The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1934-07-26
Springfield. Ill.

the sunny steps of the Sangamon
County courthouse here, and an
hour before it was scheduled to
start about fifty of them were al
ready here. There was nothing
else to do, so they might just as
we'll hang out around the court
house. 1t was better than sitting
at home looking at the pinched
faces of your wife and children and
know that there was not even a
slice of pork left in the house and
Mrs. Nanni Fain-she was in
charge of the city relief-simply |
wouldn't give them enough to eat.
It was about Mrs. Fain that these
men talked in low voices with a
; wondering shake of their heads.
! "My wife come down here last
week." said one young miner, his
rale gray eyes staring at a trees
shadow flung across the walk "and
when she come home and told me
what this woman said I near come
down here and killed her"
The other miners in the group
nodded their heads. They had
heard of Mrs. FANS doings before.
'What did she tell your wife Z"
l asked.
He locked at me steadily for a
moment.
''Told her she was a good look
ing kid and for her to go hustling"
> There. was a suppressed fury in
his quiet voice as he said it.
locked at him incredulously.
"The woman in charge of relief
here told her that?"
"And it wasn't the first time"
:, miner with a worn, lined face In
terrupted. There were blue pow
der marks over his right eye. "Sh'
told it to my daughter, too-righ
while her mother stood there. M!
wife and Helen-that's my girl
came down here two weeks age
! We was gettin' $3.50 week TO
: relief for our whole family. That
= me and my wife and two kids
y Helen is 10 and hasn't had a 10
= since she got out of school nea
+ three years ago. And this Mrs
"a Fain looks Helen over and says
you don't need relief. A girl
, with a face and legs like yours
~ could support the whole famil
q yourself. There's plenty of girl
=. 20 making a living on the streets, an
= getting nice clothes, too
! "My girl started to cry and ht
:. mother"
" He shook his head dejectedly ar
lg his voice trailed off into silence
ne "What did your wife do?"
He shrugged his shoulders
m "What could she do? She felt lii
ne KILN her, but she couldn't do an
MS thing. If she opened her mouf
she'd get no relief at all and Il
To- kids got to eat"
'p- Two motorcycle policemen dro'
rs. ND to the courthouse lawn, set
lei the heart of the towns busine
IN streets, and parking their mote
'he cycles, took stand on corner. !
the far end of the courthou
RS. SQUARE two more motorcycle poll
asS arrived. A few minutes later tn
tn were Joined by more police on N
hes torcycles and on foot, broad-sho'
it'll. dered men IN uniforms with tie
in sets to their mouths.
re- The courthouse was being 81
Her rounded by police.
lin "What sort of meeting is TIN
cit amt no meeting. It's de
Tut onstration."
on "Who called it?"
ital Communists" He looked at
at as he said this word, There v
lty- almost an aggressive air alb
Ars' him.
ack 9Th, Communists"
"Yeah, Communists" The VIC
less had grown little harder. AT
all, was a stranger in their mi
the and maybe I didn't like Conn
lske nists.
and mAron,+ thew always caus
am trouble ?"
'Maybe. I don't know.
ana they're the only ones who are
VS. ing to organize the unemplo,
stao around here to get decent
supply and to get this woman
nave AVE of her job"
mi MI "What have they got those
mum ll1 there for?"
lttle' They looked at me almost I
- ingly.
aska' "They always have cops v
MIS- Communists call demonstrate
wnen "But why?" / persisted.
ran "I guess maybe in case we
tnelr tired of just askin' an start ia
'nlng l don't know why they got
Iaska But they always do"
oeen More miners in blue overs
well most of them tall, rangy men
the Illinois coal fields kept dri1
MI onto the lawn. Some sat on
u at steps, others on benches on
ie Is grass. Many came from the
of the courthouse where, facin
ana lawn were the. Progressive Mi
re- headquarters. There must
lrkers been some two hundred coal
nao gers and scattering of WON
'TlVes' the crowd when the doors ba
uons us opened and stream of
envy issued, each with white han
chief tied around his left arm
coun- had belts under their civilian
being b,orTr hols+au. o++acbod -
and 1rlxy hlonL hr1ffc IF n