The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-12-08
Sheriff Decides to Stay A,Oay As Miners
With Rifles Mass in Company Patch
Miners rim g Rifles
as ''Deer Hunting
Season Begins
BY a Mine Worker Correspondent

BY a Mine Worker Correspondent
ALICIA, Pa.-On December list,
for the third time in as many
months, the miners at Alicia No
l, company patch of the Mon
essen Coal and Coke, a Mellon sub
sidiary, stopped the eviction of the
Mullen family, whose boy, Joe, is
the president of the local of the
UMWA., at Alicia No. l.
The fight with the company. and
its super, Jim Gerry, started when
the men demanded equal division
of work. and pay for the dead work.
This fight led to the picketing of
the mine and eventual closing down
of the mine. This was over three
months ago, and even since then
the company tried to get rid of the
Union men out Of the patch.
The first attempted eviction was
led by Preacher" Brady, who with
seven other deputies and truck
came to Alicia, and began to carry
the furniture into the truck. But,
before they were able to carry out
all the furniture, miners and their
wives gathered and carried it right
back into the house. A deputy got
smacked in the scuffle and a miner
was arrested; but the men and wo-
men forced his release.
About ten days ago, his "Nibs,"
Sheriff Hackney with ten deputies
came himself, but was unable to
carry out the eviction. However, he
told Mr.. Mullen that he either move
or be evicted by Dec. l.
Expecting the eviction Dec. 1st,
the Alicia local of the U.M.W.A. I'M
dertook steps to organize to pre-
vent the eviction for the third time.
Committees went and visited local
Unions throughout the District No.
4; also in District S. Finances were
raised through a rattle and dance,
so that the work would not be
handicapped for lack of some gaso-
line money for transportation. A
committee from the local appeared
before the joint committee of the
captive mines and got endorsement
in this fight, also pledge of help.
Despite the bad weather on Dec. l
and the fact that mines worked, on
Dec. l delegations came from as far
as Lemont, Oliver, Masontown; also
miners from Grindstones, Braznell,
Fayette City, etc. Sheriff Hackney,
knowing of the sentiment and or
ganizational steps taken to resist
the eviction, failed to make an ap-
pearance. A committee went to talk
to Gerry, the super, also spoke to
Hackney over the phone, and got
a "postponement" of the eviction.
One remarkable feature of some
of the delegations was their prepa-
rations. December l is the first day
of the deer hunting season, and
some of the miners came to the
eviction with their rifles. Their
comment was that they expected
Ito get buck Probably, the first
reason Sheriff Hackney did not
come was that he figured also that
the miners we're preparing for the
opening day of the deer hunting,
and he did not want to be mistaken
/ for a buck"
The Unemployment Councils of
Fayette County helped in the prepa-
rations. Delegations of the N. U.
G. locals were present! The N. U. c.
helped to prevent the previous evic-
tions and gave its full support to
the struggle against the December
LIST eviction. In Alicia itself, prac-
tically the entire patch belongs to
the local of the U. C.
The prevention of the eviction
in Alicia is blazing new trail
in the struggles of the coke re-
gion and the miners generally!
1t has shattered the traditional
fear of entering in mass force
a company camp!