'5'd\.88 
 IS 
 
 
 m 
 
 REPORT 
 
 of 
 
 Frank Farrington 
 
 President 
 
 District Number Twelve 
 
 , United Mine Workers 
 of America 
 
 
 Twenty-Ninth Consecutive 
 and Fourth Biennial Convention 
 Peoria, November 8, 1921 
 
 
Return this book on or before the 
 Latest Date stamped below. A 
 charge is made on all overdue 
 books. 
 
 University of Illinois Library 
 
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REPORT 
 
 OF 
 
 Frank Farrington 
 
 President 
 
 District Number Twelve 
 
 United Mine Workers 
 of America 
 
 Twenty-ninth Consecutive 
 and Fourth Biennial Convention 
 Peoria, November 8, 1921 
 
 * 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 DEC 8 - ms 
 
THB EDW. F. HARTMANN CO. 
 PRINTERS 
 
 SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS 
 

 To the Delegates Composing the Twenty-Ninth Consecutive and 
 
 Fourth Biennial Convention, United Mine Workers of America, 
 
 District Number Twelve. 
 
 GREETING: 
 
 Again it is my privilege to report to you concerning the affairs 
 of our Union. 
 
 In preparing my report I have mentioned only such matters as 
 in my judgment should he brought to your attention so that you may 
 be informed and prepared to design such rules as may he necessary 
 to promote and perpetuate our Union. 
 
 Work of District Officers. 
 
 For the period extending from January 1, 1919 to July 1, 1921 
 we had 42 Joint Board meetings with the representatives of the 
 Illinois Coal Operators Association. These 42 meetings took up 
 96 days of our time and resulted in the disposition of 910 disagree- 
 ments arising out of our wage agreement, which the field workers 
 had been unable to settle in the field. 
 
 We also had 16 Joint Board meetings with the representatives of 
 the 5th and 9th Districts Coal Operators Association, which took up 
 63 days of our time and during which 565 cases were disposed of. We 
 also had 7 meetings with the representatives of the Central Illinois 
 Coal Operators Association, which took up 17 days of our time 
 and during which 148 disagreements were disposed of. 
 
 Taking into account all the meetings held with the three 
 Operators Associations mentioned we attended 65 Joint meetings 
 which took up 176 days of our time and during which 1623 disputes 
 arising out of our wage agreement, and which could not be settled 
 in the field, were disposed of. 
 
 During this same period 1155 disputes arising in mines under 
 the jurisdiction of the Illinois Coal Operators Association and 796 
 arising in mines under the jurisdiction of the 5th and 9th Districts 
 Coal Operators Association and 288 arising in mines under the 
 jurisdiction of the Central Illinois Coal Operators Association were 
 handled by your district representatives and settled in the field with 
 the various operators commissioners. 
 
 Considering the cases settled with the operators commissioners 
 and those disposed of by the Joint Board 3862 disputes as to wages 
 ' and working conditions were disposed of by your district officers. 
 These 3862 cases do not take into account the innumerable disputes 
 that were settled by your district, sub-district and local officers 
 without getting to the operators commissioners. 
 
4 
 
 During this same time we had 38 meetings of your District 
 Executive Board which took up 75 days of our time and during 
 which 1875 internal disputes, appeals and grievances and constitu- 
 tional questions and organization policies were passed upon. In 
 the meantime we have attended wage scale conferences and con- 
 ventions, answered the wants of many committees and individual 
 members who have visited the district office seeking counsel and 
 advice and we have devoted much time to addressing our members, 
 to attending to a voluminous correspondence and to a multiplicity 
 of duties in the office and in the field. 
 
 Cost of Running District Organization. 
 
 For the two and one-half years beginning January 1, 1919 and 
 ending July 1, 1921 there was expended for all administrative pur- 
 poses, namely salaries and expenses of all elective officers, scale 
 committeemen, and all appointed field and office workers, except- 
 ing those employed in the Legal Department, office expense, print- 
 ing, supplies, telephone, telegraph, postage, express and rent and 
 all other expense necessary to the successful operation of the District 
 Organization, a total of seven hundred and twenty-eight thousand, 
 one hundred and eight dollars and ninety-eight cents ($728,108.98). 
 
 Considered in the aggregate this seems to be ah enormous 
 amount to expend for administrative purposes, but an analysis re- 
 veals that the^cost was but eight dollars and twenty-one cents ($8.21) 
 per member for the period covered, or at the rate of three dollars and 
 twenty-eight cents ($3.28) per member per year, which is but twenty- 
 six-c^ts— (26c) per member more than it cost to pay our death 
 indemnity claims for the same period. 
 
 Indemnity Paid Account Deceased Members. 
 
 For the period of two and one-half years beginning January 1, 
 1919 and ending with July 1, 1921, there was paid out of your 
 District Treasury on account of deceased members of the District 
 Organization, a grand total of six hundred and sixty-nine thousand 
 five hundred and fifty dollars ($669,550.00). This was done at a 
 per capita cost to our membership of seven dollars and fifty-five 
 cents ($7.55) for the full period stated, or at a cost of three dollars 
 and two cents ($3.02) per member per year. 
 
 The practice of paying the indemnity provided for in section 
 24, article 19 of our District Constitution is a rule with which all 
 should be pleased. The cost to our membership is infinitesimal and 
 the practice insures to every member, of thirty days membership in 
 our District Union, a decent burial in the event of death while a 
 member of this district. 
 
 However, it has come to my attention that some of our members 
 draw their transfer cards and go into other districts to work but 
 refuse to deposit their cards in the other districts until the card is 
 
5 
 
 nearly lapsed. Under our International Law a member drawing a 
 transfer card is regarded as being a member of the local issuing the 
 card until it is lapsed or deposited with another local. Consequently 
 a member leaving this district with a card in his possession can go 
 into a sparsely organized district and work, but by refusing to 
 deposit his card he would still be regarded as being a member of this 
 district for a period of three months after going to work in the other 
 district and in the event of death any time during the three months 
 this district would be obligated to pay the death indemnity, not- 
 withstanding the member was employed in another district at the 
 time of death. To allow this is an injustice to the men who are try- 
 ing to organize sparsely organized districts and an imposition on 
 the members of this district. Therefore, I recommend that the pro- 
 per section of our Constitution be so amended as to prevent this 
 practice. 
 
 Cost of Legal Department. 
 
 From January 1, 1919 to July 1, 1921, a period of two and one- 
 half years, the total operating cost of your Legal Department was 
 two hundred and nineteen thousand five hundred and ninety-one 
 dollars and ninety-nine cents ($219,591.99). This means that the 
 operating cost for the entire period mentioned was two dollars and 
 forty-seven cents ($2.47) per member or less than one dollar ($1.00) 
 per member per year. The amount paid out for this purpose in- 
 cluded the salaries and expenses of all attorneys, investigators and 
 office employees and all office and field expense, in fact every item 
 of expense incident to the successful operation of your Legal Depart- 
 ment. 
 
 The service rendered to individual members and their depend- 
 ents in the way of important court decisions secured by our attorneys 
 and compensation collected cannot be accurately calculated. How- 
 ever, an idea of the service rendered can be gained from the knowl- 
 edge that since the Workmen’s Compensation Act became effective 
 on May 1, 1912 and up to the end of the year 1920, but not including 
 the years of 1914 and 1916, for which years no statistics are avail- 
 able, a grand total of twa hundred and nine thousand one hundred 
 and ninety-four (209,194) accidents were reported to the Industrial 
 Board as having occurred in all lines of industry in the state. For 
 these accidents there was paid as compensation a grand total of 
 twenty-eight million fifty-three thousand nine hundred and seventy- 
 three dollars and fifty cents ($28,053,973.50). Of the grand total of 
 all accidents that occurred during the period stated but thirty-six 
 thousand six hundred and sixty (36,660) of them occurred in coal 
 mines, yet of the grand total of compensation paid seven million two 
 hundred and four thousand four hundred and seventy-one dollars 
 and ninety-eight cents ($7,204,471.98) of the total amount was paid 
 on account of coal mining accidents. 
 
 These figures should command your sober thought and deduc- 
 tions. They stand out in bold relief as sileut, invincible proof of 
 
6 
 
 the efficacy of your Legal Department and they bespeak in stento- 
 rian tone the value and power of your District Organization, without 
 which you could not have a Legal Department, and they tell of the 
 creative power and genius of those who have brought your Legal 
 Department to its present standard of efficiency. 
 
 Legal Department. 
 
 Under this caption I present a report prepared by your Chief 
 Counsel, Mr. A. W. Kerr, concerning the work and activities of 
 your Legal Department. I commend it to you for your serious 
 thought and careful examination. It reveals to a certain degree the 
 wonderful results accomplished for our members through the Legal 
 Department. His report follows : 
 
 ‘‘Mr. Frank Farrington, President, 
 
 District No. 12, U. M. W. of A., 
 
 Springfield, Illinois. 
 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 In response to your request for a report of the work of the 
 Legal Department, I beg leave to submit the following: 
 
 Compensation Cases. 
 
 At the outset of a discussion of this phase of the work of 
 the Legal Department, it is proper to admit a state of vexatious 
 delay in the hearing and determining of the cases. This delay 
 was brought about by causes which could not be removed, even 
 with the most diligent efforts of all the members of the Legal 
 Department. Sometimes it was felt that we went beyond the 
 judicious point in our protests and- appeals. One of the most 
 prolific causes for delay was in the court reporter system. As 
 is well known, one reporter can not transcribe, successfully, the 
 shorthand notes of another. As in all walks of life, some re- 
 porters were diligent and others were not. Some were possibly 
 assigned more work than others. At any rate the hearing of 
 cases upon review, under the law, could not be held until a 
 transcript of the testimony taken before the Arbitrator was 
 furnished by the reporter. The Industrial Commission was 
 powerless. If they discharged a reporter, there was no way of 
 getting the testimony at all except by an appeal to the good 
 nature of the reporter. The same was true if he resigned or 
 was sick, and much difficulty was found in attempting to get 
 the law changed so as to avoid this serious cause of delay. At 
 the last session of the Legislature it was provided that if for 
 any reason the transcript was not furnished within thirty days 
 of the filing of the petition for review, that the Industrial Com- 
 mission might, upon the review hearing, hear all the testimony 
 over again. 
 
7 
 
 We feel that the situation is now such that we are justified 
 in demanding that cases taken to the Commission upon review 
 shall he heard every thirty days at fixed periods. Delay in these 
 cases makes for the advantage of the employer and brings 
 about suffering on the part of the injured employe. One of the 
 arguments for the Compensation Law was that it obviated the 
 delay of the common law remedy for seeking damages for in- 
 juries suffered in industrial conduct. The Act has a plain pro- 
 vision for a penalty to be applied for unwarranted delay in the 
 payment of compensation. This penalty has not been applied. 
 
 There was for a time a decided drop in the amount of the 
 awards of the Arbitrators and decisions of the Industrial Com- 
 mission based in part, in my opinion, upon a determined and 
 aggra^sive campaign of propaganda promulgated by the opera- 
 tors of this State that too much compensation was awarded 
 against them. The peculiar thing about this propaganda was 
 that it emanated largely from operators who were paying very 
 much less than other operators who went along and were will- 
 ing to pay men injured in the coal industry their proper com- 
 pensation. We are meeting this propaganda by every effort in 
 our power. If the Operators of Illinois are now paying many 
 times more than they did for these industrial accidents, it is not 
 because they are paying more than they ought to under the 
 law, but for the reason that heretofore their payments were 
 grossly inadequate. It is much like the story of the report by 
 the representative of a minority political party that the vote in 
 his precinct for his party had increased six hundred percent. 
 When the inquiry was made as to what the vote was the year 
 before, it was reported as one. 
 
 It never was intended that this law was to be construed 
 harshly against the injured employee. It was intended to have a 
 fair and liberal construction and interpretation. Some employ- 
 ers complain bitterly that the word of the injured employee is 
 taken rather than that of their professional medical experts. 
 One has but to quote the opinion of a learned Justice of our own 
 Supreme Court to ascertain what the courts think of the medical 
 expert : 
 
 ‘It was said by a distinguished judge, in a case before him, 
 if there was any kind of testimony not only of no value, but 
 even worse than that, it was, in his judgment, that of medical 
 experts. They may be able to state the diagnosis of the disease 
 more learnedly, but, upon the question whether it had, at a given 
 time, reached such a state, that the subject of it was incapable 
 of makng a contract, or irresponsible for his acts, the opinion 
 of his neighbors, if men of good, common sense, would be worth 
 more than that of all the experts in the country.’ 
 
 (Rutherford and Wife v. Morris, et al, 77th 111., Sup. Ct. 
 
 405.) 
 
8 
 
 This applies with equal force to personal injuries, which 
 result in incapacity to work. 
 
 The delay mentioned above can not and ought not be 
 chargeable to the Legal Department, unless they fail to exercise 
 every effort possible to secure speedier trial. I believe that all 
 the members of the Department have gone as far as they can 
 to exert pressure that will remedy this condition. I am quite 
 hopeful of results. 
 
 Appeals. 
 
 In line with what has been said above, there may be re- 
 corded an increasing burden of work in the review of the com- 
 pensation cases in the Appellate tribunals. An increasingly 
 great number of the cases are taken up upon review from the 
 decision of the Arbitrator. A greater number of cases are being 
 taken to the Circuit Court and Supreme Court. The member- 
 ship ought to understand that these appeals can not be pre- 
 vented by the Legal Department. The law provides for them, 
 and any rights given in the law can not be denied to the parties 
 interested. I think I am within the truth when I say that we 
 win nine out of ten cases that are taken to the Circuit Court, and 
 that we win more than seventy-five percent of those taken to 
 the Supreme Court, but we can not stop the appeal being taken, 
 nor the consequent delay. All this review work has added a 
 burden upon the shoulders of the lawyers working for the 
 Organization. They have met this burden cheerfully and per- 
 formed the work well. 
 
 Correspondence Between Members and Attorneys. 
 
 Complaints are numerous that the attorneys do not more 
 promptly advise members of the Organization when their cases 
 will be heard, and the results after hearing. It ought to be said 
 to the membership that the attorneys can not advise the mem- 
 ber when the case will be set down nor heard until receipt of 
 notice in the case from the Industrial Commission. I can say 
 this, that these notices, when received, have always been im- 
 mediately transmitted to the member interested. The same is 
 true after a case is tried. ' We can not advise the member of the 
 result until it is made known to us by the Industrial Commis- 
 sion. There has in the past been much delay about this — a delay 
 in no instance chargeable to the Legal Department for the 
 reason that upon the very day that the decision comes to the 
 office of the attorney it is mailed out to the member. 
 
 Amount of Compensation Collected. 
 
 I have sought in the foregoing part of my report to analyze 
 some of the reasons for delay and complaint. I now desire to 
 call attention to some of the accomplishments of your District 
 
9 
 
 Organization in securing compensation for the widows and 
 children of members killed in the industry, and for the injured. 
 I feel warranted in saying that no District Organization in 
 America may show as good a record of accomplishment in this 
 behalf. It ought to silence the few in the state who yet say 
 that the Compensation Act is not as good as the old law, and 
 who say that the District Organization is not upon its toes, 
 always, in efforts to secure results for the membership. So that 
 it may not be chargeable that we have prepared the figures, I 
 am giving those prepared in the office of the Industrial Com- 
 mission itself. The figures for the years 1914 and 1916 do not 
 seem to be available. 
 
 WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION ACT, EFFECTIVE MAY 1, 1912. 
 
 Summary of Accident and Compensation Paid from that date to 
 
 December 31, 1920. 
 
 May 1, 1912 to December 31, 1912. 
 
 
 
 1912. 
 
 
 Total Number of 
 
 
 
 ! 
 
