The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-08-26
AnarchistyMurders Two Com
muniSt Miners

THE state and county police are making in
L tense efforts to suppress the Mine, Oil and
Smelter Workers Industrial Union, the LID.
and the Communist Party, following the cold
blooded murder of Steve Nina, 40 and George
Harkoff, 35, by Pietro Petrella, the leader of
the anarchists in this section at a Sacco Van
zett demonstration on August %.
Nina and Harkoff were militant miners.
members of the Communist Party. Petrella
came to the meeting armed. He kept his hand
on his gun during the entire period that he
was there and announced from the beginning
that he was going to break up the demonstra-
ton. AS Nina stepped forward to quiet MIN,
he pulled out his gun and shot him through
the heart. He then turned his gun on Com
rade Harkoff, fired the remaining shots INTO
the crowd and ran away.
Attempt to Smash Union.
The shooting of these two militant miners
by this anarchist follows long struggle dur
ing which the anarchists attempted to destroy
the M.O.S.WIU. in the Avella section
Petrella, once a member of the N.M.U.. left
the organization and attempted to DESTROY it.
But he did not succeed. The union grew de-
spite the activities of the anarchists who served
as open enemies of the mirers.
Police Hound Murdered Miners Wife.
The police on arriving at the scene, made
no effort to find the murderer. All their
Invites were conferred on smashing all milf
tant working class organizations. Comrade
Anna Harkoff, wife of one of the murdered
miners was driven from her home by the state
police who locked the house and refused to
return the key She and her three children
were taken to the squire's office, surrounded
by large group of state and county police and
subjected to vicious grilling. Sergeant Clea-
son of the Pennsylvania state police well
as Dinsmore, county detective, continuously in
suited Comrade Harkoff. Their questions were
not directed towards the finding of the muir
derer but towards an investigation of the &C.
Invites of the Communist Party and the union
in that section. police-inspired story ap-
peared in the Washington, Pa papers stating
Comrade Harkoff was indirectly responsible
for the Sayings. No such stories will dis
credit Comrade Harkoff in the eyes of the
working class in this section. She is well known
militant fighter in the section, has been
active in all strikes and has been arrested on
numerous occasions for her strike activities.
Investigate Union-Not Murder.
During the time that Comrade Harkoff was
in the hands of the police, Max Salzman dis
trict organizer of the Communist Party and
Vincent Kemenovich, secretary-treasurer of the
Western Pennsylvania district of the MOS.
WLU., came to the squires office to see Com
rade Harkoff. They were Immediately placed
under arrest and subjected to a grilling by the
police officials. They were lined up so that
all the police present would get a good look
at them. They were especially questioned re-
garding the activities of the movement in the
Avela section and threatened with violence by
the state police, who, however, finally released
them.
During the night, workers from many min
ing fields came to Avela to view the bodies
of the murdered miners. These miners were
also grilled by the state police. Press reports
given by the county detectives contain bitter
attacks against the left wing forces in this
section and indirect praise of the activities
of the enemies of the union. A committee of
the International Labor Defense and the MO
S.W.LU. is arranging funeral that will take
place Tuesday, August 26, 2 p M, from the
home of Comrade Harkoff Miners from
all over the district will attend this funeral
en- masse. The murder of our two comrades
by Petrella, the anarchist, is a deed of which
any murderous hirelng of the coal company
could glory in.
This act is of special importance because it
ties up completely the activities of the anar-
chists with the social fascists. Following the
murder of Comrades Weisenberger by AFL
gangsters and the murder of Comrades Ka-
tovis, Levy and Gonzalez by New York police
the murder of Comrades Nina and Harkoff BY
this anarchist leader, rounds out the alliance
of the holy trinity against the working class
1t is interesting to note that also since the
Sacco-Vanzetti issue the activities of the anar-
chists have been directed not against capital
ism but against the Soviet Union and against
the left wing forces in the United States
Feeling among the miners is high and d.
rected not only against the anarchist murderer
and his cohorts, but also against the police who
are attempting to destroy all militant workers
organizations in this section