens Tn these non-union fields. Why did not the commission declare that non-un1on coal companies have no right under the law or the Constitu- tion to use force, afld coercion to pre- vent their men from voluntarily as- serting their right to affiliate with a labor union?
 "The commission knows very well that the only reason the morgan ized miners of West Virginia have not been organized long ago is that these private armed guards and gum men are there for the purpose of see ing to 1t that the men do not get an opportunity to join the union. And how we'll and effectively they do their work Is proved by the countless num- Der of union organizers and members who have been beaten, b1ackjacked
 
 gunmen Tn order to keep the union non-union places.
 The commission devoted much space to telling of crimes which 1t says were committed by union miners, but 1t did not even mention the scores of crimes of company thugs and gunmen that were brought di- rectly to the attention of the com mission by the United Mine Workers of America.
 "It does not even mention the case where hotel room occupied by two union organizers was deliberately blown up with dynamite and both men so seriously injured that they had to spend time in a hospital It did not mention the case wherein Jasper Metzger, a union organizer from Illinois, was so brutally beaten by non-ufion company gunmen in Kentucky that his injuries produced paralysis that finally resulted in his attention of the commissoin, but 1t was ignored in it's report
 These are but two of the many cases that were laid befofe the com mission, but they show the character of the activities of the private gun men for whom the report Is prac- tically an apology. Surely, no clear thinking American can expect union miners to remain in a state of even tempered sweetness and perfect tram guilty of mind when they are sub. jected to such brutalities
 'One of the very significant state ments in the report says that the United Mine Workers of America have paid more than $4oo,ooo in damages for the destruction of the Willis Branch Coal Company's mines. ! The United Mine Workers of Amer ica never paid any such sum for damages for the destruction of the mines of the Willis Branch Coal Com pany or any other company. If the fund of information upon which 1t based it's conclusions is not more authentic on other points than 1t IS on this one the report IS hot of much value from the stand point of facts and the public is not going to get value received for the 5000, 900 of the peoples money which he commission has spent"