 Accidents 
 
 Reported 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Non-Fatal 
 
 Total Paid 
 
 8,913 
 
 183 
 
 8,730 
 
 $ 524,126.47 
 
 Coal Mining 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Non-Fatal 
 
 Total Paid 
 
 400 
 
 12 
 
 388 
 
 1913. 
 
 $ 34,534.00 
 
 Total Number of 
 Accidents 
 
 Reported 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Non-Fatal 
 
 Total Paid 
 
 17,676 
 
 352 
 
 17,324 
 
 $ 1,148,025.03 
 
 Coal Mining 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Non-Fatal 
 
 Total Paid 
 
 951 
 
 40 
 
 911 
 
 1914. 
 
 $ 11,426.98 
 
 
 (No Statisties Available) 
 
 
 1915. 
 
 Total No. 
 Accidents 
 
 
 Non- 
 
 Compensation 
 
 Medical and 
 
 Total 
 
 Reported 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Paid 
 
 Funeral 
 
 Paid 
 
 18,724 
 
 371 
 
 18,353 
 
 $1,075,287,00 
 
 $217,448.00 
 
 $1,292,735.00 
 
 Coal 
 
 
 Non- 
 
 Compensation 
 
 Medical and 
 
 Total 
 
 Mining 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Paid 
 
 Funeral 
 
 Paid 
 
 1,793 
 
 10 
 
 1,783 
 
 
 
 $ 113,746.00 
 
10 
 
 1916. 
 
 (No Statistics Available) 
 
 Total No. 
 
 
 
 1917. 
 
 
 
 Accidents 
 
 
 Non- 
 
 Compensation 
 
 Medical and 
 
 Total 
 
 Reported 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Paid 
 
 Funeral 
 
 Paid 
 
 36,760 
 
 492 
 
 36,268 
 
 $2,975,470.00 
 
 $393,524.00 
 
 $3,368,994.00 
 
 Coal 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Non- 
 
 Compensation 
 
 Medical and 
 
 Total 
 
 Mining 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Paid 
 
 Funeral 
 
 Paid 
 
 3,980 
 
 104 
 
 3,876 
 
 $ 397,906.00 
 1918. 
 
 $ 45,545.00 
 
 $ 443,451.00 
 
 Total No. 
 Accidents 
 
 
 Non- 
 
 Compensa- 
 
 tion 
 
 Compensa- 
 tion to be 
 
 Medical 
 
 and 
 
 Total 
 
 Reported 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Paid 
 
 Paid 
 
 Funeral 
 
 Paid 
 
 38,247 
 
 629 
 
 37,618 
 
 $3,399,243 
 
 $1,747,252 
 
 $497,691 
 
 $5,644,186 
 
 Coal 
 
 
 Non- 
 
 Compensa- 
 
 tion 
 
 Compensa- 
 tion to be 
 
 Medical 
 
 and 
 
 Total 
 
 Mining 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Paid 
 
 Paid 
 
 Funeral 
 
 Paid 
 
 8,490 
 
 220 
 
 8,270 
 
 $ 967,050 
 
 $ 635,279 
 
 $100,170 
 
 $1,702,499 
 
 1919. 
 
 Total No. 
 Accidents 
 
 
 Non- 
 
 Compensa- 
 
 tion 
 
 Compensa- 
 tion to be 
 
 Medical 
 
 and 
 
 Total 
 
 Reported 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Paid 
 
 Paid 
 
 Funeral 
 
 Paid 
 
 38,289 
 
 535 ' 
 
 37,754 
 
 $3,683,918 
 
 $2,556,631 
 
 $544,649 
 
 $6,785,198 
 
 Coal 
 
 
 Non- 
 
 Compensa- 
 
 tion 
 
 Compensa- 
 tion to be 
 
 Medical 
 
 and 
 
 Total 
 
 Mining 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Paid 
 
 Paid 
 
 Funeral 
 
 Paid 
 
 7,797 
 
 145 
 
 7,652 
 
 $ 954,072 
 
 $ 821,610 
 
 $ 90,880 
 
 $1,866,562 
 
 1920. 
 
 Total No. 
 Accidents 
 
 
 Non- 
 
 Compensa- 
 
 tion 
 
 Compensa- 
 tion to be 
 
 Medical 
 
 and 
 
 Total 
 
 Reported 
 
 Fata! 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Paid 
 
 Paid 
 
 Funeral 
 
 Paid 
 
 50,585 
 
 597 
 
 49,988 
 
 $5,143,300 
 
 $3,415,498 
 
 $731,911 
 
 $9,290,709 
 
 Coal 
 
 
 Non- 
 
 Compensa- 
 
 tion 
 
 Compensa- 
 tion to be 
 
 Medical 
 
 and 
 
 Total 
 
 Mining 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Fatal 
 
 Paid 
 
 Paid 
 
 Funeral 
 
 Paid 
 
 13,249 
 
 171 
 
 13,078 
 
 $1,534,057 
 
 $1,370,521 
 
 $127,675 
 
 $3,032,253 
 
 Grand Total, Accidents Eeported 209,194 
 
 Grand Total, Fatal Accidents 3,159 
 
 Grand Total, Non-Fatal Accidents 206,035 
 
 Grand Total, Paid $ 28,053,973.50 
 
 Grand Total, Accidents Coal Mining 36,660 
 
 Grand Total, Fatal Accidents 702 
 
 Grand Total, Non-Fatal Accidents 35,958 
 
 Grand Total, Paid $ 7,204,471.98 
 
11 
 
 In the figures given above for the years preceding July 1, 
 1917, no account is taken of the amounts collected by court pro- 
 ceedings. The Act prior to that time was not compulsory and 
 many of the mining companies did not elect to come under the 
 Act. However, from the figures given in previous reports, the 
 amounts collected under the old law were pitifully small as 
 compared with the amounts under the Compensation Act. It 
 may be truthfully said that were it possible to have had the 
 Compensation Act compulsory from the date of its inception, 
 several millions of dollars more would have been paid to the 
 widows and children of Illinois Miners and to those injured. 
 
 It will be seen from the foregoing that the miners have 
 collected more than their proportion of the compensation, but 
 as was said in the former report, this does not mean that the 
 miners have received more compensation than they were en- 
 titled to. It is evidence of two things : 
 
 First, the injured employee who does not press his claim 
 with the weight of an intelligently conducted organization 
 behind him does not fare so well. 
 
 Second, that District Twelve of the United Mine Workers 
 of America is functioning for its membership. 
 
 Compensation Legislation. 
 
 It is but a truthful statement of a fact, acknowledged by 
 every union man in Illinois, that the miners’ District Organiza- 
 tion has taken the lead in securing improvements to the Com- 
 pensation Act. Until this year even the Organizations of the 
 building trades have paid but scant attention to the Act. These 
 Organizations are interested to about the same extent as the 
 miners in point of membership. 
 
 I have prepared a table showing the increases and improve- 
 ments in the Act from year to year. A careful examination of 
 this table will, I am sure, convince anyone of the betterments 
 made in the Act during the ten years it has been in force. 
 
12 
 
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13 
 
 The amendments setting out the changes enumerated in the 
 foregoing table were accomplished through the agency of a joint 
 committee composed of representatives of employers and em- 
 ployees. When agreed upon by this commission, the bill has 
 heretofore had comparatively easy sailing in the Legislature. 
 The 1921 attempt at an agreement was not so easy, however. 
 The Coal Operators of the State sat in this conference for a 
 number of meetings, and when they saw the character of the 
 amendments that were likely to be agreed upon they withdrew 
 from the conference. The Coal Operators had introduced into 
 the Legislature through Senator John Dailey of Peoria, Senate 
 Bill No. 273. Among the amendments offered in this bill are 
 these : , 
 
 1. Providing that upon the re-marriage of a widow the 
 portion of the death benefit ordered to be paid to her shall cease 
 and also excluding from the benefit of the Act alien beneficiaries 
 residing abroad. Also excluding aliens residing in the United 
 States after the time within which they might have become 
 naturalized citizens. This amendment would not only have been 
 a plain and gross injustice to the aliens in question but would 
 have been an invitation to the employers of the state to employ 
 none but aliens in the hope of thus lessening the compensation 
 to be paid. 
 
 2. Denying compensation for the first week where the 
 disability lasts for four weeks or more. 
 
 3. By seeking to take into account pre-existing disease in 
 determining the want of capacity to work, resulting from an in- 
 jury. This proposed amendment is vicious in the extreme. It 
 would compel the physical examination of every workman be- 
 fore he re-entered the employment. It would fix a standard of 
 physical prefection. It would discriminate against the phys- 
 ically weak — the very man who now goes through life with a 
 great handicap. It would punish him who was unfortunate 
 enough not to be born with a strong constitution or him who 
 through poverty or other causes had not been well nourished 
 in his youth. 
 
 4. Provided for physical examination of an injured em- 
 ployee before commencing work. 
 
 5. Provided that all settlements made by parties who are 
 competent to contract and made without fraud shall be binding. 
 This was a particularly vicious proposal. It would remove from 
 the Act every last vestage of the principles which called the 
 
 * Compensation Law into being in the various countries. It was 
 notorious under the old law that the pressing necessities of the 
 widow and injured employee drove them to make inconscionable 
 settlements. Many other causes not here necessary to state made 
 for cheap settlements. It is the most conservative kind of a 
 
14 
 
 statement to say that had this one amendment succeeded, it 
 would have cut in half the compensation paid to the Illinois 
 miners. 
 
 6. Requiring that notice of the accident be given ‘in 
 writing’. 
 
 7. By providing that no reports made under the law should 
 be admissable in evidence. 
 
 In obedience to your instructions, the foregoing amend- 
 ments and others offered by the Operators were opposed with 
 all the strength and influence of the District Organization and 
 its officers. They were all defeated. 
 
 In pressing our hill. Senate Bill No. 222, we were handi- 
 capped by the situation that its introducer. Senator John Dailey 
 of Peoria,- was also the introducer of Senate Bill No. 273. He 
 was the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the Senate. 
 He it was who selected the suh-committee who considered these 
 matters. He appointed as chairman of that sub-committee 
 Senator John Turnhaugh, who, if he ever has done an act in the 
 interest of the laboring men of Illinois, has carefully concealed 
 it. 
 
 You may, therefore, report to the Convention with a great 
 deal of pleasure, and pride in the work of your Organization, 
 the defeat of all the foregoing proposals and the passage of the 
 agreed Bill practically unimpaired. The fight was bitter and 
 vicious. Much more even than this might he said about the 
 character of the fight that was waged against us. 
 
 Other Legislation. 
 
 A few amendments were made to the Mining Law. 
 
 The Old Age Pension Bill could not be taken out of the 
 Committee. Perhaps the after-war world wide conditions had 
 as much to do with this failure as anything. 
 
 Amendments to the Compensation Act. 
 
 Among those of advantage to the miners secured at this 
 session of the Legislature may he enumerated the following : 
 
 1. The maximum in each of the death case classes has 
 been increased $250.00. 
 
 2. That maximum now being $3,750 with a widow and no 
 child, $4,000 with a widow and one child, $4,250 with a widow 
 and two or more children under sixteen. 
 
 3. The minimum provided under the Act has been in- 
 creased fifty cents a week and the maximum $2.00 a week. The 
 maximum now being $14.00 per week for an employee without 
 
15 
 
 any child, $15 for one child, $16 for two children and $17 a 
 week for three or more children under sixteen years of age, in 
 the place of $12, $13, $14 and $15. This maximum is of par- 
 ticular concern to the miners, as by reason of the ‘two hundred 
 day’ and the ‘gross earnings’ provisions of the Act, practically 
 every miner, aside from those in the extreme northern field, and 
 all day men, are entitled to the maximum. 
 
 4. The provision that compensation should be reduced 
 where a child since the injury reached the age of sixteen or died 
 was stricken out and it now depends on the number of children 
 at the age of sixteen at the date of the injury. 
 
 5. The provision permitting the Industrial Commission to 
 review cases on entirely new evidence where the reporter fails 
 to get his testimony written up. This amendment is an im^ 
 portant one as I believe it will stop up an avenue of delay. 
 
 There were a number of other minor amendments. 
 
 Court Decisions. 
 
 At the time of making my last report to you I was able to 
 report that the Supreme Court had decided in our favor the 
 ‘two hundred day’ clause, which was to the effect that in com- 
 puting the average annual earnings of miners for the purposes 
 of the Compensation Act, two hundred days should be used, 
 rather than the number of days actually worked. I think I 
 reported to you that we had two favorable decisions from Cir- 
 cuit Judges, to the effect that in computing earnings as a basis 
 of compensation, gross eaxnings rather than net earnings should 
 be used. This principle has now been established by the Su- 
 preme Court in a case’tried by your Legal Department, and now, 
 for miners, we are permitted in arriving at their annual earn- 
 ings, to use their gross income without deductions for powder, 
 fuse, smithing, union dues, fines or assessments. The import- 
 ance of this victory will be at once apparent to the miners 
 working in districts requiring a great deal of powder. 
 
 I commend again the wisdom of the employment of investi- 
 gators, and I* am glad to record the faithful performance of 
 their duties by them. The attorneys employed have brought to 
 the performance of their tasks, ability, honesty and persever- 
 ance. 
 
 The District officers and Executive Board have given to the 
 Department, and its work, assistance of the intelligent and help- 
 ful variety. 
 
 Respectfully submitted. 
 
 Signed A. W. KERR.” 
 
16 
 
 Constitutional Amendments. 
 
 I recommend that section 6, article 8 be amended by adding the 
 following language thereto: ‘^The interpretation of the District 
 
 Executive Board shall be final and binding until reversed by a Con- 
 stitutional District Convention.” 
 
 That section 13 of article 8 be amended by adding the following 
 language thereto: “Except in cases where a regular district con- 
 
 vention authorizes him to do otherwise.” 
 
 That 'the words “defense fund” be stricken out of section 23, 
 article 8 and that the word “funds” be substituted instead. 
 
 Add a new section to article 8 to read as follows: “The Dis- 
 
 trict Secretary-Treasurer and the District Executive Board being, 
 hy virtue of this constitution, the accredited custodians of all moneys 
 and property accumulated by and belonging to the membership of 
 District No. 12, no authority other than the membership of District 
 No. 12 shall be allowed to invade, impair or hamper the right of the 
 before mentioned officers of District No. 12 to act as such custodians 
 or to interfere with their right as the accredited officers of this dis- 
 trict to collect money and to acquire property for District No. 12 
 and to disburse and dispose of the same as provided in this Consti- 
 tution. ’ ’ 
 
 That section 7, article 10 be amended by striking out “$1.00” 
 and inserting instead “$1.50” and so as to allow a local to assess its 
 members upon the conditions that at least 6 days notice is posted in a 
 conspicuous place notifying the members that the matter of levying 
 the assessment will be considered at a certain meeting of the local 
 union and that two-thirds of all members attending the meeting vote 
 in favor of paying the assessment. 
 
 That section 8, article 10 be amended so as to provide that each 
 local union shall collect and send its per capita tax direct to the 
 International Union. 
 
 That section 3, article 11 as it now reads be stricken out and 
 that it be substituted by the following language: “All members in 
 
 good standing with the District Organization on the date of the 
 election shall be allowed to vote.” 
 
 That all the language after the word “contest” on line 8 of 
 section 2-3, article 11 be stricken out. 
 
 Add a new section to article 13 to be known as section 3 and to 
 read as follows: “Considering that the officers of this district are 
 elected by and accountable to the members of this district, no 
 authority outside of that provided in this Constitution shall be 
 allowed to suspend or remove them from office or hinder them in 
 the performance of their duties as defined in this Constitution.” 
 
 Strike out all the language after the word “officers” on line 3 
 and up to and including the word “thereby” on line 16 of the second 
 paragraph of section 1, article 14. 
 
 Strike out all of section 2, article 14. 
 
17 
 
 Co-operative Movement. 
 
