The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-03-13

betrayal of the Fayette county non
union miners who had come out to a
man at the call Of Lewis, the signing
Of separate agreements for the anthra-
cite and bituminous fields.
This gave the coal operators a
breathing spell which they have taken
advantage Of. The Jacksonville agree
ment further demoralized the miners
and gave the coal operators the time
necessary to move the big bulk of
their mining operations from the union
to the non-union fields, a process
which is still taking place and when
the Jacksonville agreement expires,
they will be able to close down the
union mines almost completely and
complete the Generalization Of the
union in the central competitive fields.
Following the 1922 betrayal, Lewis
and his lieutenants carried on ter
rifle reign of terror against ali opposi-
ton forces in the union. MacLachlan
was removed as President of Nova
Scotia miners. Tom Myerscough,
Duncan Mcdonald, Freeman Thomp-
son, John Watt, Tom Parry, are only
a few of the many that have been re-
moved from Office and expelled from
the union. Pat Toohey, Joe Angelo
and others have been suspended and
the skids are prepared for them.
The record of the Lewis-F Harrington
machine is so black that it is almost
impossible to point out the blacklist
spot. The police, the courts, the X
K. K, the state, the coal operators,
gunmen and sluggers have all been
used by these leeches against the in
terests of the miners. This was brot
out in broad relief in the zeigler
trials, where Henry Corbishley, the
fighting progressive president Of Lo-
cal 922 and his equally militant col
leagues are being railroaded to the
penitentiary for. from one to ten
years, on a framed-up charge of con-
spiracy to murder. This was accom-
plished thru a united front between
the officials of the United Mine Work
ers of America, the X. X K, the coal
operators and the state.
THESE are but few of the mis-
L deeds committed blythe Lewis
Harrington administration. The pur-
pose of signing a years agreement
in the anthracite is to tie the hands
of the miners leaving the coal oper-
ators free for five years to weed out
the progressives and carry on a
guerilla warfare, demoralize and if
possible, destroy the miners union.
This is a black picture, but it is
the situation that must be faced. How
can it be met, what must the miners
do to retrieve their lost position and
bring back the union to militant
organ of struggle. This is indeed a
hard but not hopeless task, it is one
! that will test the courage of the
miners.
TT is easy for progressives to fight
4 when winning the battle, the real
test Of the class conscious worker is
made at just such black periods in
the development of the labor move
ment as confronts the miners today.
There must be no retreat. Pessimism
must not be allowed to enter. The
graves that surround the coal mines
of this country are a mute testimony
of the grim struggle that took place
to establish the United Mine Workers
of America The punishment melted
out to the Howats, Thompsons, ETC.,
the long term of Imprisonment given
to the zeigler miners, are living test
monies of the struggle that is taking
place to make the miners union a
fighting organization. The progressive
miners must rally their forces. In the
name of those unknown heroes who
died for the cause, in the name of
those who have been specially picked
out for punishment by the Lewis
Harrington machine, in the name Of
the betrayed miners and their fam
lilies, the struggle must go on until
the control of the union has been
taken out of the hands of these men
and the union made to junction as it
was intended as a working class or
ganization, fighting in the interest of
The miners.