The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-03-30

night in well planned raid on the meet
ing OF the leading committee of the strike.
Deputies had surrounded the isolated farps
mouse where the meeting was in progress and
succeeded in sticking up two comrades outside
the house before they could give the alarm Some
OIL us were in the kitchen still eating supper when
the thugs stepped simultaneously through the
front and rear doors with drawn pistols in
their hands. A glance around showed deputies
at each window with their guns Ieveled at lis in
the house.
We were searched, loaded into cars and driven
to Tazewell Jail the same night. Monday after
noon we got an excellent example Of coal oper-
ator "justice"-Southern style.
AT our hearing before the local magistrate we
found two prosecutors on the job-Sheriff Riley
Cthe same operators tool who kidnapped Weber
ana Duncan and turned them over to the Harlan
law for the blood money in IT'D and the nagis-
trate himself The first act OF the "judge" was
to deny me the right to testify or speak in court
because stated my disbelief in God AS I was
protesting against this procedure one Of the
spectators, local insurance agent named Piede-
more, came up to the judges bench and in a
stage whisper called to the magistrate, Lets
hang him right now, in here"
ment, undoubtedly disagreement with the time
and place suggested for the lynching and not
with the proposal ITSELF
Tazewell is is miles from the nearest mine and
consequently few miners were in court Local
business men and half-starved farmers made
up the audience. This cell for a lynchng was
unquestionably representative Of the attitude Of
the business men toward the "Reds', but not Of
the farmers.
As the hearing proceeded man after man from
the executive took the stand to explain the prlr-
Csc of the meeting and the long bitter struggle
cgainst starvation that lay behind it. The starv-
Gtion conditions which led to the first spontane-
Gus walk out in the spring of 1881; the coming
of the U.M.W.A and the betrayal OF the strike;
the fighting program OF the National Miners
Union; the murder of strikers and strike leaders
by gun thugs; the reign Of bloody terror
throughout the fields were brought out clearly
in cur comrades testimony. And as they testi-
fled, it became apparent that the sentiment Of
the crowd-or a portion Of twas changing.
AS the hearing drew to close farmer in
tattered overalls stepped out from the crowd
and asked permission of the magistrate to "say
a word or two" 1t was Immediately granted, the
magistrate evidently expecting another outburst
against the REDS"
But the magistrate was to be disappointed.
Judge" the farmer said, "these must be
set free. I'm starving myself and 1 know what
they are up against in the mines. These are
good men. know three of them myself. Why,
last fall, when was trying to get food for my
family by peddling farm truck in Mindless
boro one of these men shared what we had in
his house with These fighting for
something to eat and they aren't criminals.
don't blame them for striking"
This was different tune and one the Judge
decidedly did not like. The court quickly
cleared and we were marched back to jail. And
what a jaill Picture room 10 by "a feet with
wood and brick walls, once whitewashed and now
covered with all manner of filth. In the center
an iron cage 10 by IL feet in which are crowded
day and night seven men-rnen who sleep on
the bare steel deck with their overcoatS wrapped
around them. In front Of the cage and along
one side are two hunks and two narrow cots
on which the IL men outside the cage try to
sleep-and try with small success
rickety pot-bellied stove, a toilet outside
the cage and one inside, complete the picture. In
sinking hole, fairly alive with bugs of all de-
scriptions, are jammed a total of 10 men.
Daily attempts are made to bride or bulldoze
some of our comrades into repudiating the
union. One at time the local comrades are
called out and promised immediate release and
guaranteed job if only they will turn on the
REDS.
Tonight we were favored with a visit from
Finley Donaldson, former NMU. member then
stool pigeon, and now U.MW.A. organizer. Ac-
companying this traitor was Turnblazer, dis
trict president of the UNIV. Donaldson was
fairly chased from the door by the men he had
come to see, after betraying them.
The days pass swiftly with daily lecture and
discussion on some phases of the class struggle
AS we sit close to the stove at night, the walls
| fairly shake with the 'N.MU., Song, composed
| by our comrades here in Jail
| As one of the boys just told me: "Jsil isn't
so bad when you're in Jail with the best men
in Kentucky"