The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-01-12
NEGRO ORGANIZER
TELLS OF GREAT
MINE STRUGGLE
Here to Aid Drive for
Urgent Relief


committee, picked by the men to voice
their grievances to the mine super
intendents.
The Primrose Mine, where Fulp
worked, is owned by the Carnegie
Coal Co., and employs about 375 men.
The Carnegie Company in its 40 mines
around Pittsburgh employs over g.
900 men, $500 of them Negroes. The
fact that nearly every pit committee
head is Negro proves that the min
ers have realized the futility of ra-
cial quarrels in the face of their fight
against the common enemies.
Attacked for Loyalty.
In 1924 Fulp was summoned to the
pit bosses office and found himself
before an assemblage of mina off
Gals and district officials of the Uni
ted Mine Workers. Present were the
organizer of Sub-district / of Dist. 5
of the U. M. W. A., Bu8zarello, James
Y, Flood, president of the sub-dis-
trict, and Pat Fagen, president of
District 5, all cogs in the Lewis ma
chine, smoking cigars with Superin-
tendent Linden and other mine of
ficials.
you're fired for helping those
God-damned Hunkies," Linden shout
cd at Fulp. Shortly afterwards right
wing officials conspired in the same
way with lrine officials to get rid
Of Tom Ray.
For two years Fulp set quietly
about instilling progressive ideas into
the minds Of the Washington County
miners. In the meantime the opera
tors, in open violation of their Jack
sonville agreement with the United
Mine Workers, began discharging
progressive miners and putting non
union men in their places. The reae-
tionary district officials of the United
Mine Workers made no protest
against this, even encouraging mem
bers of Local 1888, at Midway, COM
posed solidly OF native born whites,
many of them being kukluxers, Il
work with the scabs.
Strike Betrayed.
Finally, on April l, 1927, the Jack
sonville agreement for $3.50 basic
daily wage expired, and the operators
refused to renew it, offering instead
the 1017 scale of "a day for outside
work and SIS for inside work. Only
then did the International officials
take action, ordering all the men out
Then in the very conduct of strike
which they themselves had ordered,
the reactionary Lewis machine lost
the faith of the rank and file miners.
The strikers found themselves in seri-
GUS financial straights, for the Off
Gals of the union were withholding
all strike benefits. In July, 1927,
fourteen locals in the Allegheny met
at Hawick and elected Steve Kurepa
Tony Minerich, Vincent Kamenovlch
and Fulp as a relief committee to
present the miners case to the Inter
national officials of the U. M. w.
Form Relief Committee.
The officials were invited to a sec
ond conference in Pittsburgh, but re-
fused to attend. Fagen, president Of
District 5, and Thomas Kennedy, In
ternational secretary and treasurer,
met their pleas for funds with go
to He'll" and when the miners told
them their families were starving,
Kennedy said, "Eat grease"
The five progressives thereupon or
ganized the Pennsylvania and Ohio
Miners Relief Committee with head
quarters at Cloakmakers Union Hall,
Pittsburgh, later removing to present
quarters, Gil Penn Ave. Tony KAN
enovich was chosen secretary, Min
erich chairman, and Fulp field or
ganizer.
Meanwhile seabs were being i'm
ported from outside, while the United
Mine Worker officials were doing
their best to break the strike.
Among the scabs less than third
were negroes, vet Lewis officials tried
to foment discord among the strikers
by telling them the negroes were 60
ing back to work and scabbing on
them. They told the workers that
Fulp was receiving money from the
mine owners to feed the men, and