The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-08-10
COAL DICCERS
HOLD SESSION
DESPITE CREW
Meyerscough Pictures
Lewis Betrayal

y
MaiD.-A mass meeting of progress
sive miners was broken up by Lewis
thugs with the aid of the New Ken
sington police force last night.
Steve Kurepa, a striking miner who
is taking part in organizing the
miners for the new union which
will be formed at the National Con-
vention in Pittsburgh, September 9,
was viciously beaten in the presence
of police by Lewis gangsters and
arrested.
Immediately after Hugh Hag-
gerty opened the meeting and in
PRODUCED Thomas Myerscough as
the first speaker, practically every
paid picket" in the district, which
comprises the total strength of the
corrupt officialdom in the valley,
marched into the Lithuanian Hall.
Each Lewis man was identified bv
blue tag. Some miners said the
tags were used as "check-off" when
they were paid by Jack Hassan,
Lewis district organizer.
Police Break In.
AS soon as Myerscough began to
discuss the strike situation and an
nounced that questions would be
answered at the end Of the meeting,
contrary to the habits of machine
speakers, local policeman walked
down the aisle, demanding a permit.
Myerscough informed him that the
local committee had been granted
permit by Burgess Daniel Burns.
A few minutes later a police lieu
tenant stamped up to the platform,
again demanding the permit. When
the explanation was repeated, the
lieutenant demanded to see the per-
NIT. He was told by Haggerty that
Burgess had given it verbally. BY
this time the chief of police and
almost his entire staff had arrived.
all clamoring for the permit. They
took Myerscough to the police sta
ton.
There Burns denied giving the
permit.
Pictures Lewis Betrayals.
Myerscough's audience was still
waiting for him. For twenty. min
utes he spoke, telling how Lewis
and the policy committee had be-
trayed the miners by scrapping the
Jacksonville scale of wages and lost
the strike by ruinous policies.
But as soon as the machine gang
sters began to heckle, the police,
as though taking their cue, declared
the hell had to be cleared. The
thugs went out first, organizing
themselves in groups When Steve
kurepa left the hall, three gang
sters fell upon him, smuggling
viciously. John McFall was at
tackled from behind by another
gang who Immediately took to their
heels.
Arrest Kurepa.
The streets were awhirl with the
sirens of police cars and motor
cycles. Kurepa. covered with blood,
was approached by. the police lieu
tenant who had broken into the
meeting, inquiring "what had hap
pened" to him. AS Kurepa an
swered, Jack Hassan, machine or
ganizer and boss of the little Lewis
army of paid piekets, darted out
of,a doorway and attacked Kurepa.
Taken unaware, Kurepa fell back
ward. The lieutenant arrested Ku-
repa as result of this, charging
him with disorderly conduct and
fighting on the streets. Jack Has
san was also. arrested, but this is
considered as a mere gesture, and
he is expected to be released at the
hearing.
Small groups of three or five
"pickets" are employed by the ma
chine in each camp, and maintained
on a salary basis while militant
workers are cut off the relief list,
so that the Lewis officialdom
which is completely dicredited in
the strike fields can boast of the
existence of a Lewis local"
The attention and the energien
of the miners is being directed to
the coming convention for a new
mine union called for Pittsburgh,
Centemher Gig