Voice of action. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1933-1936, 1934-06-08
DEAD MOUSE in JAIL HOUSE MUSH
CHARGES ROSLYN TERROR VICTIM
Halter Tells of Mine Situation;
Asks Mass Defense Campaign

tract the miners refused TO go TO
work under the same conditions
and demanded the six-hour day
and enforcement of the anti
machine bill.
At this time Sam Nichols, Union
District President, was flown to
Washington to confer with Presi-
dent Lewis. He wired back, telling
the miners to return to work. The
miners refused and began sue
cessful recall OF Nichols and elected
another district president.
Lewis then dismissed all the duly
elected officials including the In
ternational board member and
established a provisional govern
ment" reappointing Nichols as
president.
The miners returned to work. but
this "railroading" was too much,
and on November IL and IL they
organized their independent West
ern Miners Union, Joined by so
per cent of the miners. Then the
battle for union recognition began.
The district officials of the WMU
continually told the men that the
MIRA would solve their torubles and
went even so far as to say that
"Swen, manager of the mine said
he will recognize the WMU by
April /" II they are in the majority.
When two local officials of the
WMU were fired, and the miners
demanded strike action, they were
told to wait till April l and well
be recognized. Sven will keep his
promise II we keep ours to have
peace in tn community" dlayed
action again.
While the district union officials
were busy holding the miners from
militant action, the coal operators
and the officials of the UMWA were
busy in a campaign of terror and
SANDER against the miners in order
to break their morale and drive
them back into the UMWA.
First they murdered militant
member of WMU, Bob Ruff.
County officials acquitted the muir
dere. / was slugged and my as
sailant acquitted; they fired two
men; took the hospital which the
miners had built and kept up from
their meager wages.
The officials could no longer keep
the miners in check and the strike
was declared on April l, and mill
tant mass picketing establisher. The
miners resopnded wholeheartedly,
their wives and the high school
students participating. Picketing
was so effective that the mines
were closed down. Enthusiasm was
high, relief began coming in. Vic
tory was in sight.
The NRA stepped in. The Voice
of Action predicted a sell out and
a sell out it was. The decision was
in favor of the UMWA although
the books showed WMU with 600
dues paying members and UMWA
30. The miners voted to stay on
strike. Union officials talked against
militant picketing. the operators
and the capitalist press started
the red" scare and the officials
echoed il.
The picketeers were gassed by
the state police and Kairis arrested.
was arrested the next day.
Then mass arrests followed. The
county Jail couldn't accommodate
them all so they were jammed into
the pest house. Students were
dragged from the school buses
and Jailed. The decision of the NRA
was carried out at all costs.
The operators especially feared
the organization of the Youth Sec
ton of the WTMU as they were
the most active element in the
strike, and when Kairis and were
arrested they tried hard to find
tn leaders of the Young Communist
League and the Youth Section of
the WMU.
| was put in solitary confine-
ment one week. Then in the dark
holG" two weeks in an attempt to
break me down, but failed. The Jail
was buggy and the meals were
not fit to feed the hogs. The meals
come from Antlers Hotels and we
get scraps and left overs from the
cafe.
One morning oat meal mush was
served and | noticed spots in my
worker next to me was luckier-he
found a cooked mouse in his plate.
Neither of us can look at mush any
more. l was in jail three weeks
before anyone was allowed to see
me.
During this period Hunter, a
socialist" and president of the
MWA, and his clique, disrupted the
LID committee of the union and
retained Vandeveer as their at
tonrey. landowners first act was
o tell the miners to ''call the strike
md the charges will be dropped"
We wonder what connections Van
'eveer has with the prosecutor that
g knows the charges will be
'ropped.
Many defendants were told that
hen they are under bond they
ant leave the county-which
leans that they want to hush the
error in Roslyn and prevent the
public from knowing the facts.
am charged with riot. injecting
70 riot, assault and vagrancy, out
m $1,000 property bond. The lid
taking up our defense, for only
through mass pressure can we be
saved from the big walls.
To rally mass and financial sup
port behind the Roslyn miners who