The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-10-28

ncauS VI CA6 uHHUM NCHssoh A4xASsS
! Governor, Miller o. New York, to
further help it look real" But the
fight" is sham and so are the
| threats of Roosevelt against the
Prick people. The only threats that
are real are those made by Roose-
Welt, General Johnson and Donald
Richberg against the miners.
| And if anyone has doubts that this
is so, let him watch for the loosing
of the most vicious terror against
these 10000 strikers when the deTna-
gogic utterances they keep making
in conjunction with the active strike
breaking attempts of the Lewis ma
chine fail of their purpose.
What Miners Face
| There are certain factors that o.
tain in this strike to make the de-
sired victory impossible under pres
ent leadership. Yet it is possible that
the strike will terminate with
settlement which provides for some
sort of agreement" that will be
crushed down the throats Of the
miners.
Lewis is the property of the u S.
Steel Corporation, bought by them
before he was even known to the
vast majority of the miners in the
United States, according to informa-
ton obtained from former associates,
the claim being that Lewis got
check from the fiscal agent of the
U. S. Steel Corporation while active
as general organizer for the A. F.
of L. among steel workers. This same
engineered the rise of Lewis to the
Presidency of the U.M.W.A. to bring
about the ruin of the U.M.W.A.
Anyone familiar with the history
of the U.M.W.A. since Lewis became
its president, can easily trace the
Lewis betrayals from his autocrattc
dIsavowal of every progressive de-
cision passed, against his will, in the
1919 Cleveland convention, to Its
almost complete ruin in 1925 with
the surrender of the Jacksonville
agreement.
Outstanding among these betrayals
was this self-same Fayette County
field strike of 1922. 1t was the most
vicious and determined step towards
the ruin of the UMWA. That was
Lewis 9duty" to his real masters,
the U. S. Steel Corporation and from
then on, one district after the other
was chopped off the list Of UM.W.A.
functioning districts.
N.M.U. Leads Struggles
1t was thought q strong union
would thereafter be Impossible. But
they guessed wrong. The NM.U.
came into being and led valiant
struggles. The worst its enemies can
say about the N.M.U. is that It rs
"Red" union. But that does not
scare the miners. The peculiar po-
sition of this strike which finds the
miners demanding recognition OF the
U.MW.A. while fighting against Lewis
and chasing his Man Friday Fee
ney out of the field, under leadership
of Ryan, who fears to violate the
U.M.W.A. constitution and always
with the militant policies advocated
| by the N.M.U., can only be explained
first, as maneuver by Ryan to CAPT.
| talize ON this determination Of the
miners to have a union without the
Lewis gang.
Second, Ryan's bankruptcy OF poll
tical understanding of the forces ar
rayed against him as well as illu-
sions that they will get rid Of Lewis
and Co., by constitutional methods
but with full knowledge of the min
ers' willingness to wage a militant
| fight, hence the use of N.M.U. tao
tics; and last (but not the least), the
ptee 2-cd..--e-5 Of the Roosevelt gov
eminent, the U. s. Steel Corporation
and its Prick subsidiary to resist any
attempt to launch fighting union
under any name, by holding in readi-
ness its own John L. Lewis. The
fight against recognition Of the
UMW.A. by the Prick Co., Is, there
fore, readily seen as sham.
The Fayette miners must recognize
| the fact that no gains have accrued
to those miners already driven back
to work. In many cases, actual re-
auctions in wage rates and earning
capacity to below pre-NR.A. level,
are observable. Now, with initiation
and the resultant increase In prices
for all essentials to life, the wages
will have still less purchasing power.
The ink on the NR.A. code con-
tracts, signed by the commercial
operators and the Lewis Union, was
nn& yet dry when the miners were
compelled to again strike for inter-
pretations and notifications. This
will continue to be the case. It will
also be the case in the Captive"
mines. The course Of real struggle
for real unionism is the only one left
for all the miners. The captive
U.M.W.A. cannot and will not solve
The problems Of the captive miners.
A leaflet warning the Fayette min
ers Of the dangers in the strike has
been prepared for distribution. Vic
tory is possible only if the miners
recognize these dangers and avoid
them by taking the necessary action
which will consolidate and again
strengthen the strike.
To do otherwise will be fatal Gin
some respects literally and result in
such wave of terror as has never
before been seen. This will be &C
companied by wholesale evictions and
blacklist for those who fail to sur
render. For the rest there remains
only the compulsory payment Of $lO0
month dues to the hated Lewis for
the privilege" of working for Lewis
masters, the U. s. Steel Corpora
ton. in their Prick mines a real
slaves or "captivea" il ~ ktsfsl
sense