The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-03-22
25O ENTOMBED
IN Mine BLAST
90 MAY Be DEAD
Bosses Ran Hell Hole;
Men Belong to NMU

COIlluCGluS NlSOIOuo campaign VI
organization in this vicinity and
meanwhile waging war against
just such conditions as caused the
present slaughter.
"The cause of the accident was
speed-up," said Pat Toohey, secre-
tary of the N. M. u, in an inter
view with a representative Of the
Daily Worker. "There was no ven
tilation, there were no safety de-
vices, it was one of the hell holes
of the coal industry. Gas accumu-
lating was ignited by the machin-
cry"
Local 10 of the N. M. U. has is
sued statement charging the coal
company with the murder of these
miners, telling how the employers
violated every existing law, forced
the miners to work in dangerous
gas and used the speed-up until
they could no longer take care of
themselves.
Minerich Tells Conditions.
Anthony Minerich, national exec
utive board member of the N. M. u,
gave the Daily Worker an inter-
view while waiting word to go to
Ohio and surrender himself for. a
45 day Jail sentence for violation
of a federal injunction against pick
citing during the last strike.
"This mine had another accident
during the strike" said Minerich,
sin which IL were killed. The COM
pany had it surrounded by a fence,
machine guns and searchlights
planted, and state troopers, coal
and iron police and mine guards on
hand. 1t is efficient at killing min
ers fighting against conditions such
as have probably killed so of them
today, but not very efficient at max
ing a safe mine. 1t got a medal of
100 per cent efficiency from the
federal bureau of mines recently,
though, for excellent safeguards.
"The miners in this mine were
militant" Minerich continued. "Dur-
ing the 1926 United Mine Workers
of America elections they voted for
Brophy, and when 800 marked bal
lots for Lewis, all fastened together
in bundle, were found in the box,
during the counting, they broke up
the election, and refused to let them
be counted"
Labor Hating Bosses.
The Paisley family owns $4,000
acres of coal land, much of it in
non-union West Virginia and Ken
lucky, some of it in Pennsylvania
and Ohio. 1t used police to lock
out its Ohio union miners in 1926.
1t has a sales company in Wiscon-
sin, the Wisconsin and Great Lakes
Coal and Dock Co., which has long
term contract with Rockfeller's Con-
solidated Coal Co. 1t forced most
of its miners to work open shop
before 1927.
PITTSBURGH, March 21.-Not
company precautions, but the min
ers' GOODNESS and courage saved
those who escaped from the Kinloch
Mine.
Approximately 200 of the miners
escaped through an unused entrance
of the Valley Camp Coal Co., No. 1
Mine, which connects with the Kin
loch Mine.
An abandoned entrance to the
Kinloch Mine was credited by 100
miners who emerged safely from the
blast-wrecked chambers of the mine
With having saved their lives. 1t
was through this opening that the
trapped men, after stumbling along
several miles beneath the earth,
reached safety.
Relatives Throng Entrance.
Thronging about the entrance
were relatives of the miners, eager
to catch sight of a father, son or
brother. Here and there a sob could
be heard, punctuated by cries of
happiness, as waiting ones discov-
cred those of their kin who they had
feared were lost in the mine.
P. D. Brady, motorman, was
among those who got out.
eve were working at a point
about two miles from the explosion
and the force of the air. the back
wash of the blast. nearly blew us off
our feet" he said.
Another Survivors, Tale.
Sylvester Carger. another of the
survivors, told of his escape.
eve had gone about two miles
into the mine," Carqer said, "and
we started working. Suddenly there
came sound of a rumble like thun-
der that we could just about hear in
the distance and everything grew
clark. Our pit lamps gave US our
only light.
"Chalk dust was dropped and it
filtered to the floor, showing there
was little air. We knew something
had happened; we remembered the
other trouble lin February, 1929,
and we started for the entrance.
'The Kinloch entrance, through
which we had entered, was too far
away, so we made our way out
through the Valley Camp. We half
ran through the shafts, wondering
what that noise was we heard; but
there was no panic. And soon we
came to the entrance and fresh air."
L.