The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-11-19
By HARRY CANNES.


TWO miles beyond Pineville, Ky, small, mod
ern town run by the coal operators and rich
landowners, is Straight Greek. But this two
mile stretch of muddy mountain road leads back
80 years into the past, reproducing conditions of
the workers in England when the factory system
was first introduced and lives were turned into
profits. The dirty wooden huts OF the coal camp
actually are falling apart. The average COW
barn is built much sturdier than nine-tenths Of
the shacks in Straight Greek From short dis
lance away it is hard to see this mining village
The grey dirt, ground down by trudging feet TO
a fine powder, and the houses, and the grey ap-
pearance of the miners all seem to blend Most
of the houses are set flat on the ground. The
floor boards, in many places, have worn out and
the earth crops up into the rooms. Where the
houses are built off the ground the wind blows
through the broken boards. Viewing these con-
ditions with military eye, a major OF the Ken
lucky militia who accompanied the Dresser Com
mittee, ito report to the governor" summed
them up as follows: eff the army had control
or if there were war situation here, we would
condemn the whole camp as plague spot and
take immediate emergency measures"
Barefoot, ragged children run about or rather
drag themselves about because most OF them
have or have had flux, a starvation disease
which makes the intestines bleed. The doctors
not buy. So the children die off.
In the very first house came to- could see
through the broken glass window miner and
his son glancing over the Daily Worker There
were only two rooms in the house. Thesentire
family, father, son, daughter-in-law and chill
dren, slept in the same room.
We discussed the Daily Worker. Father and
son agreed it was good fighting paper, work
ing mans paper. They wanted to know If every
thing in it was true, as they had been subjected
to a barrage of propaganda from the coal oper-
ators and their local press. do you read the
reports that are sent in from here by miners
and are printed in the Daily Worker" I asked.
1--WE sure do and we know they are all right"
We'll" I said workers everywhere write in to
the Daily Worker telling the truth about their
conditions. That's why Sheriff Blair raids
homes where they have copies of the Daily
Worker They don't want the miners to know
the TRUTH
The gang of stool pigeons, coal company Of
ficials and representatives of the coal operators
association looked surly and glum as the Dresser
Committee of writer's went from house to house
uncovering conditions that the coal bosses sought
to keep secret even to the extent of shooting
down two newspapermen sympathetic to the
miners. -" s"'t''@ 7'7" adj s.
We we're asked to come into the house of CAL
loway Hobbs, a miner with wife and five chill
dren. He had been out onstTke under the lead
ership of the National Miners Union. The strike
had been won and there was asshght iMprove-
ment in conditions. He told of the "cuts" made
by the company amounting to as high as 50 a
month out of monthly wage of $25. For this
the miners we're supposed to get medical service
and insurance. Hobbs told of an instance of
the medical service given to the miners my
Youngest little girl was sick She had the flux
Ia starvation disease). I notified the doctor at