The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-08-27
CIVIL LIBERTIES
TO WAGE FIGHT
ON COAL BARONS
War Against yellow
Dog" Contracts Begins
tey rhe Federated Pre.,l

NEW YORK, Aug. ga new and
nationwide campaign against the
yellow dog" contracts, privately paid
deputy sheriffs' system and company
owned towns in the bituminous coal
fields is being launched by the Amer
lean Civil Liberties Union. The drive
begins with the sending of a circular
letter to the hundreds of attorneys,
clergymen and local officials in the
open shop zones, calling their atten-
ton to the denial Of civil liberties
in the soft coal fields" admitted by
the United States Coal Commission
and demanding their cooperation in
stopping the disgraceful condition.
The next move is the formation OF
scores of local committees to handle
the field work in the agitation which
the Liberties Union will organize on
the ground.
Plan Huge Agitation.
This national agitation, attacking
all the non-union bituminous fields at
once, is considered to be the largest
scale civil liberties campaign ever
staged in these oppressed regions.
Heretofore campaigns have concen-
trated on particular fields at one time,
often on individual towns, but the
present drive is planned to embrace
the entire non-union fields Of Penn
sylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky,
Alabama, Tennessee, Utah and other
districts where almost complete con-
troll over the lives of the workers is
vested in the coal operators.
No Liberties for Miners.
The circular letter sent out by the
union is signed by John Haynes
Holmes, acting chairman, and Roger
Baldwin, director. 1t quotes the United
States Coal Commission to the effect
that the domination of the coal COM
panies in these non-union fields is
responsible for the practical abridge-
ment Of free travel, free speech and
public assemblage" and for depriving
miners of their normal rights" This
is amplified by another section quoted,
citing the complete ownership of the
coal towns by the companies; election
of miners and their families from
company-owned houses at moments
notice; the payment and arming by
the coal operators of deputy sheriffs
who beat up and evict union organ
izers and sympathizers; yellow dog"
contracts which forbid strikes, picket.
ing and meetings; and the use of state
constabulary or the national guard
to crush strikes"
Specific demand is made in the let
ter for support in the movement to
have company-owned towns incorpor-
ated; to have the yellow dog" con-,
tracts forbidding union membership
set aside; to oppose injunctions for
bidding union activities and to COM
pei counties to pay the wages of all
deputy sheriffs whom they credential.
The last point is especially empha-
sized because the present system
logically makes deputies servants of
the interests which pay them.
Inc ucuidl VI civil llDOEIl6S u the
slaves of the coal operators in the
aforementioned fields, the American
Civil Liberties Union ignores, how
ever, is the legitimate result of the
ownership of the government and all
its armed forces by the capitalist in
terests Of this country. At every at
tempt of the workers to better their
conditions, not only are private gun
men used against them, but even gov
ernmental force in the form of injunc-
lions or the use of armed troops.
Only Workers Can Win.
The abolition of this thug-coal oper-
ator rule can only be accomplished by
a firm stand against this condition by
the workers who are directly involved
and by their fellow workers in other
parts of the country.