The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-12-22
Coz. Pinc1ot's Friendship
tor the Starving Miners
Unites With UM.WA. Officials in Maneuver
to Stem Revolt of Coal Diggers

mission and establish a powerful,
militant organization to protect
their daily interests. Seeing this
possibility, Pinchot, as governor of
Pennsylvania, sent the entire state
police force, of several thousand
brutal cossacks, into the striking
area, with instructions to break the
strike at all costs. Pinchot's state
police dubbed, tear asSed, shot
and Jailed the strikers. They sup
ported the company guards in
smashing the picket lines. The
courts of Pennsylvania threw the
best leaders of the strike into
prison. The state police assisted
and are still assisting the inllni-
grafton department in arresting
and deporting all militant miners
who dare protest against starva-
ton.
Being unable to break the strike
by brutal force, Pinchot personally
initiated a strikebreaking and
wage cutting agreement between
the Pittsburgh Terminal Coal Co.
and the U. M w. A. officials. The
agreement was concluded despite
the mass protest of the Terminal
miners, who went to the extent OF
sending a delegation to Pinchot
declaring that they will not accept
the agreement. Pinchot'S answer
to the striking miners was over
100 state police TO enforce the
starvation agreement, During the
life of this agreement, which car
ries the seal of Pinchot, the wages
of the Terminal miners were cut
from So cents to SO cents q ton.
This same agreement blacklisted
hundreds of militant miners, who
are freezing in tents and who went
through untold sufferings during
the last IS months.
EXPLAINS FRIENDSHIP"
This in itself explains the
friendship" of Mr.. Pinchot and the
U. M. w. A. officials for the min
erS. Why then, does Mr.. Pinchot
and the U. M. w. A. officials come
out now in defense" of the miners
interests? The miners throughout
Pennsylvania are revolving against
the intolerable conditions. Pinchot
is receiving thousands of letters
which bitterly score the starvation
and threaten strike. In fact, scores
of local strikes are taking place
now against these conditions. The
miners employed by the state gov
eminent on several occasions went
on strike against their Slaye-like
treatment. AS the National Hun
ger Marchers were passing through
the mining towns, tens of thou
sands Of miners gathered along the
highways in the mining towns,
greeting the Hunger March and
pledging their intensified struggle
against starvation. In several
counties the miners organized
county Hunger Marches at the
time of the arrival of the National
Hunger March into the county
seats. The miners throughout
Pennsylvania are talking of mass
strike early in the spring.
DINCHOT knows all these things:
he knows that the storm is in
evitable, in fact he feels it al
ready. This storm is preceding
the state elections in Pennsylya-
MIA. Pinchot is hoping to be re-
elected as a governor in the COM
ing elections. Demagogue that he
is, Pinchot is utilizing the mass
misery of the miners for two pur-
poses.
l. To pacify the revolving min
ers by promising to investigate
their conditions and thus prevent,
if possible, the coming mass strike.
2. To lay the basis for his re-
election for governor. This is the
policy of the coal operators. The
U. M. w. A. officials and the capt.
talist press are supporting Pinchot
and the coal operators to the ut
most in this campaign.
This demagogic campaign con-
tains many dangerous elements, if
it is not conlbated and properly
explained to the miners. One of
the most important tasks of the
National Miners Union is to expose
this demagogy at its beginning and
to mobilize the masses of starving
miners into powerful united
movement for immediate struggle
against starvation.