The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-10-28
On a Labor Takers Trail

serious charge even against him,
excepting the information that came
to you through Mr.. Honnold, the Sec
rotary of the Illinois Coal Operators
Association.
Calls Lewis Coward
ut is not my business to defend
Mr. Medill. l leave that to him to do,
as l expect he will do at the proper
time and place, but do not propose
to allow you to blacken my good name
in the way you attempted to do before
the International Executive Board in
the cowardly manner you did do and
it is putting the matter mildly when
l say to you in my opinion you are
engaged in mighty small business
when you attempt to throw a cloud of
suspicion around thesofEicers of Dis.
trict No. IL, and particularly the Pre-
sident of District No. II, by telling
such vicious fabrications as you re-
lated to the members of the Inter
national Executive Board, and such
conduct does not become one big
enough to occupy the Presidency of
the United Mine Workers of America.
Il note in your letter of November
9Th you say, I have no objections to
discussing some phases Of it (mean-
ing the subject matter) with you per
sonally if you desire It seems to me
it would have been more manly and
honorable, and less dirty and cheap,
| IL you had discussed the matter with
me personally before, you related your
story to the members of the Inter
national Executive Board, and be-
cause you did not do that have no
desire whatever to discuss the matter
with you personally as feel it would
be useless to do so with one of your
tendencies. You deliberately attempted
to blacken my good name before the
members of the International Execut-
i've Board and / happen to know that
that is not the first time you have at
tempted to do so, but in this case the
ious falsehood is the Secretary of the
Illinois Coal Operators Association
and again / say think you are en-
gagged in mighty cheap business for
one holding the exalted position you
occupy.
Heard Many Tales
f'It so happens | have heard a num-
Der of stories about your official con-
duct and coupling the stories, as
heard them, with the circumstantial
evidence, 1 have more reason to be-
lieve that they are true than you have
to believe that Vice President Fish
wick and myself entered into a COM
pact to allow the Lester Strip Mine to
operate during the strike and for
your information l herewith recount
some Of the stories have heard about
your official conduct.
FIRST: l was told that the Pre-
sident Of the South Western Coal
Operators Association stated that the
Kansas Coal Operators would pay al
most any price to get rid of Alex
Howat as President of the Kansas
Miners and considering the outrage
GUS manner in which you treated him
and the Kansas mine workers in or
der to get rid of Howat as President
Of the Kansas miners, have just as
much reason to believe that you col
lected handsome sum of money for
your part in the Kansas trouble as
you have to believe that / was to col
lect money for allowing Lester Strip
Mine to operate.
Wanted to Dodge Responsibility
SECOND: An influential operator,
with whom happen to know you had
dinner during the month of December,
told me that you told him during the
month Of December that you believed
the mine workers of the country were
going to be obliged to take a reduc-
ton of wages after the first of April
and that you implied that in order to
enable you to escape responsibility
for the reduction strike was to be
called on the first of April and that
1t would continue until the govern.
ment interviewed and settled the strike
or until the members of the union
themselves were punished until they
demanded a settlement of the strike.
even on the basis of reduction of
wages, and considering the facts that
you were continuing parleying with |
government authorities during the
strike, have just as much right to
believe his statement is true as you
have to believe the story about me
concerning the Lester Mine.
THIRD: I heard that you and |