 Like all other institutions the co-operative movement has been 
 affected by the great industrial depression prevalent throughout the 
 country, and indeed the world, since the ending of the world war. 
 However, I am happy to report that the movement has weathered the 
 stress of adversity and is now on the way to sure recovery. 
 
 In the communities where stores are established, under the plan 
 approved by our last Convention, they have proved to be of sub- 
 stantial benefit to those who patronize them. The practice of co- 
 operation in the purchase of the necessaries of life is too well under- 
 stood by our members to need any detailed explanation by me. 
 Suffice is to say that it is the workers movement, next in importance 
 to the organized labor movement and should be patronized to the 
 fullest possible extent by our members. 
 
 To reduce the cost of living is equal to increasing wages and 
 where both ^are done the workers reap the true fruits of their 
 organized efforts. Our members gladly strike and stoically endure 
 the rigors entailed thereby to secure an increase in wages. To co- 
 operate in buying brings the same result and entails no suffering. 
 This being true why should we hesitate in doing our part to build up 
 the co-operative movement? If our members are so situated that 
 they cannot buy all their necessaries in the co-operative store they 
 should at least buy some of them there and as circumstance permits 
 they should do everything possible to help themselves by patroniz- 
 ing and boosting the co-operative movement. 
 
 Increase in Wages Paid Shift Hands. 
 
 As a matter of record in connection with the increase of one 
 dollar and fifty cents ($1.50) per day that was secured for all 
 shift hands and monthly men, beginning August 16, 1920, and con- 
 cerning other modificatmns made in our wage agreement begin- 
 ning with that date I am herein quoting two official circulars that 
 were issued to our membership, the first of which reads as follows : 
 
 ‘‘Springfield, 111., July 16, 1920. 
 
 TO THE OFFICERS AND MEMBERS, DISTRICT TWELVE, 
 UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA. 
 
 Greeting : 
 
 For some time we, your District Officers, have been work- 
 ing to bring the Illinois Operators into a conference to give con- 
 sideration to the matter of amending our present wage agree- 
 ment in certain respects. Our efforts finally resulted in the 
 operators agreeing to meet with us in Chicago on July 14th. 
 We spent two days in this conference which was attended 
 by representatives of all three operators associations in this 
 State. During this Conference we insisted that the operators 
 must agree to change our present wage agreement so as to give 
 
18 
 
 all shift hands and monthly .men a much higher wage than is 
 now paid and that the penalty clause in the agreement must 
 be changed so as to remove its present automatic feature. We 
 also made it clear that black powder and permissable explosives 
 must be furnished at a price that is reasonable and satisfactory 
 to the mine workers of Illinois. 
 
 On July 15th the operators asked that time be allowed for 
 them to have a meeting of their own on Monday, July 19th, 
 after which they promise to inform us as to what their position 
 will be concerning these demands. 
 
 We cannot, of course, at this time predict what their posi- 
 tion will be but we shall keep you informed as to developments. 
 
 As for us, we have initiated the movement for these improve- 
 ments in our wage agreement because we know they are right 
 and necessary. In just what direction our efforts will take us 
 or just what means we may have to employ we cannot now say 
 but we are determined, injunctions and indictments notwith- 
 standing, to use every power and influence at our command to 
 secure their attainment. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Frank Farrington, President 
 Harry Fishwick, Vice-President 
 Walter Nesbit, Secretary-Treasurer.’’ 
 
 The above circular is self explanatory and speaks for itself. 
 
 The other circular reads as follows : 
 
 “Springfleld, 111., August 28, 1920. 
 
 TO THE OFFICERS AND MEMBERS, DISTRICT NO. 12, 
 
 UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA. 
 
 Greeting : 
 
 By official circular issued under date of July 16th you 
 were notifled that your District officers had initiated a move- 
 ment to secure certain modifications in our District Wage Agree- 
 ment, namely a much higher wage scale for day and monthly 
 men, a reasonable powder price and the removal of the auto- 
 matic feature of our penalty clause. 
 
 Our action seemed to meet with general acclaim on the part 
 of our membership. However, powerful, influences outside and 
 within our Union set about to prevent our successT Much to our 
 surprise and without consulting with us. International President 
 Lewis, instead of aiding us, publicly threatened to call a strike 
 of bituminous miners if the Illinois operators granted us any 
 modifications in our wage agreement. 
 
 When President Wilson appealed to the miners to return to 
 work. President Lewis termed the appeal ‘a stinging rebuke to 
 
19 
 
 such men as Frank Farrington’ and he designated your and 
 our action as ‘a stain on the proud record of our Union.’ Our 
 International Vice-President issued a circular in which he said 
 he was suspicious of our action. We were scored mercilessly 
 by the press of the country and some of our own members said 
 we were playing politics while others said we were in a con- 
 spiracy with the operators to boost the price of coal, all of which 
 was discouraging and heart sickening and at times made it 
 seem to us that we must fail. Add to this the fact that we are 
 now under $10,000 bond and must stand trial on a charge that 
 we violated the injunction issued by Judge Anderson last 
 November, which injunction is still in effect, anu the furtner 
 fact that we are now under an additional $10,000 bond and must 
 stand trial before Judge Anderson on a charge that we are in a 
 conspiracy with the coal operators and you will umderstand 
 some of the difficulties under which we had to labor to win 
 success. 
 
 This combination of adverse elements and interfering in- 
 fluences compromised us to a more or less degree in that they 
 resulted in President Wilson placing definite restrictions around 
 our authority to negotiate for improvements in our agreement. 
 These restrictions were made clear when he stated that after the 
 miners had returned to work he would request the miners and 
 onerators to convene in joint wage scale conference to ‘consider 
 any inequalities THAT i\IAY HAVE OCCURRED IN THE 
 AWARD OF THE BITUMINOUS COAL COMMISSION AND 
 THE JOINT AGREE]\IENT GROWING OUT OF THE SAl'JE 
 and to adjust any and all SUCH inequalities as the joint scale 
 committee may MUTUALLY AGREE SHOULD BE AD- 
 JUSTED.’ This left things in such shape that we had to choose 
 between one of two alternatives, namely to accept the award 
 of the Bituminous Coal Commission, with all the powers of 
 government behind it, in its original form or else be satisfied 
 with only such changes as the operators would agree should 
 be made in the award. 
 
 Pursuant to the pledge of President Wilson and under the 
 leadership of President Lewis the miners met the operators from 
 the Central Competitive Field in Joint Interstate Wage Seale 
 Conference in Cleveland on August 13th and on August 18th 
 this conference broke up without having secured a single change 
 in the award of the Bituminous Coal Commission. During this 
 conference every demand of the miners, excepting one for in- 
 creased wages for day and monthly men, was dropped and the 
 operators would not agree to make any concession except an 
 advance of 71.4 cents per day on these rates. Had we been able 
 to agree on the amount of the advance to be paid day and 
 monthly men an interstate agreement would have been signed 
 in Cleveland -and the whole matter would have been finally 
 closed. 
 
20 
 
 Following the adjournment of the Cleveland Conference 
 your District officers met the Illinois operators in Chicago on 
 August 23rd and on August 26th we signed an agreement modi- 
 lymg the award of the Bituminous Coal Commission and the 
 Interstate agreement growing out of the same as follows : 
 
 One dollar and fifty cents ($1.50) per day increase on day 
 and monthly rates, excepting that trappers, spraggers, switch- 
 throweis and couplers are to receive an increase of eighty-two 
 cents (82e) per day. Drivers, motormen and trip riders en- 
 gaged in transporting men underground are to receive an addi- 
 tional seventy-five cents (75c) per day when so engaged. 
 Miners are to receive black powder at two dollars and fifteen 
 cents ($2.15) per keg, nitro base permissible at three dollars 
 and forty-five cents ($3.45), ammonia base permissible at three 
 dollars and ninety-five cents ($3.95) per twenty-five pound 
 box. These prices are to be effective beginning August 16th 
 and operators agree to refund all sums collected on black 
 powder and permissibles during the period beginning April 1st, 
 1920, and continuing to August 16th in excess of the rates pre- 
 vailing March 31st, 1920. Penalty clause has been amended so 
 as to provide for a hearing before penalty is applied. All dead 
 work performed by the miner and paid for by the day is to 
 take the increased rate. Agreement becomes effective as of 
 August 16, 1920. 
 
 While the new prices for black powder and permissible ex- 
 plosives are not as low as we hoped to get, they are still much 
 lower than what the operator is entitled to receive under the 
 award of the Bituminous Coal Commission and they are still 
 lower than are the prices paid in any other district in the 
 Central Competitive Field and must be accepted as satisfactory 
 when compared with' the prices paid in Indiana, Ohio and 
 Western Pennsylvania. 
 
 Since April 1st the Indiana miners have been paying $2.25 
 per keg for black powder and $3.88 per box for nitro base per- 
 missible explosives. The Ohio miners have been paying $2.40 
 per keg for black powder, no material amount of permissible, if 
 any, is being used. The Western Pennsylvania miners buy black 
 powder on the open market but permissibles are bought under 
 an agreement with the operators, and the miners are now pay- 
 ing $5.25 per box for the same. Then, too, we have the added 
 advantage of having received black powder and permissible 
 explosives at the old price for four and a half months while the 
 miners in the other three districts in the Central Competitive 
 Field have been paying the increased prices since April 1, 1920. 
 
 Had we been left alone there is no doubt but what we would 
 have secured these modifications sooner than we did, but at any 
 rate, thanks to the Illinois miners, and despite all the hampering 
 and antagonistic influences that had to be overcome, at last we 
 succeeded in doing that which we told you in our circular of 
 
21 
 
 July 16th we proposed to do. Already those who tried to pre- 
 vent success are now trying to discount these accomplishments. 
 As for us we are proud and glad because of the accomplish- 
 ments, proud because y@u won the fight and glad because of the 
 good fortune the accomplishments will bring to you and the mine 
 workers elsewhere, as no doubt the same modifications or their 
 equivalent will he written into agreements applicable to other 
 districts. 
 
 Now then it is my desire to emphasize that these important 
 modifications in the award of the Bituminous Coal Commission 
 and the Interstate and District Agreements growing out of the 
 same were secured under tremendous difficulties and at a time 
 when very few men believed it was possible to-^ secure any 
 modifications and they should not he regarded in a spirit of 
 excess and as a license for further demands. It is our solemn 
 judgment that no further modifications will he made in exist- 
 ing agreements previous to their termination March 31, 1922. 
 Therefore moderation should he the dominating spirit and 
 Joint Agreements and the laws of our own Union must be re- 
 spected in all their provisions. Orderly procedure must obtain 
 and all must work in unison. Disorderly procedure and divided 
 action cannot be tolerated. Instead all must discharge the 
 obligations imposed upon them by membership in our Union and 
 thereby contribute their part to the upbuilding of the United 
 Mine Workers of America. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 F. Farrington, President.” 
 
 It is difficult, in fact impossible, to calculate in definite monetary 
 terms the benefit that accrued to our membership by the attainment 
 of these modifications in our wage agreement. Suffice it to know 
 that through them millions of dollars were put into the pockets of 
 our members and that through the instrumentality and action of the 
 officers and members of District No. 12 the same benefit was applied 
 to practically every other unionized district in the country. 
 
 Disfranchisement of the Illinois Miners. 
 
 During the International Convention, recently adjourned, SeC' 
 tion 2 of Article 12 of our International Constitution was amended 
 to provide that ‘‘no local union shall have more delegates in the 
 Convention than can cast the vote of the local union on the basis 
 of five votes for each delegate, ’ ’ and a new section was added to the 
 same article reading as follows : 
 
 “On questions coming before the Convention a roll call 
 vote shall be taken upon the request of thirty (30) per cent of 
 the delegates. ’ ’ 
 
 These amendments were recommended by the Constitution Com- 
 mittee and adopted by the Convention and after April 1, 1922 will 
 be a part of our organic law. 
 
22 
 
 Accepted literally the first amendment would mean that to 
 have two delegates a local must have 1000 members and that a local 
 must have at least 451 members before it could send a delegate, but 
 after hearing explanations by members of the Constitution Com- 
 mittee I understand the amendment to mean that a local with 550 
 members or less would be entitled to send but one delegate to the 
 Convention and locals having from 551 to 1050 members would be 
 entitled to but two delegates and locals having from 1051 to 1550 
 members would be entitled to three delegates and so on. 
 
 It is my opinion that the enactment of these amendments was 
 the most vicious, of the several vicious things that were done by the 
 Convention, and that the legislation was purposely and maliciously 
 aimed directly at the Illinois miners so as to decrease their voting 
 strength in the Convention, as there is not another district in our 
 union that will be so adversely affected as District No. 12. 
 
 So that you will understand just what these amendments mean 
 some comparisons are made. For instance, a local of ten members 
 will have just as much voting power as a local of 550 members, ex- 
 cepting when a roll call vote is taken. As a further instance refer 
 to the case of Illinois and Ohio. Illinois has 343 local unions with 
 90,000 members. But 36 of our locals have more than 550 members 
 and but three of them have more than 1050 members. This means 
 that Illinois will be entitled to 385 delegates in the next Convention. 
 Ohio has 639 local unions with approximately 45,000 members. This 
 means that Ohio with only half the members we have in Illinois will 
 be entitled to send at least 639 delegates to the Convention as 
 against 385 from Illinois and an additional delegate for each local 
 having more than 550 members. Then, too, Indiana with 240 local 
 unions and approximately 30,000 members will be entitled to send at 
 least 240 delegates as against 385 from Illinois and an additional 
 delegate for each local having more than 550 members. 
 
 Morever, District No. 8 (Indiana block) with 24 locals and about 
 900 members will be entitled to send twenty-four delegates or nearly 
 as many as can be sent to represent all the thousands of members in 
 Williamson County and the only way this inequality in representa- 
 tion can be overcome is by a roll call vote and thirty (30) per cent of 
 all the delegates in the Convention must favor a roll call vote before 
 one can be had. 
 
 Considering that it took three days to take two roll call votes 
 in the last Convention you may know that not many roll call votes 
 will be had. 
 
 I submit this matter to you without further comment, confident 
 that you will readily understand the great wrong that has been done 
 the Illinois miners 
 
23 
 
 Salary Grab. 
 
 Section 1 of Article 10 of our International Constitution adopted 
 by the Cleveland Convention two years ago and effective to Decem- 
 ber 31, 1921 provides as follows: 
 
 ‘‘The salary of the President shall be $5,000.00 per annum; 
 Vice - President $4,125.00 per annum ; Secretary - Treasurer, 
 $4,125.00 per annum; Editor of the official Journal, $2,500.00 
 per annum; International Executive Board Members, $175.00 
 per month when employed; Tellers, Auditors and Delegates to 
 the A. F. of L. Convention, $7.00 per day when employed. Each 
 of the above mentioned officers and editor shall receive, in 
 addition to their salaries, all legitimate expenses when em- 
 ployed by the organization away from their places of residence. ’ ^ 
 
 When this section was under consideration by the Cleveland 
 Convention a motion was adopted reading as follows: 
 
 “I move that it is the sense of this Convention that the 
 International officers get the same increase in their wages as 
 we get.” 
 
 The above motion will be found on page 738, volume 2 of the 
 proceedings of said Convention. 
 
 Statistical experts have figured out that by reason of the award 
 of the Bituminous Coal Commission, the mine workers received what 
 is termed a weighted average increase of thirty (30) percent. This 
 would mean that the salaries of the officers of our International 
 Union beginning with April 1, 1920 and running to December 31, 
 1921 should be the amount specified in section 1, article 10 plus the 
 thirty (30) per cent increase alleged to have been secured for the 
 mine workers, or in other words from April 1, 1920 to December 31, 
 1921 the salary of the President should be six thousand five hundred 
 dollars ($6,500.00) per year, that of the Vice-President, five thous- 
 and three hundred and sixty-two dolors and fifty cents ($5,362.50), 
 that of the Secretary-Treasurer the same as the Vice-President, 
 Editor of Journal, three thousand two hundred and fifty dollars 
 ($3,250.00) per year and members of the Executive Board two hun- 
 dred and twenty-seven dollars and fifty cents ($227.50) per month. 
 
