The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-06-27
BY BILL DUNE.

THE struggle in the coal fields of Western
Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and the Panhan-
die section of West Virginia has sharpened rap
idly in the last few days and as consequence
class ahgnments are more clearly defined.
The tremendous vitality of the strike. its Ca
pacity for growth, the obvious mass sentiment
for revolt among miners in practically every Sec
ton of the industry, the resoluteness with which
the rank and file strike committees are carrying
on the struggle has forced the coal operators
and the various government agencies, the UNI
WA officials the liberal capitalist politicians like
Pinchot. and the socialist party, to fall into their
respective roles in the main task of breaking the
strike against starvation.
First of all, the state of Pennsylvania has es-
tablished the death penalty for workers who re-
sist strikebreaking injunctions. When Judge
Rowand signed the Injunction asked for by the
Butler Coal Company against the strikers at its
Wildwood mine, he at the same time signed the
death warrant Of Louis zigarec and loaded the
rifles and riot guns with which a score of min
ers were killed and wounded. (Two more are at
deaths door as this is written.) An offshoot Of
this policy was the shooting to death on his own
doorstep Of small storekeeper in Arnold City
who had been active in relief work, and the
wounding of four more strikers.
with the Pittsburgh Terminal Coal Company al
most at the exact moment when the murdered
and wounded miners were lying in their own
blood beneath a burning SUM- Governor Pinchot
sent rs state cossacks for the Pittsburgh Termi-
nal properties and the UMWA as soon as the
agreement was signed.
The action of Pinchot in regard to the cow
ardly murder of pickets from ambush is well ex-
pressed by the headline in the Pittsburgh Press
Of June "a:
"Pinchot Acts to End Fatal Mine Rioting-
Orders More State Troopers into District"
The Pinchot policy is to put forward the state
police as peacemakers as against special depu-
ties and mine guards. But no one has yet been
able to prove that miner killed by state cos
sack in making Pinchot peace is not just as
dead as one killed by q coal and iron policeman
making war openly in behalf Of the coal barons
The Pittsburgh Press (Scrtpps-McRa elabo-
rates the Pinchot policy editorially. 1t says I'M
der the heading END the Reign Of the Gun in
the Mine Fields"
"Our much criticized state police have not as
yet, been reported as using guns anywere, al
though they have been through the thick of the
strike turmoil. They have ended or prevented
nots-without shooting"
The Press then calls for taking the guns from
special deputies-but to let the state cossacks
keep theirs, Of course, because trained and
picked men can be trusted with them" Special
deputies and mine guards should have their
guns taken away because modern science has
supplied tear gas" The editorial continues:
From all accounts, there is plenty Of tear gas
Costing So per bomb-BD) distributed among
the deputies-enough to quell the fighting spirit
in thousands of people. Yet the instant fighting
starts, they forget they have it, and start shoot
ing"
The cold brutality of this editorial discussion
as to the best method ITO quell the fighting
spirit" of thousands of half starved working
men, women and children, is equalled only by
the brazen attempt to cover up fact that these
deputies fired from ambush into a line Of I'M
armed strikers, that they hurled tear gas bn1mbs
and fired pointblank into groups of workers
dazed and blinded by the gas. That the depu-
ties were not panic-stricken or scared but acting
under detailed instructions Of the sheriff and
mine officials is beyond question.
The echo Of the wildwood shooting had hardly
died away before Sheriff Cain of Allegheny
county issued blanket exoneraton Of all depu-
ties taking part in murderous assault