The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-03-11
BELLAIRE, OHIO,
COAL DICCERS
IN CONVENTION
Reactionaries RaiseMore
Smoke Screens
(Continued from page u

CONTINUED from page II
Ieft-wing candidate, received 2,751.
The counting, of course, was control
led by the reactionaries and their
method of tallying can be judged by
the fact that one local union with 6
members cast 11S votes.
Atmosphere Tense
Naturally the atmosphere surround
ing the convention is tense. The basis
of the attack upon the left wing is
contained in a circular issued by the
sub-district officials in which they ac-
cuse the progressive miners Of desir-
ing to form IAN alliance with an or
ganization now operating non-union
mines in West Virginia" This is their
argument against that plank in the
program of the progressive miners
which calls for an alliance between
the railroad workers and the miners.
] Warren S. Stone and his admins
tration, with a few members of the
Brotherhood Of Locomotive Engineers
and Firemen, owns and runs the Coal
River Colliery upon an "open shop"
basis. And because of this Frank Led
vinka, John Cirque, and w. T. Ro-
berts place all of the rank and file
of the 16 standard railroad brother
hoods on the basis of scabs and strike
breakers and urge that the miners do
not form an alliance with them.
Takers Dig Up Fake Issues
In the circular issued by. these bu-
reaucrats they accused the progress
ives of trying to get into office thru
using the name of Dominick Ventu-
ratio, now serving time, for trade
union activity, in the penitentiary at
Columbus, Ohio. These are the fake
issues raise in order to hide their own
shortcomings and to obscure the real
issues that now confront the miners
for which they have no proposal ex-
cept that of class collaboration.
They ask why did not the progress
i've miners endorse "Dominick ventu-
ratio for executive board of the sub
district. They conveniently forget
that in the last election the progress
i've miners nominated Venturato and
that this same yellow socialist, LED
vinka, pleaded with the progressive
miners to Withdraw this nomination
on the grounds that it would hurt
rather than help Venturato, even
going so far as to produce docu.
ment, supposed to be signed by Ven
turato, withdrawing himself from the
ballot. usE
Radicals Defended Prisoners
| OF the 13 prisoners involved in this
case, only Venturato remains in jail,
and very little has been done in his
interest since the Miners Defender
and the defense committee were
liquidated at the instigation of these
election supporters" of Venturato.
They accuse the progressive miners
of hurting the Venturato case by no.
minating him as one of their candi-
dates in the election of 1922 and now
they accuse this same group of hurt
ing Venturato by not nominating him
in 1924. 1t is a case of being damn
ed if you do, and damned if you don't
The progressive miners only nomin-
ated two instead of three for the
executive board. They did not place
any candidate against Venturato but
supported him in the election. The
votes he received were the progress
I've votes. The one who defeated him
were the Ledvinka-Lewis supporters.
This case will be one of the major
issues in the convention. The pro
gressives will fight for the re-estab-
lishment of the Venturato defense
comittee and will demand that this
committee be formed by represent
atives from each local union; that a
publicity campaign be conducted and
pressure brought to bear upon the
powers that be so that the gates of
the prison will be thrown open and
Venturato set free.
Many other issues will come up of
vital Importance, such as the present
attempt on the part of the coal oper
ators to inaugurate another wage cut
which is the. beginning of new
open shop" drive in the coal indus
try. Organize the unorganized, fight
against wage cuts, naturalization of
mines and railroads, alliance with the
railroad workers., unemployment in.
surance, adjustment of the appoint.
i've power are the real issues before
the convention and all the camouflage
set up by Ledyinka will not deter the
militant rank and file miners of Sub.
District 5, Of Dist 6, from uniting
on the class struggle program pres
ented by the progressive miners.