 By reason of the Constitution and the motion adopted by the 
 Cleveland Convention the above are the salaries the officers and 
 Editor were actually and legally entitled to draw from April 1, 1920 
 to December 31, 1921. However, during July 1920 the International 
 Executive Board, in complete disregard and defiance of the Consti- 
 tution and action of the Cleveland Convention, raised the President ^s 
 salary to eight thousand dollars ($8,000.00) per year, an increase of 
 sixty (60) per cent, that of the Vice-President to seven thousand 
 dollars ($7,000.00) per year, an increase of seventy (70) per cent, 
 that of the Secretary-Treasurer the same as the Vice-President, that 
 of the Editor to four thousand dollars ($4,000.00) per year, an in- 
 
24 
 
 crease of sixty (60) per cent, and that of the Board Members to three 
 hundred dollars ($300.00) per month and made their action date 
 back to April 1, 1920. 
 
 Mark you, this was done before the shift hands secured the one 
 dollar and fifty cents ($1.50) per day increase, during the following 
 August, and' before the International officers knew of our plans to 
 force an increase for shift hands. If a humble local officer of our 
 Union were to do this thing he would be branded as a thief, forced 
 to make restitution and be banished from office and he would forever 
 be distrusted by those who knew of his guilt and he would forever 
 be prevented from holding any office of trust in our Union. In fact, 
 local officers have been sent to the penitentiary for a less offense. 
 
 In dealing with this matter in his report to the last Convention 
 President Lewis made reference to it as follows : 
 
 '‘Acting in conformity with authority conferred upon it 
 by the last International Convention of the United Mine Work- 
 ers of America, the International Executive Board, at a meeting 
 held in July, 1920, increased the salaries of the officers, field 
 workers, traveling auditors and employes of the International 
 Union. The subject matter was given most serious and careful 
 thought by the International Executive Board before action was 
 taken thereon. All the elements which naturally surround con- 
 sideration of such a question, such as the increase in the cosUof 
 living, the duties and responsibilities assumed by officers and 
 employes, the amounts paid to similar officers by sister organiza- 
 tions and the action of the convention were taken into account. 
 It seemed to be the purpose of the International Executive 
 Board to comply not only with the letter of the action of the 
 convention but with the spirit as well. The Board decided that 
 as substantial increase in wage scales had been secured for all 
 members of the United Mine Workers of America, the member- 
 ship of our union would approve an increase in salaries to the 
 officers, field workers and employes commensurate with the 
 work which they were called upon to do. The members of the 
 Board are confident that the great majority of the membership 
 of the organization will approve the action they have taken 
 upon this question.’’ 
 
 The Cleveland Convention did not say the increase in the officers 
 salaries was to be based on “the increased cost of living,” nor the 
 “duties and responsibilities assumed by the officers,” neither did 
 it say anything about the “salaries paid to the officers of sister 
 organizations,” and it did not say that the officers were to take into 
 account the “spirit” of the conventions action when they fixed their 
 salaries. 
 
 What the Cleveland Convention did do was to say in clear and 
 definite terms that the salaries of the officers were to be increased 
 in the same amount that the miners wages were increased. 
 
25 
 
 If we are to be allowed to disregard the letter of the law and be 
 allowed to invoke the “spirit’’ of the law when the letter of it 
 stands in our way then there is no limit to the distance we may go 
 in taking unto ourselves whatever we may personally think we are 
 entitled to. 
 
 When the committee on officers reports brought in a report to 
 the last convention recommending endorsement of the action of the 
 International Executive Board in raising their own salaries to an 
 amount far above what they were entitled to under the law the con- 
 vention overwhelmingly rejected the committees report. At this 
 juncture Vice-President Fishwick offered a motion reading as 
 follows : 
 
 “I move that all officers mentioned in Section 1 of Article 
 10 who have received salaries in excess of the amounts speci- 
 fied by that section of our law plus the advance awarded by the 
 Bituminous Coal Commission be required to refund such excess 
 moneys to our International Treasury and that the committee 
 on Constitution be instructed to amend the Constitution ac- 
 cordingly. ” . 
 
 In discussing this motion President Lewis did not make a single 
 reference to the law, although in discussing other matters before the 
 Convention he had vigorously and dramatically insisted on law en- 
 forcement. Instead he argued that to make the officers return the 
 money would place them before the public in the light of being 
 thieves and that it would confirm the allegations that our union is an 
 unlawful institution and that it would jeopardize the miners interests 
 in approaching wage scale negotiations if the convention made them 
 return the money. In fact he talked of every thing but the law as 
 it relates to officers salaries. 
 
 Following President Lewis’ address a motion was made to table 
 the motion offered by Vice-President Fishwick and the chair de- 
 clared the motion to table carried. Following the chair’s announce- 
 ment that the motion to table had been carried the delegation broke 
 out in wild, indignant, and justified protest and the tumult con- 
 tinued until the chair announced that a roll call vote would be 
 taken. Although the motion to table Vice-President Fishwick ’s 
 motion was carried on the roll call vote, which was equal to saying 
 that the officers would not be required to return the money they had 
 illegally taken, I am proud to be able to state that with the exception 
 of a number of International organizers and a few others who had 
 credentials from local uinons in District No. 12, the Illinois delegates, 
 almost to a man, voted against tabling the motion and thereby did 
 their best to uphold the standards of decency and honesty and the 
 Constitution of the United Mine Workers of America. 
 
 I am proud of their conduct, as the matter must go down in the 
 annals of our Union as being nothing more than a disgraceful, 
 illegal, high-handed salary grab and even though President Lewis 
 did term them “the shrieking minority” and “African tom tom 
 
26 
 
 beaters” and “whirling dervishers” because of their persistence in 
 the interest of decency, I am still proud of them because they know 
 right from wrong and have the courage to fight for right if needs 
 be and because they refuse to be fooled by a lot of bombast and 
 pomp and sham. 
 
 Itimization of Expenditure of Districts Funds. 
 
 Some two years ago your district officers expended some twenty- 
 seven thousand dolars ($27,000.00) to suppress a rebellion within our 
 district union. Bills are on file in the Secretary’s office for the 
 money expended and have been examined by your district auditors, 
 who reported to the last District Convention that the money had all 
 been propertly accounted for and the Convention endorsed the posi- 
 tion of the officers in refusing to make an itimization of the expendi- 
 ture. 
 
 Several months after the Convention adjourned and the matter 
 had apparently become a dead issue, 6 local unions out of some 
 340 locals in District No. 12, inspired by one Edw. Wieck, at that 
 time a member of Local Union No. 705, O’Fallon, and who was 
 forced to flee from Staunton, the community where he was raised, 
 in the dead of night, during the war to escape a coat of tar and 
 feathers at the hands of his indignant fellowtownsmen, and who was 
 in the State of Washington when the rebellion broke out but who 
 hurried back to Illinois when he heard of it and who was in southern 
 Illinois during the Cleveland Convention trying to incite the mem- 
 bers there to rebel against their Union and who was driven out by 
 the miners in that section, and who voted in the last Convention to 
 table the motion requiring the officers to refund the salary they had 
 illegally taken, and the officers of Sub-district No. 4, whose instruc- 
 tions to do so are challenged, appealed to the International Execu- 
 tive Board to force your district officers to itimize the expenditures. 
 
 After President Lewis had made as much political capital out 
 of the matter as possible the International Executive Board endorsed 
 the decision which follows: 
 
 “Indianapolis, Ind., September 22, 1920. 
 
 O’Fallon Local Union No. 705 vs. District Executive Board, No. 
 
 12, U. M. W. of A. 
 
 Mr. John L. Lewis, President, United Mine Workers of America, 
 
 Indianapolis, Ind. 
 
 Dear Sir and Brother : 
 
 The committee selected by the International Executive 
 Board to conduct an investigation and render decision concern- 
 ing appeal of aforesaid local union, in which it accuses Secretary 
 Walter Nesbit of improperly accounting for approximately 
 $27,000 of the district organization funds expended during a 
 so-called unauthorized strike which occured during the summer 
 of 1919, desires to submit the following: 
 
27 
 
 We proceeded to Illinois as per instruction, conferred with 
 Secretary Nesbit most extensively relative to the matter and 
 afterwards sought to arrange a meeting of all interested parties 
 at Majestic Hotel, St. Louis, Mo., September 15, which matured 
 and was attended by numerous representatives of the local 
 union, together with representatives of various other local 
 unions who had also registered complaint in this connection. 
 
 The appellant local union alleges that the secretary in his 
 quarterly reports seeks to account for expenditure hereinbefore 
 named, in lump sum, under the title ‘Wild-cat Strike’ instead 
 of itemizing same, basing their contention on Section 13, Article 
 8, District No. 12 Constitution, which reads as follows: 
 
 ‘Section 13. He shall submit to the locals, quarterly, an 
 itemized statement of salary and expenses of each officer and 
 employe of the district organization in separate items, and 
 detailing the receipt and disbursement of all money belonging 
 to the District Union.’ 
 
 The Secretary makes no denial of this charge, but in de- 
 fense of his action he states that an insurgent organization be- 
 came very active in Illinois during the summer of 1919, which 
 resulted in the district organization employing, temporarily, 
 several men to prevent such insurgents from interrupting the 
 United MJne Workers; that such special employes were paid 
 out of the district funds and that he has in his possession re- 
 ceipts for same, but the District Executive Board authorized 
 him to enter this appropriation in his report in the way and 
 manner he did. 
 
 In view of Section 13, Article 8, District Constitution, here- 
 inbefore reproduced, if it has any meaning at all, we are forced 
 to the conclusion that the District Executive Board was in 
 error when it took occasion to authorize Secretary Nesbit to not 
 publish an itemized account of the expenditures over which this 
 controversy arose. Thus the appeal of the local union is sus- 
 tained and we, therefore, decide that the District Executive 
 Board stand reversed and the expenditures shall be itemized. 
 
 Sincerely submitted, 
 
 W. D. Duncan, Chairman, 
 Wm. Donaldson, Secretary, 
 
 L. Bramlett, 
 
 Geo. L. Peck, 
 
 John O’Leary, 
 
 Committee. ’ ’ 
 
 From the title of the above decision it will be observed that there 
 must have been but one local union that had appealed to the Inter- 
 national Executive Board when the decision was rendered by the 
 committee of International Board Members, as the decision is given 
 the title of “O’Fallon Local Union No. 705 vs District Executive 
 Board.” 
 
28 
 
 Regarding the decision as an arrogant invasion of our right of 
 district autonomy which we would not surrender until instructed by 
 the Illinois miners to do so an i taking into account the action of our 
 last District Convention, your officers refused to comply with the de- 
 cision of the International Executive Board. The matter was made a 
 subject for consideration by our last International Convention, Presi- 
 dent Lewis having presented it in his report to the Convention, and 
 asked that body to ‘‘convince the defiant officers of District No. 12 
 of the error of their course.” 
 
 The Convention ruled that we must comply with the decision 
 of the International Executive Board and publish an itimized state- 
 ment of the expenditure, but as yet we are not “convinced of the 
 error of our course.” We still hold that the matter is purely an 
 internal affair, peculiar to District No. 12, and that the right to say 
 how your money shall be accounted for belongs exclusively and in- 
 herently to the members of District No. 12. If the International 
 Union — which in reality means the members from other districts 
 who had no part in accumulating the money — can dictate as to how 
 your money shall be accounted for then it can dictate as to how you 
 shall spend it and indeed take it if so desired. We do not believe the 
 International Union has that right, therefore, we refused to comply 
 with the decision. It was your money that was expended, a Dis- 
 trict Convention approved of the manner in which it was accounted 
 for. As your agents we obeyed the mandate of the Convention and 
 shall continue to do so until the mandate is changed by the ac- 
 credited representatives of the Illinois miners. We are not “de- 
 fiant,” but we are determined to not surrender, without your 
 consent, your right to dispose of and account for your money in 
 any manner that may suit you. With us your instructions on this 
 matter shall be supreme. We await your further orders. 
 
 Censorship of Official Journal. 
 
 According to Secretary Green’s report it cost the miners one 
 hundred and ninety-five thousand eight hundred and twelve dollars 
 and ninety-two cents ($195,812.92) to publish and distribute our 
 Official Journal for the fiscal year ended July 31, 1921. For the 
 fiscal year ended July 31, 1920 it cost one hundred and sixty thou- 
 sand nine hundred and seventeen dollars and ninety- three cents 
 ($160,917.93) for the same purpose or thirty-four thousand eight 
 hundred and ninety-four dollars and ninety-nine cents ($34,894.99) 
 less than it cost for the fiscal year ended July 31, 1921. 
 
 We had no International election during the fiscal year of 1920. 
 For the first six months of the fiscal year ended July 31, 1921, during 
 which period we did have an International election, it cost one hun- 
 dred and five thousand three hundred and forty-nine dollars and 
 ninety-two cents ($105,349.92) to publish and distribute the Journal 
 and had the same ratio of expenditure been maintained for the re- 
 maining six months it would have cost two hundred and ten thou- 
 sand six hundred and ninety-nine dollars and eighty-four cents 
 
29 
 
 ( $210, 699. 8^) for the fiscal year ended July 31, 1921, or forty-nine 
 thousand seven hundred and eighty-one dollars and ninety-one cents 
 ($49,781.91) more than it cost for the same purpose during the 
 fiscal year of 1920, but due to good management, I suppose, during 
 the last six months of the fiscal year 1921, during which six months 
 we did not have an election, the cost was cut down and it only cost 
 one hundred ninety-five thousand eight hundred and twelve dollars 
 and ninety-two cents ($195,812.92) or thirty-four thousand eight 
 hundred ninety-four dollars and ninety-nine cents ($34,894.99) more 
 than it cost the previous yez^r. 
 
 The columns of the Journal are supposed to be open to the 
 officers and members of our Union who may desire to contribute 
 articles or news items calculated to be helpful to the organized 
 labor movement and particularly to the members of our Union. But 
 this does not seem to be true as will be demonstrated by the 
 correspondence which follows : 
 
 “Springfield, 111., August 17, 1921. 
 
 Mr. Ellis Searls, Editor, 
 
 United Mine Workers Journal, 
 
 Indianapolis, Ind. 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 Enclosed is an article which I have written for Labor Day 
 Publication. I shall appreciate it greatly if you will print the 
 same verbatim in the Labor Day issue of our official J ournal. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 Signed : Frank Farrington. ’ ' 
 
 “Springfield, 111., September 7, 1921. 
 
 Mr. Ellis Searls, Editor, 
 
 United Mine Workers Journal, 
 
 Indianapolis, Ind. 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 Under date of August 17th I sent‘ you an article for publica- 
 tion in the Labor Day issue of our official journal. I asked you 
 to publish this article verbatim. I have received no advice from 
 you that you could not do so, but I do have before me a copy of 
 the last issue of the journal and I notice that you have published 
 just about half of my Labor Day article therein. I should like 
 to be advised as to why you decided to disregard my request to 
 publish my article in its entirety and took upon yourself the 
 liberty of publishing only about half of it. 
 
 It seems to me that my article should have been published 
 in its entirety as I requested, or that, if you could not do that, 
 then you should have taken the matter up with me and secured 
 my permission to do so before assuming to publish my article in 
 an abridged form. I shall appreciate an early reply from you 
 on this subject. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 Signed: Frank Farrington.’’ 
 
30 
 
 ‘'Indianapolis, Ind., September 14, 1921. 
 i\Ir. Frank Farrington, 
 
 Springfield, 111. 
 
 Dear Mr. Farrington: 
 
 On my return to the office a day or two ago from a business 
 trip, I found your letter of September 7th, and I am sorry that 
 I have been unable to find time until now to answer it. Your 
 letter of September 13th also arrived this morning. 
 
