The broad ax., 1927-05-21
THIS WEEK
BY Ernest Rice Mckinney
(For Preston News Service)
A Hemorrhage Of Words

cow country reNlVdilSt. AiS SHiA
nent gentleman, famous for chasing
around the block and putting himself
in front Of the latest big parade, told
the assembled proletarian black arts
tocracy that they would soon see
bloodshed in Western Pennsylvania |
such as they had never seen before.
He was talking about the miners
strike and the part that Negroes are
nIavinp as strikebreakers. He also said |
that armed mine guards and police are
driving Negroes into the mines and
making them mine the coal Then he
said that the unions were going to win
the strike, the Negro scabs would be
driven from the mines amid fighting
and bloodshed. These same Negroes
would be dumped into Pittsburgh to
rape your daughters" to steal and
loaf and be thrust into Jail After a
few more dire prophesies in the same
vein the gentleman took his seat COW
cred with perspiration and filled with
| fatigue-I suspect
/ have positive knowledge based on
personal observations, conversations
with miners-both scabs and unionlsts
land continuous trips into the mine
fields over a period of four years, that
| convinced me that this alarmist gen
tleman knows next to nothing about
mines, the coal industry, miners,
unions, or the present strike. No man
who has even the most elementary
knowledge about these things could or
would make any such wild cat state
ments.
have been in and out Of the min
ing towns regularly since last Septem-
Der. I have never seen or heard Of po-
lice or guards driving Negroes into
the mines. The truth Of the matter is
that the guards are there and paid to
protect the strikebreakers against any
possible attack from the striking union
miners. AS matter Of fact, the pres
ent strike is so orderly that most per-
sons-aside from operators and work
ers-have forgotten about it,
The present strike covers only ?
part of the bituminous mines in West
ern Pennsylvania. For instance it
does not touch the Prick mines which
are always non-union and are working
as though no strike were in progress.
/ am willing to enter the field of
prophesy and say that the union will
not win the present strike. And even
if they do there will be no unusual
bloodshed. There will be no dumping
of Negroes into the cities and if these
men out Of work do come they will
rape nobody's daughters. They will
do no more stealing, gambling or kill
ing than Negroes already here and
who know more about mine and mine
conditions than the illustrious gentle
man who made the speech.
This strike is rather hopeless for the
strikers. They have been misled by
their leaders. The union itself is split
into left and right wing. There are
certain economic factors in the coal in
dustry that one must know if he is to
discuss the present strike with even
the intelligence Of rocking chair.
For instance in 1919 union mines
produced 65 per cent of bituminous
coal. In 1927 about IS per cent Of this
same coal is produced by non-union
mines. In the second place the non
union mines undersell the union mines.
New mines have been opened in nom
union fields, e. g., West Virginia, and
union mines closed. This procedure
certainly does not make the union
stronger. The New York Trust Com
pany Index reports that the country
uses ten million tons of soft coal a
week. The non-union mines can pro-
duce eleven million tons. IF these fig
ures are correct, it seems to me that
the unions are not in very strong posi-
ton in the strike
1t should be remembered also that
freight rates have something to do
with the price Of coal and the location
of mines. These freight rates also have
something to do with wages paid to
miners. For instance. there is diff
ferentia1 in the tariffs on shipments
from the non-union fields of West Viz
ginia and the tariffs on shipments from
Western Pennsylvania This differen-
tial is at the bottom of Pennsylvania
fight to get member on the Interstate
Commerce Commission.
The operators of Western Pennsyl-
vania claim that on account of the
1880 ,rar,+;rrr ard oxyerhead costs