Evening star., 1939-05-16
Kentucky Group
Signs Coal Pact;
Guard Extended
= Two Associations in
State Now DISSENTING :
New Area Gets Troops

WHen Hdrldn, Ky. coal opera
tors joined 1Dith 1fue other groups
in rejecting the union shop con-
tract that ended a str-week
shutdown in the soft coal indus
try, Coo. Chandler called troops
into the county. The order fol-
iotred a ,0drning by John l.,
Le,ois not to use soldiers in set
Ting the dispute
BY the Associated Press.
HARLAN KY. May 16.-The Big
Sandy Elkhorn Coal Opertors Asso-
cistion capitulated to the United
Mine Workers today by signing q
union shop contract, but National
Guard protection in the Southern
part of the State was extended to
Bell County.
The Big Sandy contract was
signed with United Mine Workers
representatives shortly after noon
at Ashland and reduced the Ken
lucky fields dissenting to the Bloody
Harlan" and Hazard groups.
The operators along the West Vir-
ginia border employ approximately
$4,000 miners and produce around
10000 900 tons Of soft coal annually.
Miners Threaten Guard.
Several hundred union miners and
their wives gathered at Brookside
early today and threatened to
storm a National Guard machine
gun nest but dispersed on orders
from union headquarters.
The miners protested to Capt. D.
E. Perkins of Harlan, in charge of
the Brookside detachment, over the
placing of the machine gun on a
hillside sweeping the town and gave
him 80 minutes to remove it. The
union men claimed the gun was on
property belonging to a miner.
Capt. Perkins, after conferring
with his staff, placed the weapon in
another spot. Although most of
the gathering left some hung around
and continued to mutter threats.
William Turnblazer, president of
the Harlan u NJ w. district. issued
the order to disperse immediately
when the situation was brought to
his attention.
A check by an Associated Press
reporter who toured the county
showed 81 mines were in operation
He said he found a number of
miners reporting for work armed
George S. Ward, secretary of the
Harlan County Coal Operators AS
sociation, said reports he had been
able to gather showed approx
mately 1000 men were at work.
Mr.. Turnblazer, in an interview,
charged that at several mines the
troopers refused to let me pass
until I had been okehed by COM
pany employees"
Gov. Chandler said the order for
troops to go to Harlan, where opera
tors refused to sign union shop"
agreement with the United Mine
Workers, provided for Guardsmen
Ito preserve law and order in Harlan
County and it's environs."
Gov. Chandler said the mine of
J. c. Stras, president of the Kentucky
Cardinal Coal Corp. is ION the Bell
Harlan County line" and that
detachment of troops was on guard
there.
Guard Officer Is Ousted.
A National Guard officer was re-
lieved of his command earlier for
failure to show the proper aggres-
siveness.''
Brig. Gen. Ellerbe Carter, in an
nouncing the officers removal, re-
fused to give his name, but said he
had been sent home and his
machine-gun troop, on duty yester-
day at the Totz trouble zone, broken
up and distributed among other
units.
1t was at Totz that c. v. Bennett,
general manager of the Harlan
Central Coal Co., reported an auto
mobile filled with miners returning
from work was attacked by pickets
and stones hurled through the
windshield but none was hurt. Mr..
Bennett also reported $50 to 200
pickets were threatening" Sew
eral units of troops were rushed
to the spot and spent the night.
Contract Predicted Today.
Mr.. Turnblazer earlier said that he
expected to sign Black Mountain
Coal Corp. to a union shop contract
late today.
Operators of Kentucky's Hazard
district prepared to chart their fu-
ture course at a meeting today in
Lexington.
Developments In Harlan were
watched closely by coal operators
in other sections of Eastern Ken
lucky, Southern Western Virginia,
Tennessee and Virginia who balked
(See COAL, Page A-50