 When your article relating to Labor Day was received I 
 read it very carefully. I found that a part of it had a direct 
 bearing on the subject of Labor Day, while another large part 
 of it had no bearing whatever on Labor Day, but referred to 
 entirely different matters. Therefore, I took the liberty of 
 eliminating that part which had no reference to Labor Day, and 
 I published in the Journal all that had any bearing on that 
 subject. The article as it was published in the Journal was very 
 good indeed, and I wish to compliment you on the thought and 
 sentiment therein expressed. 
 
 I am unable to see where there is any ground for criticism 
 on your part, because I edited your article in such a way as to 
 make it exactly what you said it was — a Labor Day article. I 
 cut out only that part which was entirely foreign to the subject 
 of Labor Day. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 Signed: Ellis Searls, Editor.” 
 
 “Springfield, 111., September 15, 1921. 
 
 Mr. Ellis Searls, Editor, 
 
 United Mine Workers Journal, 
 
 Indianapolis, Ind. 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 I have your letter of September 14th which was written in 
 answer to my letter of September 7th, and in reply thereto, I 
 advise that your explanation of your reason for failing to 
 publish my Labor Day article in its entirety is not at all satis- 
 factory to me, your compliment on the same notwithstanding. 
 
 I prefer to exercise my own judgment about the articles I 
 write, and you can use your judgment as to whether or not you 
 will publish them in our official journal, but I deny you the 
 right to abridge my articles without first taking the matter up 
 with me and securing my consent to do so. I think I am just as 
 capable as you are of determining as to whether or not articles 
 I may write are appropriate for the occasion. At any rate, I 
 deny you the right to censor my articles, and I think your 
 doing so is an unwarranted piece of assumption on your part, 
 at least, I have never heard of where you have been delegated to 
 act as censor of articles that are to appear in our official journal, 
 and which have been written by the accredited officers of the 
 organization, for that purpose. 
 
31 
 
 I think I understand pretty well why my article was not 
 published in its entirety, and the reason was not that which was 
 stated in your letter, but whether it was or not I do not wmnt 
 you to censor and abridge any more of my articles. I shall use 
 my own judgment as to what I shall say in any article I may 
 write and you may use your judgment as to whether or not 
 you shall publish it, but if it is published, I desire that it be 
 published as I write it and not as you think it should be. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 Signed : Frank Farrington. ’ ’ 
 
 '‘Indianapolis, Ind., September 16, 1921. 
 
 Mr. Frank Farrington, 
 
 Springfield, 111. 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 I acknowledge receipt of your letter of September 15th, in 
 which you again complain because I eliminated a portion of the 
 article which you sent in for publication as a Labor Day 
 article. In my letter to you of September 14th I stated clearly 
 and exactly the reason for my action, and I have nothing to 
 add to what I said then on that point. 
 
 In your letter I note the following: 'I think I understand 
 pretty well why my article was not published in its entirety, and 
 the reason was not that which was stated in your letter. ’ This 
 statement of yours does not change the fact that I cut out of 
 your article that portion which had no reference whatever to 
 Labor Day, and which you injected into the article for a pur- 
 pose of your own. It is plainly apparent to anyone that you 
 wrote that portion of your article for the sole and only purpose 
 of creating discord in the ranks of the membership of the United 
 Mine Workers of America, and I serve notice on you now that 
 neither you nor anyone else may use the columns of the Journal 
 for any such purpose. The Journal will not publish matter from 
 any one which is written for the purpose of venting the spleen 
 of the writer. I should think that you, as an official of this 
 union, would gladly approve that policy. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 Signed: Ellis Searls, Editor.” 
 
 "Springfield, 111., September 17, 1921. 
 
 Mr. Ellis Searls, Editor, 
 
 United Mine Workers Journal, 
 
 Indianapolis, Ind. 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter of September 
 16th, which was written in answer to my letter of September 
 15th. I have noted particularly that part of your letter which 
 reads as follows: 
 
 ' It is plainly apparent to anyone that you wrote that portion 
 of your article for the sole and only purpose of creating discord 
 
32 
 
 in the ranks of the membership of the United Mine Workers of 
 America, and I serve notice on you now that neither you nor any- 
 one else may use the columns of the Journal for any such pur- 
 pose. The Journal will not publish matter from anyone which 
 is written for the purpose of venting the spleen of the writer. 
 
 I should think that you, as an official of this union, would 
 
 gladly approve that policy.’ 
 
 I regard your statement as being a very serious charge and 
 I therefore request that you write me telling me exactly just 
 what part of my Labor Day article was in your judgment in- 
 tended to create discord in the ranks of the United Mine 
 
 Workers of America and as an effort to vent my personal spleen. 
 
 I think I should also say to you in advance that when you 
 make that charge against me you are quilty of an absolute 
 falsehood and no one knows better than you that I was not 
 attempting to create discord in the United Mine Workers of 
 America and that my article was not an attempt to vent my 
 spleen, unless you term trying to get the truth before the mem- 
 bership of our union as being an effort to create discord and 
 vent one’s spleen. 
 
 At any rate, I shall appreciate an early reply telling me 
 exactly which part of my article it was that in your judgment 
 was intended to create discord in the ranks of our union and 
 which was an effort on my part to vent my spleen. 
 
 Please address your answer to the English Hotel, Indian- 
 apolis, Ind. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 Signed : Frank Farrington. ’ 
 
 “Indianapolis, Ind., Sept. 20, 1921. 
 
 Mr. Frank Farrington, 
 
 Hotel English, 
 
 Indianapolis. 
 
 Dear Sir: -.rr ^ 
 
 I acknowledge receipt of your letter of September 17th, ana 
 in reply will say that when I wrote in my letter to you ot 
 
 September 16th: 4 . 4 . 1 . 4 . 
 
 ‘It is plainly apparent to anyone that you wrote that 
 
 portion of your article for the sole and only purpose of . 
 creating discord in the ranks of the membership of the United 
 Mine Workers of America, and I serve notice on you now that 
 neither you nor anyone else may use the columns of the- 
 Journal for any such purpose. The Journal will not publish, 
 matter from anyone whieh is written for the purpose of vent- 
 ing the spleen of the writer. I should think that you, as an 
 officer of this union, would gladly approve that policy.’ 
 
 I had reference to that part of your Labor Day article which 
 I eliminated before publishing the rest of it in the Journal. 
 
 'Yours truly. 
 
 Signed: Ellis Searls, Editor.’” 
 
33 
 
 The part of my article Editor Searls deleted and refused to 
 publish is quoted below, word for word, and reads as follows: 
 
 judging its value we should not he influenced by 
 our fondness or dislike of certain individuals. The conduct of 
 some officer should not be an influencing factor in trying to 
 reach a conclusion. Neither should the_ rendition of some de- 
 cision or the adoption of some certain policy be our guide. Such 
 things are incidental and are too inconsequential to be used as 
 factors in formulating our judgment of a movement so great 
 and so essential as the labor movement. We do not look for 
 perfection in any other human institution, why should we expect 
 to find it in the labor movement? To find the true value of 
 anything we must deal with fundamentals instead of incidentals. 
 
 * ^ ^ Another way to find value is by comparison. To know the 
 true value of the labor movement one need but compare the 
 condition of the organized and unorganized workers. Compare 
 the condition of the Illinois mine worker with that of the mine 
 worker in Alabama or any one of the other non-union coal fields. 
 Let those who so bitterly assail the Illinois Miners’ Union go 
 into any one of those fields and if they stay there long enough 
 to gain the experience they need, it is safe to venture they will 
 return to Illinois with changed opinions as to the real value of 
 our union. 
 
 Certainly the labor movement has its weaknesses and many 
 of them and not the least of them is the dissension that exists 
 within the movement and not the least of the obstacles to be 
 overcome is the influence of those who delioerately design to 
 prevent its progress. 
 
 Two ways are employed by the enemies of the labor move- 
 ment to undermine the strength of and to prevent the growth of 
 unionism. One is the machine gun, injunction and gun-man 
 method, with which all are familiar, and which is so ruthlessly 
 employed to prevent the unionization of non-union fields. The 
 other and more dangerous way is to demoralize the ranks of 
 men who are organized. This is done by invoking the aid^ of 
 mercenary traitors who, under the guise of being good union 
 men, devote their time to harassing and insideously defaming 
 the good name of absent officers, to attacking decisions, to 
 denouncing policies, to discounting accornplishments and to 
 flouting accredited authority, thereby creating distrust and di- 
 vision and demoralization in the ranks of men who otherwise 
 would be united. The latter method is more dangerous than 
 the other because honest men are oft times deceived by the 
 tactics of these paid traitors and as a consequence they lose con- 
 fidence in and respect for their union and spend their time fight- 
 ing each other, thus wasting the strength that would accrue by 
 unity, weakness follows and the aim of the enemy has been at- 
 tained. 
 
34 
 
 This insidious work of demoralization cannot be accom- 
 plished by the employer working out in the open. He is regarded 
 with suspicion and the workers are not apt to follow his lead. 
 To succeed the enemy must have the help of men in whom the 
 workers have confidence, so weak, mercenary traitors are re- 
 cruited from the ranks of labor to sow the seeds of distrust. 
 These prostituted villains invade the councils of labor to incite 
 men to commit acts against their union. Carefully manufactured 
 falsehoods are circulated and the source -from whence they 
 originate no one knows. It is said the officers are traitors and 
 are ruling the union with the rule of tyrants, that they own 
 stock in mines, etc. Every device kown to cunning and un- 
 scrupulous men is used to create a feeling of suspicion and dis- 
 trust in the minds of men and as the vile stories of these reptiles 
 gain credence men become divided against themselves and are 
 at war with each other and honest but deceived men are arrayed 
 against their fellowmen. As the confidence of the workers is 
 decreased the strength of the enemy is increased and the work of 
 demoralization goes on until the union is divided and finally 
 destroyed. 
 
 Weak unions are not feared. If the opponents of labor 
 could know that the labor movement would never grow strong 
 there would not be much, if any, opposition to unionism. It is 
 when a union gets strong and formidable that it is feared and 
 the more strength it has the more it is feared and the more 
 enemies it has. When a strong union cannot be kept out the 
 thing its enemies will do is to try to make it weak and the way 
 to make it weak is to create dissension and division in its ranks. 
 
 Because the Illinois Miners’ Union is big and strong and far 
 reaching in influence it has many enemies who would like to see 
 it weakened. Why? Though the boundaries of your district 
 union do not extend beyond Illinois, its influence extends into 
 every mining district in the country, as was demonstrated in a 
 practical way not very long ago and the happening should still 
 be fresh in the mind of everyone. 
 
 When the President of the United States decided there 
 were some inequalities in the award of the Bituminous Coal 
 Commission, the movement that impelled him to that realization 
 was initiated in Illinois and when, as a result of the pressure 
 brought to bear on them by the Illinois Miners’ Union, the 
 Illinois operators decided to increase the wages of all shift hands 
 in Illinois, the operators in every other mining district, non- 
 union fields included, were compelled to do likewise and not- 
 withstanding they had previously declared they would not do 
 so. Naturally the operators from other districts are fearful of 
 the strength shown at that time and consequently the Illinois 
 Miners’ Union now has more enemies than ever, who will use 
 all the power they possess and who- will work in many and 
 devious ways to weaken the district that forced them "to in- 
 
35 
 
 crease wages when no other agency seemed to be capable of 
 doing so and to those who know the ways of the enemies of the 
 labor movement it is not strange that a few men should have 
 suddenly discovered that it would be a fine thing to divide the 
 Illinois miners. 
 
 This attack will fail because the Illinois miners are proud 
 of and true to their union but they will have to be on the alert 
 as sinister influences are at work. The enemy is active, other 
 attacks in other forms will be made. The attempts to create 
 distrust and division and demoralization will be continued be- 
 cause the Illinois Miners’ Union is too big and strong and 
 militant to suit the enemy. A divided, weakened union would 
 be more to their liking.” 
 
 If there is anything in the above that would warrant Editor 
 Searls saying, as he did in his letter of September 16th; ‘‘It is 
 plainly apparent to anyone that you wrote that portion of your 
 article for the sole and only purpose of creating discord in the ranks 
 of the membership of the United Mine Workers of America, and I 
 serve notice on you now that neither you nor anyone else may use 
 the columns of the Journal for any such purpose. The Journal will 
 not publish matter from anyone which is written for the purpose of 
 venting the spleen of the writer,” I am unable to divine what it is.. 
 
 When the Illinois miners, led by their officers, organized the 
 movement which resulted in securing an agreement one year ago 
 last August giving all shift hands an increase of $l.o0 per day, the 
 miners powder for $2.15 per keg, a modification of our automatic 
 penalty clause and a uniform rule requiring the operators to haul 
 the men from the bottom to the inside workings and back again at 
 quitting time, and which resulted in the shift hands all over the; 
 country getting an increase of $1.50 per day, the award of the ' 
 Bituminous Coal Commission notwdthstanding. Secretary Nesbit 
 sent a copy of our agreement to Editor Searls for qublication in 
 our Journal so the mine workers of the country might know what 
 had been done, but it was not published as requested by Secretary 
 Nesbit. I guess Editor Searls thought it too was intended to “create 
 discord and to vent the authors spleen.” 
 
 The truth is that, through the columns of the Journal, the 
 officers of our International Union have purloined the credit of 
 securing the increase for shift hands when as a matter of fact the 
 increase was not secured by them but in spite of them and I guess 
 Editor Searls feared the mine workers would get an inkling of the 
 truth about the matter, therefore, his reason for refusing to publish 
 my article in its entirety. However, after my experience, of one 
 thing I am confident and that is that nothing will appear in the 
 Journal that in any way detracts from the artificial accomplish- 
 ments of our International officers, even though the membership does 
 pay one hundred and ninety-five thousand eight hundred and twelve 
 dollars and ninety-two cents ($195,812.92) per year for its publica- 
 tion and distribution, under the deluded belief that they can get the 
 truth of things through its columns. 
 
36 
 
 Politics as Played by the Officers of our International Union. 
 
 For some time Michael Halapy, a member of our Union in the 
 Pittsburgh District, has been in a controversy involving his right to 
 run for the Presidency of that district in their last district election, 
 the district officers having ruled him ineligible to do so. The con- 
 troversy finally reached the International Executive Board. 
 
 I make no pretense of being familiar with the merits of the con- 
 troversy and would not make reference to it in this report were it 
 not for the fact that, following their usual practice of trying to 
 crucify and ruin every one who dares to disagree with them and 
 who will not play their game of dirty politics, the officers of our 
 International Union have used the Halapy case to bring discredit 
 to the President of District No. 12, by making it appear in their 
 decision in said case that I fostered a dual organization in the Pitts- 
 burgh District. 
 
