The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-10-14
8y ZERO, Worker Correspondent.

I'll ISb OhGt1, Hd., OcC. To- 4 ne
Vesta Coal Company started its mines
on open shop some time ago, tho up
until now they have not had much
success. Their general manager and
vice-president, Joe Edwards, prom
Used to everyone with whom he spoke,
that he would have 1000 production
as soon as the mines started or very
shortly after. That he lied to himself
and to his company is evident, after
more than a month Of try. The old
men will not go back as Joe Edwards
predicted. So far he has at mine No.
6, where operation first started, 16
of the old men out of 600. At mine
No. 5, which was started next, he has
20 of the old men out of over 1000.
At Vesta mine No. A, he has 3 Of the
old men out of 1,450, tho the mine
has been in operation two weeks. No
relief was paid to the men in No. 4.
Company Terrorism.
To what limits this union-hating
company will go, no one knows, but
here are some examples, A miner
worked for the company for over 8
years. After the strike was declared
he went on a farm. One day he want
ed to come into the Daisytown Camp,
to visit a relative who was sick, and
he was not allowed to do so. Another
man who had his furniture in COM
pany-house, but was away for a few
months, came back and was going tC
be turned out at o'clock in the morn.
ing. Only after begging the Goa
Company cop was he permitted tt
sleep in his own bed, and he had tC
promise to go and see Joe Edward;
for a pass, or else, the cop said, he
would be arrested every time he camt
into the camp.
This miners mother-in-law is sicl
and he brought his wife home to take
care of her mother. He was told by
the Sergeant of the Vesta Coal Com
pany that he would be allowed to &c
only to the house where he had hi:
furniture and where his mother-in
law was sick. If caught in any other
house he would be arrested for tres.
passing.
Scab Production Low.
The Vesta Coal Company is no
making any Roadway in it's union
smashing campaign. The men they
are getting from the employment
agencies are not experienced miners
and cannot produce coal. The Com
pany has three mines running anC
is not producing as much as it useC
to with one mine. There are rumor'
/ that to eliminate some of the over
head expenses in running the thre'
mines, attention will be concentrated
upon one mine. This may be the No
4 mine as is expected for many rea
sons. The major reason is that the.
have built 300 new houses at tn
Richeyville camp of mine No. a, ant
they have a shaft there for letting
the men down into the mine. Tn
camp at Richeyville was small, abou
40 houses, so there are not so man
! UNION men 10 inc SCdDS. AlSO III
houses are on one side of road an
the shaft is on the other. To elm
nate effective picketing, the Compan
has built 6-foot board fence a
around the camp, and are building
bridge over the road so that tn
miners can cross from the houses
the shaft on the bridge, and the unto
pickets will not be able to see ho'
many men go in or who they are
They will not be able even to spea
with the scabs.
The men at mine No. A are deter
mined to stick it out until they wiz
And they will stick it out if relief
given to them. But for the last
months no relief has been paid. TIL
local treasury was small, and Dis
trict No. of the United Mine Work
ers cannot take care Of all the me
with the money they get from the Ir
ternational Union.
Miners Families Starve.
The Miners Relief Conference wi
b,a1Y, eov,a of tho ,ooot Yaadv raga,