The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-06-28
FAGAN TALKS BUT
CAN'T FOOL MnY'
Men IN RENTON
Fire Any 50 Men at
All Is Order
a. d Worker Corresp0ndentl

like the readers of the DAILY
WORKER" to know what is happen
ing in Renton, Pa. A few months
ago l asked and answered questions
| read in the Miners Journal in a
long letter to its editor. l never
read anything in the Journal that
didn't condemn the Save-the Unioz'
Committee. Since | noticed that all
of the articles contained lies deci-
ded it was about time the editor was
answered. So did it. Z
Embarrassing Questions
The first thing I asked him was
how the Pittsburgh Coal Co could
be so foolish as to pay the Save-the-
Union Committee to get the miners
out 100 per cent on strike and then
pay state police to arrest the speak
ers. beat them up and send around
stool-pigeons among the miners ask
ing them not to listen to the Save
the-U Union. Why do the operators go
to the same expense by repeating the
story at Export, Pa, and at White
Valley, Pa?
But the Lewis machine did not
want to answer these questions and
others useless to put down here. |
asked the editor to be kind enough
to answer them, no matter what his
answer might be- 1t seemed that
my letter was too hot for that rusty
Lewis machine. All they did was
write an answer by mail that it was
too bad I allowed myself to be mis-
lead by the "strike-breakers".
On June IS, 1928, Pat Fagen came
to Renton to hold meeting. We
knew nothing of the meeting until
some of our men were notified by
the state police and the chief Of
deputies. At about 1870 P. NJ chief
of deputies Anderson and general j
S. Clark arrived at the union hall in
a car. Then came Fagen and T.
Robertson and Hefferly, after whom
followed two state policemen on
horses. Then men who were at this
meeting were all of the Lewis ma
chine. There was one big truck with
nine men; the other trucks may have
had a few more but there We're only
four of the Renton men there. This
didn't bother Fagen who made out
he was speaking to all the Renton
men.
No Hall For Traitors
The best part of it all was that
the men could not get into the hail.
They asked me for the key to open
it, but I didn't have it. They asked
the janitor for it, but he was toe
wise to give it up. He told Fagen
, that when our district representative
would come to town he would open
the hall but not for bunch like that
So the meeting was held outside.
Two Conventions
This Lewis gang spoke of the two
conventions, the Save-the- Union one
on April and the Lewis one on May
%. I was delegate from the Ladies
Auxiliary to both of these conven-
tions. From the minute the latter
convention opened to the minute II
was closed nothir@, was said about
anything except the Lewis machine
They steam-rollered the convention
so, that the rank-and- couldn't put
in a word for itself. At the May %
convention the reactionaries had the
day. However, at the April 1st con-
vention every delegate was given the
floor to express his opinion without
being thrown out or told to sit down
At this Save-the- Union convention no
blue-sky delegates, as at the Lewis
convention, were present. If we had
any stool-pigeons there they would
learn something that would do them
good.
AS this Fagen group in Renton
went on speaking they had lots to
say about our good leaders Pat Too
hey and J. Watt. Fagen said that
Fannie Toohey was poisoning" the
children's minds, teaching therl not
to believe in "God". He tried to put
her in bad by saying sac was most
probably not the legal wife Of Pat
Toohey, that such kind Of people BE-
lieve in free love only There's q
strong man of Fagen's in Reuton who
has been believing in free love fer
some time now. But that's alright
since he is stool pigeon.
We have a progressive union here
in Renton that is very strong and
also a Ladies Auxiliary which is like
wise progre' siye. Each Of these
organizations are doing good work
We mr3t fight for our rights and
FOLLOW our new leaders and not let the
.1-ewis machine divide us any more.
We must fight for better conditions.
but we will never get them from the
Lewis machine.
We brother and sister miners must
stand together solidly for the Save
the-Union and save the strike. This
is our only chance. This fight rs
well belongs to the non.union broth
ers as to us. We must all get on the
picket line, organize ourselves and
fight for better conditions.
rsft-x,