 On September 21, 1921, a committee of five International Board 
 Members, namely, Lawrence Dwyer, District No. 29 (West Virginia) 
 B. A. Scott, District No. 17 (West Virginia) Thomas Davis, District 
 No. 1 (Anthracite) D. H. AVatkins, District No. 13 (Iowa) and A. R. 
 Witkins, District No. 6 (Ohio), signed a decision in the Halapy case 
 and submitted it to President Lewis, Halapy, and Robt. Gibbons, 
 President of District No. 5. In their decision it is stated that Board 
 Members D. A. Watkins and B. A. Scott did not participate in the 
 investigation made by the committee previous to making the 
 decision, but notwithstanding this fact the names of Watkins and 
 Scott are signed to the decision and the decision was secretly circu- 
 lated among the delegates who attended the International Conven- 
 tion, just recently adjourned. The decision reads in part as follows : 
 
 ‘ ‘ Michael Halapy gave further evidence that he was indenti- 
 fied with the dual organization in District No. 5 from October 
 1920 to sometime in March 1921. He further states that he was 
 President of that dual organization and on November 8, 1920, 
 he and the policy committee signed and sent out to all mem- 
 bership in District 5, U. M. W. of A. a circular letter wherein 
 they asked the membership of District 5, U. M. W. of A. to send 
 in their captitation tax to their secretary, Thomas Meyerscough, 
 temporary address Monongahela House, Pittsburgh, Pa. He 
 further said our membership in District 5 responded to that 
 circular letter by sending in to them between $1200 and $1400. 
 He further testified that his associates appealed to President 
 Frank Farrington and the District Executive Board of District 
 12 and they responded by sending in Auditors Martin and 
 Schaefer, who said they called to see the situation and what we 
 had. We met them and the fact was put up to them that we 
 were broke and these auditors gave Halapy $50, which he 
 divided among his associates and the auditors left for Illinois 
 to report to President Farrington and a little later on President 
 Prank Farrington sent them a draft for $750, making a total of 
 $800 they received from Illinois. Halapy also testified that he 
 
37 
 
 appealed to Alexander Howat for financial aid but he had to 
 send Howat five telegrams before he responded. President 
 Alexander Howat gave us $500. Halapy also said that Robt. 
 Harlin also gave him $650. He further testified that he 
 (Halapy) kept $250 of this amount and divided the other $400 
 among his associates. 
 
 Michael Halapy further testifies that considering the num- 
 ber of our loyal brother members in West Virginia who have 
 given their lives and our women and children now living in tents 
 in numerous instances without shoes and making numerous other 
 sacrifices, considering this situation, he now realizes that the 
 ones financing that dual movement were not honest in their 
 action.” 
 
 At no time was I asked to appear before the committee to affirm 
 or deny the above statement, alleged to have been made by Halapy. 
 In fact I had no knowledge that the investigation was being con- 
 ducted and it does seem to me that before any one is charged with an 
 offense so serious as that of fostering a dual organization in our 
 Union they should at least be given an opporunity to be heard. I 
 had no inkling of what was going on and was given no opportunity 
 to be heard and I am sure the same is true of Howat and Harlin. 
 To this day I would have had no knowledge of the serious indict- 
 ment that had been drawn against me had I not been fortunate 
 enough to indirectly secure a copy of the committee’s decision while 
 attending the International Convention. 
 
 This decision and indictment was drawn, on ex parte evidence, 
 without giving Howat, Harlin or myself any hearing whatsoever, 
 by five men who exalt themselves as being members of the Inter- 
 national Executive Board, the supreme court of our Union, the 
 body charged with the responsibility of directing the destiny of our 
 Union and to which in the last extremity all members of our Union 
 must go for redress and justice and to which all should be able to 
 go, confident that the members thereof are men of clean principle, 
 inflexible honesty and sincere exponents of a square deal for all, 
 but by drawing this decision and indictment in the manner it was 
 done, these five members have descended to the level of cheap politi- 
 cians and have thereby shown utter unfitness to fill the exalted posi- 
 tions they occupy and they have polluted every principle of union- 
 ism and square dealing and if their action is exemplary of the con- 
 duct of their associates, then no one having regard for decent 
 practice can have any confidence in or respect for the International 
 Executive Board. 
 
 I brand the allegation or insinuation that I fostered a dual move- 
 ment in the Pittsburgh District or elsewhere as an infamous lie and 
 those making the allegation or insinuation as damnable liars. I did 
 send men and money into the Pittsburgh District, but not to en- 
 courage or aid the formation of a dual movement, as will be clearly 
 shown by the telegrams and letters hereinafter quoted. 
 
38 
 
 On October 20, 1920 I received the telegram which follows : 
 
 “Charleroi, Pa., Oct. 19, 1920. 
 
 Frank Farrington, 
 
 Farmers Bank Bldg., 
 
 Springfield, 111. 
 
 Local Unions of District five have called special convention 
 which meets in Norse Room, Fort Pitt Hotel, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 on November third, fourth and fifth when district officials re- 
 fused to do so on more than sufficient number of requests. 
 Interests of United Mine Workers in general require that you 
 be present and accordingly we are extending this invitation. 
 Letter follows with detailed explanation. Wire care Mononga- 
 hela House, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 Signed : Michael Halapy. ’ ’ 
 
 Regardless of the invitation extended in the above telegram, I 
 had no desire to go to Pittsburgh to interfere in the affairs of Dis- 
 trict No. 5 and, after mature consideration and consultation with 
 my associates, I wired Halapy on October 25th as follows : 
 
 “Springfield, 111., October 25, 1920. 
 
 Mike Halapy, 
 
 Monongahela House, 
 
 Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 With reference to your telegram of October nineteenth I 
 advise that the work in our district is such as to make it im- 
 possible for me to attend the meeting to be held in the Norse 
 Room, Fort Pitt Hotel, Pittsburgh, November third, fourth and 
 fifth. May I not expriess to you and through you to the men 
 who will attend this meeting the hope that their work will 
 redound to the credit and benefit of the U. M. W. of A. 
 
 Signed: Frank Farrington.’^ 
 
 Surely there was nothing in the above telegram to indicate that 
 I favored the formation of a dual movement. After sending my 
 telegram of October 25th I have no recollection or record of having 
 heard anything more from Halapy until December 22nd when he 
 wired me as follows : 
 
 “Pittsburgh, Pa., December 22, 1920. 
 
 Frank Farrington, 
 
 Springfield, 111. 
 
 Disclosures indicate that most of the vote of District Num- 
 ber five was corrupted and bought up by use of whiskey and 
 money by officers of District Number five. In face of these 
 facts sworn to by reputable miners the policy committee has 
 filed a protest with International Tellers against the counting of 
 the vote from this district. We have done this to save the 
 miners organization from being demoralized, corrupted and 
 disrupted. 
 
 Signed: Michael Halapy.” 
 
39 
 
 Upon the receipt of the above telegram I instructed Auditors 
 Schaefer and-Martin to visit Pittsburgh to learn what they could of 
 the charge that the votes cast in the Pittsburgh District for Inter- 
 national officers had been “corrupted,” but with strict instructions 
 to take no action while there hut to report to me. I took no further 
 action until Halapy wrote me under date of December 29th, as 
 follows : 
 
 “Monongahela House, Pittsburgh, Pa., 
 December 29, 1920. 
 
 Mr. Frank Farrington, 
 
 Springfield, 111. 
 
 Friend Farrington: 
 
 The committee that you sent down here to get a line on the 
 fraud and corruption committed in the recent miners election 
 will no doubt submit to you a detailed report and for that reason 
 I need not go into that matter. To be brief, however, I want to 
 say that the Pittsburgh District is worse than Tammany Hall. 
 Of course, with much of this you are conversant. However, in 
 the recent election the gang went to extremes to secure votes by 
 use of money, whiskey and promises of appointment. The whole 
 affair is terrible nasty and if it is exposed it will forever dis- 
 credit the men, who have committed or countenanced these 
 offenses against our Union. 
 
 In the near future we will be able to submit to you copies 
 of sworn statements showing where quite a number of local 
 uni e as in this district exist only on paper. Heretofore these 
 fictitious locals have been used by the officers of the district to 
 maintain a balance of power in our conventions and the fictitious 
 votes were plunked for the administration candidates in the 
 elections. Whiskey and money were used on such an extensive 
 scale .that we have every reason to believe that the funds were 
 furnished by the Coal Operators, who are enjoying special privi- 
 leges in this district. We propose to secure positive sworn 
 affidavits in substantiation of all this and whatever assistance 
 we secure from you and the miners of District Xo. 12 will cer- 
 tainly be appreciated by our men down here. 
 
 We did not insist upon Schaefer and Martin staying with 
 us as we have quite a number of capable men here to make a 
 thorough investigation. Some of these men have been black 
 listed and temporary employment at this kind of work will be 
 a relief to them and their families. 
 
 Our sole aim in continuing the fight that we are engaged 
 in in this district is to purge our union of corrupting influences 
 - which would in time spread all over our jurisdiction and render 
 our organization the most reactionary institution in the country. 
 So it becomes the duty of every true United Mine Worker of 
 America to fight this menace and destroy it root and branch. 
 
40 
 
 I will keep y©u posted from time to time of the progress we 
 make here, for I believe that you and the Illinois Miners are 
 deeply interested in the outcome of our fight for decency. 
 
 With the kindest personal regards and New Year Greetings, 
 I am 
 
 Fraternally yours. 
 
 Signed: Michael Halapy.” 
 
 After the receipt of the above letter I consulted with personal 
 friends, good union men, and they agreed to join with me in 
 personally raising seven hundred and fifty dollars ($750.00) to be 
 sent to Pittsburgh and on December 31st, I wired Halapy as follows : 
 
 “Springfield, 111., December 31, 1920. 
 
 Michael Halapy, 
 
 Monongahela House, 
 
 Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 Friends in this district who favor clean elections in the 
 miners union have agreed to donate seven hundred and fifty 
 dollars to prosecute investigation of .alleged corruption in Pitts- 
 burgh district. I will mail you draft for that amount next 
 Tuesday. Am wiring Harlin and Howat to do their part in this 
 connection. 
 
 Signed: Prank Farrington.’’ 
 
 On the following Tuesday, January 4, 1921, I sent Halapy a 
 draft for $750.00 in accordance with the promise made him in my 
 telegram of December 31st. After this I heard nothing more from 
 Halapy until I received the letter which follows : 
 
 “Monongahela House, Pittsburgh, Pa., 
 January 11, 1921. 
 
 Frank Farrington, President, 
 
 U. M. W. of A., District 12, 
 
 Springfield, 111. 
 
 Dear Sir and Brother : 
 
 We are appealing through you to the members of the U. 
 M. W. of A., District No. 12, for support both moral and finan- 
 cial. Every principle of the U. M. W. of A. has, and is being 
 flagrantly violated in this District. Pacts and affidavits now 
 on file are beyond dispute to prove the above assertion, and we 
 sincerely believe that if our committee receives the financial aid 
 they will be able to purge the U. M. W. of A. of the many thieves 
 and corruptionists from longer conducting their nefarious work. 
 
 The U. M. W. of A. cannot endure and thrive under the 
 practices now in vogue in this district and can only result,^ if 
 continued, in making the men, women and children of the Mine 
 Workers practically slaves. 
 
 We are compelled to appeal to you by reason of the fact 
 that the powers that be in this district have threatened the mem- 
 
41 
 
 bership of their expulsion if any contributions are made to this 
 cause. 
 
 We, therefore, ask you in our name to issue a circular for 
 financial aid from your office by endorsing this letter and send- 
 ing it to all your locals. 
 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 Michael Halapy, President, 
 Signed: Thos. Myerscough, Secretary, 
 
 On behalf of committee of action. ’ ^ 
 
 Answering Halapy ’s letter of January 11, 1921, I wrote him as 
 follows : 
 
 “Springfield, 111., January 14, 1921. 
 
 Mr. Michael Halapy, 
 
 Monongahela House, 
 
 Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 Dear Sir and Brother : 
 
 Answering your letter of January 11th concerning matter 
 of raising funds to purge our organization of the corruption in 
 the Pittsburgh district, I advise that my judgment is that it 
 should not be necessary to issue a circular appeal for that pur- 
 pose. Surely to God there are enough honest mine workers in the 
 Pittsburgh district who would be willing to contribute enough 
 money to purify their organization. 
 
 I note what you say about the officers having prohibited 
 the members in the Pittsburgh district from making contribu- 
 tions for that purpose, even though that be true that does not 
 prevent individuals from personally contributing their own 
 money. I do not feel that I am conversant enough with affairs 
 in the Pittsburgh district to warrant my issuing a circular of 
 appeal to our members in District No. 12. 
 
 If any circular is to be issued I think it should be prepared 
 and signed by your committee and issued from Pittsburgh. I 
 am satisfied that if you should issue such a circular that quite a 
 number of our local unions will respond to such an appeal, but 
 by all means I think the circular should be prepared by your 
 committee and be issued' from Pittsburgh, and it should not only 
 be sent into Illinois but into every other district in our organiza- 
 tion. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 Signed : Frank Farrington, President. ’ ^ 
 
 After writing the above letter I heard nothing more from Pitts- 
 burgh until International Organizer Grecula sent me a telegram on 
 February 8th that will be hereinafter quoted, but before quoting his 
 telegram it is necessary to explain who Grecula is. 
 
42 
 
 John Grecula is one of those contemptible individuals who would 
 sell their soul for an organizers commission. Long before he became 
 an International Organizer he professed to be a warm friend of 
 Robt. H. Harlin. Several years later he was commissioned as an 
 International Organizer, but during the last International election 
 he went to Harlin saying he had been discharged by President Lewds 
 and volunteered to do what he could to help elect Howat and Harlin 
 and during the election he was in the Pittsburgh district pretending 
 to be friendly to them. In reality he was only a spy that had been 
 ‘"planted” in their camp. He was on the International pay roll then 
 and he is on it now, but when he wired me he was supposed to be 
 supporting Howat and Harlin. 
 
 Grecula ’s telegram of February 8th reads as follows : 
 
 “Pittsburgh, Pa., Feb. 8, 1921. 
 
 Frank Farrington, 
 
 Springfield, 111. 
 
 Our friends at their meeting yesterday decided to start 
 move for independent union. Circulars will be sent to all local 
 unions in District five to that effect. While am here on behalf 
 of Harlin I would like to know what position is best to assume. 
 Am wiring Harlin and Howat. Wire answer. 
 
 Signed: John Grecula, 
 
 Monongahela House.” 
 
 The above telegram was forwarded to me from Springfield to 
 St. Louis. Immediately upon its receipt I wired Grecula as follows : 
 
 John Grecula, “St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 8, 1921. 
 
 Monongahela House, 
 
 Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 I have your telegram of February eighth informing me that 
 Halapy and followers have decided to start movement to es- 
 tablish independent union in Pittsburgh district. I sincerely 
 regret that this is true. I ask that you say to them for me that 
 I am unalterably opposed to such a movement and that I shall 
 have nothing whatever to do with the same. In the future, as 
 in the past, I shall render every legitimate assistance possible 
 to clean up any irregularities that may be working injury to 
 our union, but I shall not in any way associate myself with those 
 who attempt to establish a dual organization among the mine 
 workers. Great though the provocation may be it is the solemn 
 duty of every mine worker to do everything in his power to 
 preserve the integrity of the United Mine Workers of America. 
 Consequently it is the duty of every member of our union to 
 confine his activities within the laws of our union in seeking 
 an adjustment of any complaint, no matter how serious it may 
 be. Therefore I most earnestly hope that Hqlapy and his fol- 
 lowers will change their decision and conduct themselves in a 
 way that will preserve the integrity of the United Mine Workers 
 of America. 
 
 Signed : Frank Farrington. ’ ’ 
 
43 
 
 Later "on I received the letter which follows: 
 
 ‘ ‘ Monongahela House, Pittsburgh, Pa., 
 February 19, 1921. 
 
 Mr. Frank Farrington, 
 
 Springfield, 111. 
 
 Dear Sir and Brother: 
 
 The Policy Committee chosen by the progressive miners of 
 District No. 5, U. M. W. of A., to see that the Constitutipnal 
 Law of our Union is lived up to instructs the undersigned to 
 inform you that the committee never had any intention to start 
 a dual movement in this District and create a split in the 
 United Mine Workers o^ America. Nor, have they any intention 
 of doing so now. Y7e want to inform you that any charges to 
 the contrary are false and malicious. We are suffering under 
 grievous wrongs. Members of our Union were denied their con- 
 stitutional rights. Our ballot was corrupted at the last Biennial 
 election but we are willing and desirous to have these wrongs 
 redressed through the courts of our organization, The United 
 Mine Workers of America. 
 
 Fraternally yours, 
 
 Signed : Michael Halapy, Chairman, 
 
 Thomas Myerscough, Secretary.” 
 
 I would not have burdened my report with this recital but the 
 charge, coming from such a high source, that your President en- 
 couraged the formation of a dual movement within our union is too 
 ’ serious and dastardly to allow it to go unchallenged. With the 
 documentary proof before you I leave you to judge as to my guilt. 
 
