The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-02-18
Grievance Committee Repudiates Lewis
(Continued from page ~.

CONTINUED from page ~.
merely had the 10 per cent demand in
serted as a bluff and never had any
intention in the world of fighting for
it.
Delegate Edmunds, speaking for the
executive committee summarized the
discussion. He again attacked the pol
icies of Lewis and the contract show
ing that the contract was worthless
no inorease-no check-off-no bet
ter onditions-nothing but a five
year stone tied to their necks. Six
months Of suffering and want and now
after all, nothing is gained He quot
ed Thomas Kennedy, international
secretary-treasurer "That the reason
we asked for 10 per cent increase
was merely in order to retain our
present wage scale.
Officials Yellow; Fear to Fight.
He then quoted to the body the fol-
lowing quotation from the speech OF
Toohey, at the Tri-District convention
last June, for which statement Lewis
went into a tantrum and accused Too
hey of "hamstringing" the scale com
mittee: IF it is the desire of the
scale committee to really get an in
crease in wages for our people, then
more practical is it to demand an in
crease of 20 per cent, and then a bet
ter chance is presented to get the
10 per cent, providing the scale com
mittee fights for this demand and
does no horse-trading with the issue
when they meet the operators" Lewis
went into rage when this statement
was made and shook his fist all over
the convention, particularly in the di-
rection of the "hamstringers.
Edmunds used this as a basis for
his assertion that the officials were
not sincere in their efforts for an in
crease in wages to the miners and
offered before the strike started and
repudiating the miners demands.
He closed with a bitter attack on
the agreement and stated his inten-
ton of going to the Scranton con-
vention to militantly oppose its rati-
fication.
Turnout the entire meeting every
speaker condemning the contract was
greeted with tremendous applause
from the hundreds of rank and filters
present.
Capitalist Press Aids Lewis.
The capitalist press for Sunday, in
giving an excuse for the action of the
general grievance committee in their
rejection of the contract blames lin
ported radicals" for it. They accuse
the representatives of the information
al Workers Aid for being responsible
for the frame of mind of the work
ers. The Wilkes-Barre Sunday hide
pendent declares in a first page head
line story: Opposition to Mine Con-
tract Breaks Out. Union Leaders
Blame Imported Radicals"
Opposition to the plan of settle
ment of the anthracite suspension was
voiced last night by delegates attend
ing the meeting of the general griev-
ance committee of District /, United
Mine Workers of America in Union
Hall. The opposition, according to
union leaders was engendered by
agents of the International Workers
Aid Of Chicago, said to be an organ
ization similar to the International
Workers of the World. The agents
are said to have been in this city for
several days, while one representa-
tive addressed the meeting last night
to explain about the relief stations
which it planned to open in this city.
"A spirited fight is expected at the
convention on Tuesday. but victory
for the contract is assured. Dele
gates on the floor of the meeting
voiced opposition to the plan of set
tlement on the ground that it was an