The daily worker., 1932-01-22

marched to the capital headed by
Joe Weber. the governor had to
change his mind and to find time to
listen to the demands of the miners
in his state, and who are fighting
against starvation and oppression by
the coal company and their gun
thugs and courts and state govern
ment.
Try to Intimidate Delegates.
The city of Frankfort was flooded
with coal operators and their thugs
in an effort to intimidate the dele
gates. Harlan gun thugs were rid
ing around in cars to demonstrate
their absolute power over the miners.
Being forced to receive the delega-
ton, the governor tried to stifle the
voice of the miners by banning all
reporters from the hearing, even the
Associated Press man, who is favor
ing the operators was not admitted
Before the miners entered the
governors chamber, a committee
of operators conferred with him.
Prosecutor Brock of Harlan County
was outside the chamber all the
time the miners we're at the hear
ing.
The delegation arrived in Frank
fort by truck and left in high spirits
determined to spread the strike and
thus force the bosses to yield to
their demands.
Among the demands presented
to the governor was the demand
for unemployment insurance The
miners are determined to demon
strate together with the workers
throughout the country on Feb
ruary 4th, National Unemployment
Insurance Day.
In the evening Lieutenant Cow
ernor Chandler addressed q meeting
of the business men of Frankfort and
nearby twons and yiciously attacked
the Communist for the labor troub-
BILE in the southeastern Kentucky
coal fields" He demanded that the
Communists be driven from Ameri-
can shores and their literature ban
ned from the mails.
Bosses Fear Miners VIII Turn Red
Not a word was mentioned about
the unbearable hunger conditions
of the miners Chandler tried the
old stunt OF saying that it vas
foreigners who where iInparttrg
dlsccr1tent among the native born
workers, but he had to admit that
there is an element of Connr1unIst.n
IN Kentucky"
Chsndlers vicious speech and tbs
evasiveness Of the governor, is the
real answer Of the stats government
TO the demands of the miners, Bur
the struggle will go on with renewed
vigot. ...-- z-s
The delegation later gave q state
u1ent to the waiting reporters The
hearing was opened with q short re-
view by Weber of the actual con-
ditions Of the miners. Jim Garland
then spoke bringing out concrete
cases Of starvation and terror.
The goveror put up naive face
as if all those horrible facts are news
to him. Weber, who only three days
ago had been saved from death at
the hands of Harlan thugs, took the
floor and in a brilliant speech which
lasted an hour and a half, blasted
away the sham ignorance of Laffon,
pointing out that his predecessor,
Samson, had made an official inves-
tigation of conditions in Harlan
County, which despite its aim to
whitewash the coal operators, had to
admit the murder of innocent min
ers and dynamiting relief kitchens.
Governor Laffoon, Weber said, car
not hide the fact that he is perfectly
aware OF all the bloody doings In
Harlan and Bell Counties.
Weber further recited the inhuman
conditions under which 10000 miners
and their families live in Kentucky
He showed their miserable earnings
which are not more than S12 or sic
month. He mentioned the official
figures that Is per cent of all the
miners children OF Middlesboro and
Bell County are suffering from tbs
f1ux, q starvation disease.
Weber brought out the treacheros
role Of the United Mine Workers
which are now patronized by the
bosses. He attacked most sharply
the vile campaign carried on by the
bosses and their press that the Na-
tional Miners Union is an outside
organization Of foreigners.
The governor interefered, saying
he is helpless to do anything in the
situation and that he synpathizers
with the workers. BY that Laffoon
wanted to den1oraltze the delegation
with soft words
Weber told him point blank that
this stuff Of q sflrewd politician
would not go with the miners. The
governor then threatened to stop him
from talking, but Weber went on
showing that the governor could in
tervene to stop the murderous rule
of the gun thugs.
Weber demanded the release Of
the nine arrested in Bell Count and
others held because of strike Activi-
ties, also the release Of Joy.es and
Hightower convicted for lif9 and to