 We in Illinois did not furnish all the money that went into the 
 Pittsburgh district. Secretary Green’s records show that during the 
 eleven months just preceding our last International election the 
 International Union sent a total of seventy-five thousand dollars 
 ($75,000.00) to the officers of the Pittsburgh District, the last install- 
 ment of this amount being sent there on December 10, 1920. The 
 election was held on December 14th and the official financial report 
 of District No. 5 shows a balance of two hundred and one thousand 
 six hundred and forty-nine dollars and thirty-six cents ($201,649.36) 
 in the District Treasury on October 1, 1920. Of course, it will be 
 claimed that this money was used to finance strikes but the facts do 
 not bear out that claim. You must form your own conclusions as to 
 why the money was sent to District No. 5 at a time when the financial 
 report of that District shows that they had ample funds in the Dis- 
 trict Treasury to carry on the work of the District Organization. 
 
 Some More Politics as Played by our International Officers. 
 
 An excerpt taken from President Lewis’ report to the last 
 International Convention, as his report related to the Alabama 
 strike, reads as follows: 
 
 ‘‘While the Alabama mine workers, with their backs to the 
 wall, were desperately resisting the onslaughts of the minions of 
 
44 
 
 the Alabama coal operators, they were treacherously knifed in 
 the back by the vicious, false propoganda which certain schem- ^ 
 ing politicians in our own organization sent into the state. This, 
 circumstance formed one of the most deplorable incidents of 
 the Alabama'' strike. I refer specifically to the pusillanimous 
 action of Candidate Robert H. Harlin, who flooded local unions 
 of that state with telegrams sent at an enormous expense from 
 Seattle, Washington, and containing malicious untruths. I 
 quote the following, which was sent to the Financial Secretary 
 of Local Union No. 3270, Brookside, Alabama: 
 
 'Seattle, Washington, Dec. 11, 1920. 
 
 Oscar Davis, Brookside, Alabama : 
 
 The following telegram from President Farrington, Illinois 
 should be given publicity in interest of decency and a square 
 deal in the coming miners election:’ 
 
 'Robert H. Harlin, Seattle, Washington: 
 
 Lewis, Murray and Green, preceded by force of organizers 
 who are billing meetings without invitations from local unions, 
 are addressing meetings in Illinois. Reliable information is that 
 their meetings are failures. They are resorting to falsehood and 
 deception and are losing what few supporters they had in this 
 district. International Organizer Wilson spent three weeks in 
 Belleville organizing their meetings, also nine days in DuQnoin 
 organizing meetings. Our district is infested with International 
 Organizers drawing ten dollars a day and expenses from^ Inter- 
 national Union, while striking miners of West Virginia and 
 Alabama are crying for bread which cannot be furnished them 
 because the International Union is bankrupt. It is a shame that 
 funds of our Union should be expended with such reckless 
 random for campaign purposes, while they who are fighting for 
 their lives to establish the standard of the United Mine Workers; 
 in non-union fields are unable to secure even meager support 
 f-_’om our International Union. I suggest that you transmit 
 contents of the telegram to workers in Alabama and elsewhere. 
 
 Frank Farrington, President Illinois Miners. 
 
 Signed: Robert H. Harlin.”' 
 
 '■'Aside from the minor falsehoods contained in this tele- 
 gram, it sets forth that the International Union could not furnish 
 bread to the crying miners of West Virginia and Alabama be- 
 cause the funds of the International Union had been dissipated 
 in an irregular way, and that the organization was bankrupt. 
 Can one conceive of a more atrocious untruth or a more prodig- 
 ious falsehood than this statement? At the time this telegram 
 was sent, the International Union was furnishing $50,000 per 
 week to the Alabama miners for food alone, besides spending 
 additional thousands for clothing, shelter, physicians’ services, 
 medicines and other necessities. This support was continued 
 
45 
 
 until the month of April 1, 1921, which is indeed an astonishing 
 action for a bankrupt organization such as is described in the 
 Harlin telegram. As a matter of fact, the International Union 
 expended approximately $2,000,000 subsequent to the date of 
 this message. 
 
 This telegram was delivered by the Western Union Tele- 
 graph Company to scores of our members in Alabama and was 
 promptly copied and distributed by the coal companies to dis- 
 courage our members and break the strike. More than any- 
 thing which occurred during the strike, this statement operated 
 to cast a pall of gloom over the mining camps and the tent 
 colonies, because it led our people to believe that the weekly 
 payments of benefits were to be suspended. Only the most 
 prompt and vigorous action by the district officers and represen- 
 tatives of the International Union on the ground was able to 
 brush away these fears and convince our members of the false- 
 hood of the statements. Notwithstanding that we were able to 
 ultimately restore the confidence of our people, this telegram 
 brought joy and comfort into the hearts of the coal operators 
 of the state who were so relentlessly opposing us. They firmly 
 believed, and so publicly stated, that our International Union 
 could no longer finance the strike and they rallied their battered 
 forces and reinforced their opposition to a greater degree than 
 would otherwise have been possible.” 
 
 The above hardly squares with another paragraph of President 
 Lewis’ report on the same subject. It reads as follows: 
 
 ‘^In the month of December, 1920, to our great disappoint- 
 ment, the acute industrial depression lessened the demand for 
 coal and a condition was created materially to the advantage of 
 the Alabama Coal operators. The closing of industry in the 
 South released thousands of men who became available as mine 
 recruits and strike breakers for the coal operators. Notwith- 
 standing these conditions, which gradually became worse, the 
 miners stood firm and waged the unequal struggle until the 
 month of February. ’ ’ 
 
 The above seems to contradict the statement that the operators 
 forces were ‘‘battered” at the time Harlin ’s telegram was received 
 in Alabama and the telegram could not have, cast such a “pall of 
 gloom over the mining camps and colonies” because Lewis himself 
 says that although conditions gradually became worse, not on ac- 
 count of the telegram, but on account of the “acute industrial de- 
 pression” the miners stood “firm” and waged the unequal struggle 
 until the month of February. His statement that “the telegram was 
 delivered to scores of our members in Alabama and was promptly 
 copied and distributed by the coal companies to discourage our 
 members and break the strike,” hardly seems true. Are we to 
 believe that our members turned the telegram over to the coal com- 
 panies? I have letters from Alabama in my possession showing that 
 
46 
 
 the telegram was not given the wide publicity claimed by Lewis and 
 proving that his statement as to the publicity given it is no more than 
 a lot of piffle and I personally know that his statement that Harlin 
 ‘‘flooded the local unions in Alabama with telegrams sent at an 
 enormous expense^’ is a gross exaggeration of the truth. 
 
 As a matter of fact there were more men employed in the mines 
 in the strike zone and the mines were getting out more coal than 
 when the strike was called and men were being discharged because 
 they were not needed and mines were laying idle, not on account of 
 the strike, but for the want of orders and the strike was completely 
 and hopelessly lost long before Harlin ’s telegram was sent into 
 Alabama. During the following February, the officers, with child 
 like innocence and faith, turned the settlement of the strike over to 
 Governor Kilby, the Commander in Chief of the military forces that 
 had been used to crush and defeat the strikers and agreed to abide 
 by whatever decision he might make and as might be expected 
 he denied every contention made by the mine workers. 
 
 If these assertions are doubted, I suggest that this convention 
 select a committee from among the delegation to make a complete 
 investigation to determine the truth. 
 
 I have no word of condemnation for the Alabama miners but I 
 hate the pomp and sham of men who play with the fate of other men 
 so that their game of dirty politics may go on. 
 
 I make no denial of having sent the telegram to Harlin and I 
 stand by its contents with but one exception. Where the name 
 Green appears, the name should have been Smith, my opponent in 
 the last District election. This error occurred in the transmission of 
 the telegram. The telegram as originally drawn shows the name of 
 “Smith.” Otherwise the contents of the telegram are true. 
 
 The Illinois miners know that Lewis brought Paul J. Smith out 
 as an opponent to the President of District No. 12 in the last election. 
 They know that Lewis and Murray and Smith and a gang of organ- 
 izers did canvass the locals in Illinois as stated in the telegram and 
 if they donT know that the International Union was bankrupt at 
 that time I refer them to page 9 of Secretary Green’s report to the 
 last International Convention. And they know that Murray issued 
 a circular attack on the President of District No. 12 long before 
 the President of District No. 12 sent the telegram to Harlin and they 
 know that Lewis and many other International officers and organ- 
 izers have not hesitated at anything to bring discredit to the Presi- 
 dent of District No. 12 and being good sports they know that men 
 who devote their time, almost exclusively, to playing politics should 
 not squawk when the other fellow retaliates. 
 
 Now then as to the harm done the Alabama miners by the tele- 
 gram. I wonder if it did them more harm than was done to the 
 mine workers of the country by the copyrighted article that was 
 written by one K. C. Adams, President of the Great Lakes Coal and 
 Coke Corporation, with coal properties at Lory, West Virginia, and 
 
47 
 
 President of the White-Adams Coal Selling Agency at Indianapolis, 
 and who for six years was publicity agent for the United Mine 
 Workers of America and who is Editor of the “American Coal 
 Miner and who by order of President Lewis drew eight hundred 
 and thirty-nine dollars ($839.00) from the International Union for 
 publicity purposes during the Cleveland Convention two years ago 
 and who prepared the reports that many of the delegates to the 
 Cleveland Convention took back to their local unions, and which 
 copyrighted article was written for release for publication on Octo- 
 ber 19th, just previous to November 1st, when by order of the Cleve- 
 land Convention, a strike of all the bituminous mine workers in the 
 country was to take place. In that article it was stated that the 
 wage demands of the Cleveland Convention were the outgrowth of 
 politics ; that Lewis was not in sympathy with the strike ; that his 
 wage scale recommendations were made only to outplay the radicals ; 
 that the miners were already enjoying the greatest freedom in their 
 employment of any class of labor in America and that there really 
 was no reason for the strike that was to take place on November 
 1st, but there had to be a strike to tame the radicals. 
 
 This article was published in the press of the country from the 
 Atlantic to the Pacific and many of the popular magazines and it 
 was published in the Pittsburgh papers as a paid advertisement and 
 paid for by the Pittsburgh coal operators. This article undoubtedly 
 did more to deceive the people of the country and to mould public 
 and governmental sentiment against the miners than anything else 
 that could be done, yet when the matter was officially brought to the 
 attention of President Lewis under date of October 18, 1919, by the 
 Executive Board of District No. 12 and he was asked to issue a 
 public denial and repudiation of the article, he informed us under 
 date of October 22, 1919 that he knew of nothing that could be done 
 about the matter, and nothing was done. No public statement was 
 issued to overcome the falsehoods told in the article, although Presi- 
 dent Lewis had the means at hand to do so. No public repudiation 
 of Adams was made. Not even a single word was printed in our 
 official Journal in contradiction of the falsehoods and no effort was 
 made to get the truth to the people of the country, but instead the 
 mine workers were allowed to go into the strike of November 1st 
 with a hostile public sentiment wrongfully and treacherously 
 moulded against them and our President remained silent. 
 
 Was my action in sending Harlin the telegram and his action in 
 transmitting it to a few men in Alabama more “pusillanimous” or 
 “treacherous” than was the inaction of Lewis when he remained 
 silent and allowed all the bituminous coal miners in the country to 
 be “treacherously knifed in the back by the vicious, false propa- 
 ganda” of Coal Operator Adams? I leave you to judge. 
 
 Moreover, was it more “ pussillanimous ” or “treacherous” than 
 was the action of Lewis when he, through the public press, on 
 numerous occasions, bambastically attacked and ridiculed and be- 
 littled the President of District No. 12 and threatened to strike all 
 the mine workers in the country if the Illinois operators conceded 
 
48 
 
 any modifications in the Illinois wage agreement and when he did 
 everything in his power to prevent our success, at the time the 
 President of District No. 12 and his associate officers organized the 
 movement that finally resulted in the shift hands, not alone in 
 Illinois, but all over the country, getting an increase of one dollar 
 and fifty cents ($1.50) per day, beginning August 16th, 1920 and 
 when during the midst of our efforts to secure this increase he wired 
 me on July 31, 1920 as follows: 
 
 “I expect you to cooperate with me in t’emoving from the 
 proud record our organization has made the stain of dishonor 
 placed upon it and to put an end to the illegal strike in Dis- 
 trict No. 12.” 
 
 And when he later took unto himself the credit for securing the 
 increase, although it was secured, not by him but in spite of him? 
 Again I leave you to judge. 
 
 It is with extreme repugnance that I burden my report with 
 such things, but when one is attacked by those who devote them- 
 selves to the game of politics and whose only motive is to discredit 
 and destroy, one has no choice but to protect one ’s self against their 
 attack. 
 
 $100,000 Given to Kansas Miners. 
 
 Acting by authority of a referendum vote of our membership, 
 your district officers donated one hundred thousand dollars ($100,- 
 000) out of our District Treasury to the mine workers of Kansas to 
 aid them in their fight to overcome the obnoxious Industrial Court 
 Act. Ever since this was done agents of our International Union, 
 President Lewis included, have tried, with their usual aptitude for 
 playing cheap and dirty politics, to discredit Alexander Howat and 
 the officers of District No. 12 in the minds of the membership by 
 constantly attempting to deceive them by making dirty insinuations 
 that this money was being improperly expended. The latest of 
 these dirty insinuations was made by President Lewis during our 
 last International Convention. No matter how serious or vital the 
 issue confronting our Union, even though its very life may be at 
 stake, these men do not seem to be able to see anything in the issue 
 but their own political interest and if in their judgment their politi- 
 cal interest requires that they discredit those who are fighting the 
 vital issue they do not hesitate to set the machinery in motion to ac- 
 complish that end, therefore the insinuations that ‘‘Howat used this 
 money to further his candidacy in the last election” and the in- 
 sinuation that “the Illinois miners would not be content if they knew 
 how the money was being expended” and many other insinuations, 
 dirty in nature and false in character were dropped from time to 
 time in this place and that to create the suspicion that this money 
 was not used in the way the Illinois miners intended it to be used. 
 So as to give the lie to these malicious insinuations I directed 
 Auditors Schaefer and Martin to proceed to Pittsburg, Kansas and 
 
49 
 
 audit the accounts of District No. 14, as they related to the $100,000 
 mentioned. Their audit was made under date of October 14, 1921 
 and is as follows : 
 
 “Pittsburg, Kansas, October 14, 1921. 
 
 Mr. Frank Farrington, President, 
 
 District 12, U. M. W. of A., 
 
 Springfield, HI. 
 
 Dear Sir and Bro. : 
 
 As per your instructions, we the undersigned auditors of 
 Districts 12 and 14, proceeded to check up the Accounts of 
 Thos. Harvey, Secretary-Treasurer of District 14 with reference 
 to the One Hundred Thousand Dollars donated to President 
 Howat and the Kansas Miners by the Illinois Miners for the 
 ' purpose of assisting them in their fight against the ^Industrial 
 Court Law of Kansas. 
 
 Notwithstanding the charges and rumors that this money 
 was being spent illegitimately by President Howat, and the 
 Kansas Miners, we failed to find any justification for such 
 charges other than to try and discredit President Howat and the 
 Kansas Miners in their determined fight against this Un-ameri- 
 can Law. 
 
 Under the caption Attorneys’ Fees and Legal Matters we 
 find that this expense was legally confined to the defense of 
 Howat, Dorchey and others against this Industrial Court Law. 
 
 Under the caption of Protest demonstration, we find that 
 during the trials of Howat and Dorchey and the day of their in- 
 carceration in jail, street cars were chartered and the trans- 
 portation of those willing to take part in the protest were paid. 
 It is estimated that on the day of their incarceration there were 
 approximately five thousand mine workers gathered at the 
 Court House in Columbus, Kansas to hear President Howat ’s 
 parting words and his bitter denunciation of the Industrial 
 Court Law. 
 
