The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-03-17
By BILL DUNE.


ship of the Peabody Coal Company, was an
other step taken by the coal operators and their
agents among the miners in the drive against
the economic and social status of miners and
their families.
The personnel of the leadership. consisted of
the Fishwick- Harrington forces and the Music
elements Of the American Federation of Labor.
There is no contradiction between this state
ment and the fact that Howat replaced Fish
wick as chairman of the convention and that
Harrington was not seated. On the contrary,
the apparent differences among the leadership
and the pushing forward of the cleft" elements
was the seal of this alliance and was placed
upon it by the Peabody Coal Company.
Fishwick and harrington Too Well Known.
1t is no longer possible to fool miners with
Fishwick and Farrington-the latter having
had his $4,000 connection with the Peabody
Coal Company publicly exposed and the for
mer having munctioned openly as their tool
inside the United Mine Workers in Illinois.
Both of them were active together with deputy
sheriffs, troops. gunner and the courts in
breaking the strike of more than 10000 miners
last December and falling leaders and active
members of the National Miners Union.
The main reason for the calling and holding
among miners who in every field are show
ing by actual deeds their will to fight for the
program of the NMU and to resist in the most
determined manner the increasing attack of
the coal barons and their government, that
Fishwick and harrington no longed welded any
influence in union circles; to create the impress
sion that a new leadership had arisen which
had dealt properly with these scoundrels.
nressed Tin Nv tho Goal Rarous
The coal operators simply dressed Howat,
Brophy, Hapgood and Company in the togs of
saviors and allowed them to strut the conven-
ton platform as spokesman of the rank and
file
The convention marked the advent of the
Music crew-the cleft wing" of socia-fascism
into the coal fields in organized form. Their
selection by the Peabody Coal Company and
its associates for the role of leadership as
against their former minority status is con-
elusive evidence of the rapid development of
decisive struggles in the mine fields and of the
growing influence of the National Miners
Union.
Adopt Lewis Constitution.
Still more significant is a section of Article
XIV adopted by the frank and file convention"
This section, lifted bodily from the old United
Mine Workers constitution, excludes members
of the Communist Party from membership in
the Peabody Howat Brophy "union," The de-
liberate insult to all militant workers in this
section, made by mentioning the l. W. W., the
One Big Union, and the Working Class Union
in the same paragraph with the National
Chamber of Commerce and the ku Klux Khan,
originated under the Lewis Fishwick- Earring
ton regime, is maintained in the Springfield
document.
The inclusion of the phrase in this section,
cor any dual organization not affiliated with
the American Federation of Labor" is clear
proof that the leaders of the Springfield con-
vention contemplate no break with the chief
instrument of social-fascism in the United
States.
AS in the old constitution Section 7 provides
an initiation fee of $10-always too high but
criminal now when more than fifty percent of
all miners are unemployed and there is hardly
a miner that can get work for more than three
days per week.
A hypocrital gesture made on the ques-
ton of officers, wages, quite obviously in an at
tempt to capitalize the devastating criticism
made by Communists of the huge salaries of A.
F. of L. officials generally and United Mine
Workers officials particularly. The Spring
field constitution fixes the wage of the presi-
treasurer at a similar figure while the poor
vice-president is to receive mere pittance of
$4,000. IN addition these officials are to re-
ceive all expense when away from their place
of residence.
This last phrase is designed to enable the
officials to have their residence" at some other
place than the official headquarters and there
by continue to legalize the practice of drawing
expenses for all the time they are at head
quarters.
Some Gang
Among others, the convention call was
signed by Howat, John H. Walker, Oral Daugh
erty, John Brophy, Adolph Germer Harry
Jishwick, Walter Nesbit, Joseph Loda and Gus
yritz. This choice list includes everything
from cleft wing" social-fascists to gunnan
of the Peabody Coal Company. Specifically:
Howat and Brophy deserted the rank and
file of the miners at the height of the strug-
gle in 1929 against the operators and the
Lewis machine, led at that time by the "Save
The Union Committee" when 100000 Ohio and
Pennsylvania miners were in heroic struggle
for months against the offensive of the steel
trust controlled coal companies. Howat crawl
ed back to the Lewis machine.
John H. Walker, president of the Illinois
state federation of labor, is one of the worst
snemies of the working class He was proved
to have received large sum from the insult
public utility interests in the scandal attending
the election of their senatorial candidate Frank
]. Smith. Walker is one of the official "red-
oaiters" Of the A. F. Of L. and has actively sup
ported John L. Lewis for the last seven years.
Oral Dougherty, former sub-district pres