The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1929-09-27
GASTONIA WORKERS
EIGHT ON DOCCEDLY'
FUR THEIR UNION.
BY MARGARET LARKIN

0as.GIonla, N. C. -(FP)-sThey
can L1, XII me but they can't eat me-"
win this vital colloquial phrase
40 the workers of Gastonia reply
10 the terrorist's campaign against
them which has ragged throughout
tnlS section for nearly two weeks.
Inc day that Ella May was kill
Gu began to ask the workers what
was wa going to happen to the union.
Inc "Loray gang" had prevented
me union meeting that day with
armed mobs patrolling the high
ways and the union grounds.
WHAT'S going to happen to the
union If you can't hold meetings
and they threaten all your organ
lzers and active members 2" ask
ed Mrs. Perry Lodge, union mem
Der, from whose house Ben Wells
was kidnapped.
Can Meet In Woods
"Well, the boys will have to
watch themselves" said she. "And
| guess we can hold our meetings
In the woods if we have to. Pm
not afraid of 'em. They say they'll
get me and Perry Lodge if we, let
Caroline Drew and the other union
folks stay here, but Pm not
afraid. l say they can kill me
but they can't eat me-" The next
day she was given motive to vacate
her house.
There never was nothing like
this seen BEFORE" said the tall,
grizzled Mr.. Barrett, who drove
me to Ella Mays funeral in his
rafting Ford. He has four sons
in the union. "That gang will do
anything and the laws is just as
bad. They all hate the union.
Reckon We'll have to do some pow
erful fightin' afore we're through
gittin' our union"
Workers Aggressive
The mood Of the workers is
quietly aggressive. They estimate
shrewdly the forces against them
the "gang" of the mill owners
violent, ruthless, insolent, and the
Claws, which word they apply to
all policemen, officials, and the
government. There is very little
reckless talk of retaliating against
the "gang" and the claws" in kind
but a great deal of quiet determin-
alton to resist the terror by con
tinuing union work.
Organizational work is hampereC
/ by the terror, of course. Unio1
meetings go on, but some of them
have to be in secret. The senti
ment of the workers for unionisn
is probably increased by the per
secution, but the activity is large
ly driven underground. This il
true in other sections, as well al
in Gastonia. The mob has mo-
feared to sweep into four counties
a dozen towns and mill villages
and even into South Carolina.
To Continue Fight
"The N. T. w. U. will continue
to lead the fight for the right tt
hold meetings and to organize
without interference either in the
form of legal persecution or fas
cist terrorism" commented VIM. +
Dunno, former editor of the Butt'
Weekly Bulletin.
The southern press is trying t.
make it appear that the mob &C
tivities are the demonstration o
an outraged community against
''little band of unspeakables." Ed
torial comment has carried tn
general tone "Of course such Incl
dents are regrettable, but human
nature will be human nature"
But the terror has not been di
rected solely against the "unspeak
ables." The local organizers an
active union workers have suffer
ed equally with the foreigners.
Cleo Tessner, local organizer a
Kings Mountain, was even NOR
brutally beaten than Ben Wells
from the North. Cliff Saylor an
C. M. Lell were kidnapped; Harr
Forstner's home was attacked
four organizers were chased out G
Blacksburg, S. G. by 80 cars flu
: of armed men: Dewey Martin
life has been threatened man
times: Yves Williams was hunte
by the "Loray gang" All thes
are Southern folks" organizer
and active union members.