The daily worker., 1931-07-24
THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT
WAS ADOPTED JULY 20 BY THE
CENTRAL RANK AND FILE
STRIKE COMMITTEE:

STRIKE COMMITTEE:
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and
Sun-Telegraph, and other papers
are creating a disgusting smoke
screen Of lies and slander to excuse
the increased terror against the
10000 miners striking against star
walton, and to try to place the blame
for the terror on the National Miners
| Union.
An editorial In today's Post-Ga.
zette seeks TO couple the shooting oi
two men in West Virginia "by per
sons unknown" according TO the cor
oner's jury, with the failure of Pagan
and Murray of the United Mine
Workers to terrorize the miners OF
Cannonsburg and the consequent
collapse of the UNIV. fake meeting
there.
1t is characteristic that the Post
Gazette editorial says not one word
about the shooting to death by an
Ohio mine boss of William Simon
a 16-year old member of the Ma
tional Miners Union. This is the
more dastardly as the murder of ST.
mon took place at practically the
same time as the shooting In West
Virginia, about which the editorial
was written, and the news of the
murder of Simon was carried in the
Post-Gazette: Neither does the edi-
torial mention the murder of Fill
ipovich, on his own front porch nor
does it mention that Spiro zigaric
was murdered for protesting against
the wildwood injunction.
The Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph
editorial of July 81 states that the
National Miners Union has attained
and has been allowed to parade in
Pittsburgh" Gas though that were an
abnormal privilegeD without men,
tioning that the Pittsburgh police
have later arrested scores of miners
for collecting food for their starving
families, and that the police in some
cases stole the money collected. The
Sun-Telegraph editorial then con-
demns the miners of Canonsburg
because the demonstrated against the
UNIV. strike breaking meeting.
The newspapers in Pittsburgh
print the hypocritical statements of
Phil Murray, Pat Pagan, and other
leders of the UNIV, tht their meet
ing was peaceful and was attacked
by "a drunken mob" and fail to
mention that only few days pre-
vious to this meeting, the UNIV.
leadersin Canonsburg threatened to
resort to "bloodshed" against the
members of the National Miners
Union.
The facts about the Canonsburg
meeting are as follows: Murray, Fa-
gan, Denich, OLeary and other off,
cials of the UNIV. held a fake mass
meeting in Curry Field, Canonsburg,
July 10. To this meeting they
brought truckloads of gangsters, pro-
fesSonal Scabs, bootleggers, county
employees, and business men enlisted
on their side. The only miners they
Terminal mines who have been
forced back to work by terror, evicc
tons and violence, under the UNIV.
strike-breaking and wage cutting
contract in those mines. These men
were told they would be fined s1.0o
each if they refused to come. For
chairman of the meeting, Pagan and
Murray securede Burgess Cook OF
Canonsburg, who arrests those col
lecting food for the striking miners.
Pat Fagan's last words, Just before
miners in the audience drowned out
his voice by angry jeers and denun-
Citations were: You'll have TO Join
the UNIV. whether you like it or
not!"
Two thousand miners of Canons-
burg and near vicinity, meeting in
Beck's field, reused to indignation by
the treachery of the UNIV. officials
and the UNIV. conspiracy TO starve
miners and their families to death,
voted to picket and dernonstrate
against the Fagan-Murray meeting.
The miners marched in disciplined
fashion through the streets of Can
onsburg, cheered by the townspeople
on the way, and entered Curry field,
where some 400 persons were assemb-
led. The miners denounced Pagan
and Murray as agents of the coal
operators, and were thereupon at
tackled by the U. M. w. hired thugs.
The miners retariated with vigor,
and the U. M. w. gangsters fled in
disorder Such miners as we're brought
by Pagan to his meeting refused to
assist his thugs and Immediately
withdrew, and left the field as soon
as their trucks could be moved.
The record of the U. M. w. and
OF its allies, the coal operators, is one
of unceasing violence against the
striking miners. The convention
which formed the National Miners
Union in 1928, in Pittsburgh, was at
tackled by armed gunmen Of the
Lewis machine, aided by Pittsburgh