The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-03-26
.PRICILLA COAL
co. is now 100
PERCENT STRUCK
Scabs Quitting; Cops
Trample Children
(By a Worker Correspondent

EHRENFELD, sPa., (By MaiD.-
With the posted cut in wages at the
Dan Lukes" (Pricilla Coal Co..
mine, less than mile from this place,
and the consequent strike of some
81 men (100 per cent out), brings all
he union men in their neighborhood
within radius of 8 miles out ell.
strike.
Less Coal Mined.
This last small force to join Us
means that there will be trifle less
coal produced and a large force on
he picket line with the welcome
psychological effect on the men who
nave been out since April /, 1927.
1t means too that we will have more
state police and company gunner to
contend with. 1t also means that we
will be compelled to take care Of
more strikers families by supplying
food and clothes.
The Pennsylvania Coal Co., The
Stineman Coal Co. and the Argyle
Coal Co. are the ones that are scab-
bing their mines in Ehrenfeld ald
South Fork. The writer is striking
against the first mentioned company
in their No. 3 mine which is more or
less typical of all the others IL this
vicinity.
Between 1000 and 5000 are the
various estimates placed on the num-
Der of men this mine has hired since
Oct. /, 1927, and the report OF tie
pickets on Feb. II, 1928 gave them
around 140 men working at that time.
This mines full complement OF '3en
: is normally 500 or more. Of course
they are getting some coal out by
operating 3 or more large conveyors
"a hours in the day, days week, at
the expense of other sections of the
mine. and at that the expense must
be enormous as indicated by the fact
Of their continually begging the union
men to break and go back to work.
Scabs Flee Mines.
The strike breakers viii not stick,
that is, those who have enough
money coming to them after their
company store bill is taken off, for
them to get out. OF course they are
compelled to deal almost exclusively
at the company store and it is re-
ported that one scab was fired for
buying a bushel of potatoes from a
farm. Fresh eggs sell around 40
40 cents in the independent stores,
but the company store is still charg
ing 70 cents for packed eggs.
The company started paying $6.10
per Company shift of s hours on Oct.
1, 1927. Since then wagecuts have re-
duced them to $500 all around with
all prospects Of additional reductions
in the near future. This keeps the
scabs constantly dissatisfied. The
daily press never carries any news
of these mines despite the common
talk among the strikebreakers of fire.
quent maimings and (once in while)
killing.
The original proclamation of Sher-
if Carl Steur, Cambria Company, Pa,
permitted 2 in a group on the picket
line, not more, groups so feet apart,
with few injuncCions as regards
what we should not say, but even at
II that time the scabs could not stand
our verbal broadsides so our very
obliging sheriff put the ban on all
talking to or interfering with the
strikebreakers. The pickets are as
vet peaceable, a condition they are
far from feeling.
Ride Down School Children.
The state police are as usual guilty
Of acts of gross injustice and par
TALLY such as galloping through
groups of children going to and from
school, commanding men and women
to move into the house from their own
front porch just because they wish
to parade their strikebreakers home
from work. They, or the sheriff's
deputies, have even stopped strikers
from going to the Postoffice because
the office was in the company's store
and on the company's ground In fact
they show by every move that they
are here to guard company property
and strikebreakers and not to look
after the interests Of the public.
We must win this fight, not only
for the miners, but for unionism in
general and all working people, and
we call upon these same people every
where to rally to our support by send
ing money, food and clothes, and
using the most direct route to the
localities where it is most needed.