 Eelative to the Publicity and protest campaign we find that 
 Twenty Thousand Dollars was advanced and loaned to a paper 
 to be established and known as the Golden Eule Messenger for 
 the purpose of placing the facts and developments of this law 
 into the homes of every miner, farmer and Laboring man in 
 Kansas, with a view of repealing the said law at the next elec- 
 tion. Seven men were also put in the field for several weeks 
 during the last election of state authorities to campaign against 
 this law. 
 
50 
 
 DISBURSEMENTS. 
 
 Attorney Fees and Legal Matters, Howat Contempt Case. 
 Date. 
 
 Nov. 3, 1920 — H. C. Doyle, attorney fees $ 4,500.00 
 
 Nov. 3, 1920 — Redmon S. Brennan, attorney fees 5,000.00 
 
 April 7, 1921 — Redmon S. Brennan, attorney fees 2,500.00 
 
 April 7, 1921 — L. L. McCormick, attorney fees 1,500.00 
 
 May 5, 1921 — Shepherd, McNeill & Stephens 2,500.00 
 
 May 7, 1921 — Shepherd & Shepherd 2,500.00 
 
 April 14, 1921 — Printing briefs, court and litigation expense 492.70 
 
 June 18, 1921 — Printing and expense 1,342.50 
 
 June 29, 1921 — R. S. Brennan & McCormick, attorney fees........ 5,000.00 
 
 July 9, 1921 — Shepherd & Shepherd, McNeUl & Stephens, at- 
 torney fees ..?. 5,000.00 
 
 July 9, 1921 — Cale R. Jones, stenographic work 243.00 
 
 July 16, 1921— J. P. R. R. Co., fares to Columbus at trial of 
 
 Howat and Dorchey 357.53 , 
 
 June 19, 1920 — John B. Fayne, attorney fees 50.00 
 
 July 19, 1920 — John B. Fayne, attorney fees 50.0^ 
 
 Aug. 19, 1920 — John B. Fayne, attorney fees 30.00 
 
 Sept. 1920 — Byron Coon 200.00 
 
 Mar. 4, 1921 — ^Witness fees for Mackies 6.20 
 
 Mar. 19, 1921 — Louis Winters, stenographic work.... 8.00 
 
 Mar. 19, 1921 — Fred Simpkins, transcript.. 5.00 
 
 Mar. 19, 1921 — L. Winters, transcript 35.00 
 
 April 1921 — Printing in connection with trial in injunction 
 
 suit 15.00 
 
 May 1921 — Transcript in Patton case 27.00 
 
 July Printing in connection with contempt case 15.00 
 
 Cost in Supreme Court of Kansas to U. S. Su- 
 preme Court, Howat case 7.00 
 
 July 1920 — Workers Chronicle, printing abstract record in 
 
 Howat case 55.00 
 
 U. S. Post Card injunction suit 2.00 
 
 Special stenographic copying record 4.00 
 
 Feb. 23, 1921 — Carl Mishmash, transportation and expense to 
 draw pay from coal co., instead of Industrial 
 
 Court 39.77 
 
 Sept 11, 1920 — F. C. Werner, premium on bond, appeal in con- 
 tempt case to U. S. Court 200.00 
 
 Oct. 14, 1920 — U. S. Supreme Court, part payment cost of ap- 
 peal case Howat and others 25.00 
 
 Mar. 3, 1921 — U. S. Fidelity & Guarantee Co., premium on 
 
 bonds, Howat case 123.00 
 
 Mar. 20, 1921 — L. Winters, transcript 42.00 
 
 Sept. 7, 1921 — Fred Simpkins, court stenographer.. 173.40 
 
 $32,048.10 
 
 PROTEST DEMONSTRATIONS. 
 
 July* 2, 1921— Joplin-Pittsburg R. R. Co., fares to Columbus, 
 
 Kan., Howat trial $ 875.13 
 
 Sept. 30, 1921 — Joplin-Pittsburg R. R. Co., fares to Colum- 
 bus, escorting Howat to jail 1,291.10 
 
 Sept. 30, 1921— Girl Band, meals at Columbus 13.00 
 
 Total - $ 2,179.23 
 
 
51 
 
 PUBLICITY AND PBOTEST CAMPAIGN. 
 Jan. 21, 1921 — Oklahoma Leader, publicity campaign against 
 
 Industrial Court Law $ 1,000.00 
 
 July 28, 1921 — ^Oklahoma Leader 100.00 
 
 July 23, 1921 — Loan to establish paper known as Golden Rule 
 
 Messenger 20,000.00 
 
 Mar. 7, 1921 — ^Workers Chronicle, printing 48.50 
 
 April 29, 1921 — ^Workers Chronicle, printing 7.50 
 
 May 6, 1921 — Workers Chronicle, printing 9.00 
 
 May 14, 1921 — Workers Chronicle, printing 5.00 
 
 June 14, 1921 — ^Workers Chronicle, printing 21.50 
 
 June 21, 1921 — ^Workers Chronicle, printing 6.00 
 
 Sept. 9, 1921 — Workers Chronicle, printing 21.00 
 
 Campaign Expenses Against Industrial Court Law: 
 
 Oct. 1920 — Ed. Jackson 113.80 
 
 A. T. Vanhook 300.52 
 
 Thos. Cunningham 368.43 
 
 Al. Foreman 310.00 
 
 George Reid 289.54 
 
 James Dorcey 9.50 
 
 A. E. Tindrell 12.00 
 
 Total $22,622.29 
 
 RECAPITULATION. 
 
 Amount received from District 12, for the purpose of assisting 
 Howat and the Kansas Miners in their fight against the 
 
 Industrial Court Law $100,000.00 
 
 Amount Disbursed — 
 
 Attorney Fees and Legal Matters $32,048.10 
 
 Protest Demonstration •. 2,179.23 
 
 Publicity and Protest Campaign 22,622.29 
 
 66,849.62 
 
 Balance on Hand $ 43,150.38 
 
 Inasmuch that these accounts were included in the General 
 Fund of Dist. 14, we herewith advise that a separate fund be 
 kept in the future and that all disbursements intended for same 
 to be charged against said fund. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 John R. Schaefer, 
 
 Enoch Martin, 
 
 Auditors Dist. 12, Illinois. 
 Robert B. Foster, 
 
 James Mariotte, 
 
 Julius La Forte, 
 
 Auditors Dist. 14, Kansas. ’ ’ 
 
 The above audit gives the lie to the slander mongers, who in- 
 stead of fighting with Howat against the Industrial Court Act, as 
 honest men would do, have tried to discredit him when, he was mak-' 
 ing the fight against one of the most injurious measures ever enacted 
 against the workers of any state in America. 
 
 I particularly direct your attention to the fact that the above 
 audit shows that less than twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) of the 
 
 « OP at UR 
 
52 
 
 money was expended previous to our International election, which 
 was held on December 14, 1920 and that virtually all of that amount 
 was paid out for attorney fees, which proves that the stories that 
 Howat used your money to further his candidacy in the last miners 
 election are no more than empty lies. 
 
 The Kansas Trouble. 
 
 A condition has developed in District No. 14 that may be 
 properly regarded as being the most serious internal disturbance 
 that has occurred during the life of our Union. 
 
 Alexander Howat is in jail. The charter of District No. 14 has 
 been suspended and the integrity of the United Mine Workers of 
 America is imperiled. 
 
 When the integrity of our Union is in jeopardy we are con- 
 cerned, and the trouble in Kansas is, therefore, our concern. Con- 
 sequently I recommend that this Convention shall at some time 
 during its sessions suspend the rules and devote time to the con- 
 sideration of the trouble in Kansas. 
 
 Alexander Howat is imprisoned in the county jail at Columbus, 
 Kansas, in the custody of Sheriff Harvey, brother of Thomas Harvey, 
 appointed by President Lewis to act as Secretary-Treasurer of a 
 “provisional district organization” in Kansas. On October 12th, 
 Vice-President Fish wick and Secretary Nesbit visited Brother Howat 
 and found him confined in a six by eight steel cell or cage, the cross 
 bars on the door of which are so closely knitted together that only 
 two fingers of the hand can be passed through the open squares in 
 the door. He is not even given access to the corridors for exercise, 
 a privilege often accorded the most vicious criminals and always ac- 
 corded a trusty. He is allowed to have visitors only on Wednesday 
 of each week, and so it is with Vice-President Dorchey and their only 
 crime is that they refused to sign a bond not to call any more strikes 
 in Kansas. They could have saved themselves had they agreed to 
 commit the Kansas miners to virtual slavery. 
 
 President Howat asked Fishwick and Nesbit to convey to the 
 Illinois miners his profound appreciation of the moral and financial 
 help and the sympathetic encouragement they have given him and 
 to say to them that he intends to fight to the bitter end, let the end 
 take him where it will. 
 
 As evidence of the sentiment of the Kansas miners I quote one 
 of many resolutions adopted by them. It reads as follows : 
 
 “Franklin, Kansas, October 2, 1921. 
 
 To all Local Unions of District No. 12, 
 
 United Mine Workers of America. 
 
 Dear Sirs and Brothers : 
 
 The miners of Kansas, in mass meeting assembled, in Frank- 
 lin, Kansas, on October 2, 1921, authorize us to convey to the 
 
 miners of Illinois the respect and esteem in which the miners of 
 
 Kansas hold the miners of Illinois. 
 
 
53 
 
 We find it impossible to adequately express our apprecia- 
 tion for the help and assistance the Illinois miners have rendered 
 us in our fight with the Kansas Industrial Court Law, and a 
 coterie of unscrupulous political jackals who are using all the 
 powers of the state to throttle the coal miners of Kansas. 
 
 The Kansas miners look upon the Illinois miners as their 
 big brother, in whom we have every confidence, and who we 
 believe will go shoulder to shoulder in this fight which means 
 life or death to every honest union man in the Mine Workers 
 organization. 
 
 Let us say to the mine workers of Illinois that we are in this 
 fight to win, and if at any time we are compelled to surrender, 
 it will be when the last union man in Kansas is counted out. 
 
 Yours for justice, 
 
 Chas. Rumetsch, 
 
 Englebert Van Huyck, 
 John Fleming, Jr., 
 
 S. T. Wakefield, 
 
 Committee.” 
 
 Under date of October 12th and without any previous warning 
 and without having officially notified the officers of District No. 14 
 of the action of the International Convention and while Alexander 
 Howat was in jail and without making any conciliatory effort to in- 
 fiuence the men to return to work, who were idle, not on account 
 of any action of the International Convention as stated, but because 
 their chief had been sent to prison. President Lewis wired John 
 Fleming, acting President of District No. 14 as follows : 
 
 "‘‘As President of United Mine Workers of America I am 
 compelled to take official cognizance of the present extraordi- 
 nary situation existing in District fourteen. The laws of the 
 United Mine Workers of America are being flagrantly disre- 
 garded and the ruling of an international convention is being 
 deliberatly flaunted. The joint agreement betvfeen miners and 
 operators in the state of Kansas has been trampled upon by 
 individuals who seemingly have no respect for the honor of their 
 organization or the principals of fair dealing among men. There- 
 fore, in view of these facts and with a desire to protect the 
 future of our organization and promote the welfare of its mem- 
 bership I am hereby officially advising you that the autonomy 
 of District fourteen stands suspended, effective this date, all 
 offices in District fourteen are by this order declared vacant 
 and individuals heretofore filling these positions can no longer 
 officially represent or speak for District fourteen. United Mine 
 Workers of America. In order that the business of our or- 
 ganization in Kansas may be properly transacted and the 
 interests of our members protected this office has designated 
 Mr. George L. Peck, heretofore member of International Exe- 
 cutive Board, as its chief representative in District fourteen wff^ 
 all authority of acting President of a provisional district under 
 
54 
 
 control of International Union. Mr. Thomas Harvey, hereto- 
 fore Secretary-Treasurer of District fourteen, is in similar 
 manner designated as Financial representative of International 
 Union empowered to exercise functions of acting Secretary- 
 Treasurer of provisional district organization operating under 
 control of International Union, these officers thus created acting 
 by and with consent of International Union shall assume charge 
 of affairs of mine workers of provisional district fourteen and 
 shall with full authority perform such^acts as may be necessary 
 for the transaction of business of the district within the perview 
 of the constitution of United Mine Workers of America and in 
 harmony with our honorable obligations under Joint Agree- 
 ment. All loyal members of the United Mine Workers of 
 America in the state of Kansas will be governed accordingly. 
 
 Signed : J ohn L. Lewis. ’ ’ 
 
 At the same time President Lewis wired Mr. W. L. A. J ohnson. 
 General Commissioner of the Southwestern Interstate Coal Opera- 
 tors Association, as follows : 
 
 “Washington, D. C., Oct. 12, 1921. 
 
 Mr. W. L. A. Johnson, General Commissioner, 
 
 Southwestern Interstate Coal Operators Assn., 
 
 Keith and Perry Bldg., Kansas City, Mo.. 
 
 You are hereby officially advised that acting with authority 
 of International Organization, I have today suspended autonomy 
 of District fourteen, LTnited Mine Workers of America. All 
 offices of said district are by this action declared vacant and 
 individuals previously holding such offices are no longer 
 qualified to speak with any authority or transact any business 
 of United Mine Workers of America. This office has designated 
 Mr. Geo. L. Peck as chief representative of International Union 
 in the Provisional District Fourteen functioning under Inter- 
 national authority ; Thomas Harvey has been designated as chief 
 financial representative to perform duties of Secretary-Treas- 
 urer of provisional district under similar authority. Inter- 
 national Union will assume the obligations of joint agreement 
 between miners and operators in District fourteen and your 
 association is officially advised that it can deal with the repre- 
 sentatives herein designated on all questions. International 
 Union intends to liquidate its responsibilities under Kansas 
 agreement in fullest possible way and will appreciate coopera- 
 tion of Southwestern Interstate Coal Operators’ Association in 
 the premises. Will apprise you of any further details in con- 
 nection with this matter at later date. 
 
 Signed: John L. Lewis.” 
 
55 
 
 Mr. W. L. A. J ohnson wired President Lewis as follows : 
 
 ‘‘Mr. John L. Lewis, Pres., 
 
 United Mine Workers of America, 
 
 Ealeigh Hotel, Washington, D. C. 
 
 Your wire yesterday received referring suspension officers 
 District fourteen. Association appreciates and considers action 
 opportune and justified and assures you of fullest possible co- 
 operation in all matters affecting operation of Joint Agree- 
 ment. 
 
 Signed: W. L. A. Johnson.” 
 
 The last two quoted telegrams would indicate a close coopera- 
 tion between President Lewis and Mr. Johnson and the telegram of 
 Mr. Johnson shows that “the operators appreciate” President Lewis’ 
 action in suspending the officers _of District No. 14 and that they 
 “consider the action opportune and justified.” 
 
 This action is without warrant under our law and without pre- 
 cedent in our Union and can only be regarded as the act of a mad- 
 man, insane with obsession and arrogance of the nature that actuated 
 the Kaiser when he plunged the nations of the world into world 
 wide war. 
 
 No where in our law is the President of our union vested with 
 the power or authority to suspend the autonomy of active district 
 organizations and to create “provisional districts” in their stead 
 and to appoint “provisional officers” to preside over the same and 
 if President Lewis is to be allowed to do this at will the autonomy, 
 aye, the integrity of no district will he safe from day to day against 
 the inconstancy and passion of his rule and if the membership 
 tolerate a practice of this kind it is inevitable that the United Mine 
 Workers of America will be overcome and perish of internal dissen- 
 sion. 
 
 To Clear up Some Untruths. 
 
 During our International Convention, President Lewis told the 
 convention that Alexander Howat had never asked for the coopera- 
 tion of the International Union in his fight against the Industrial 
 Court Act. His exact statement to the convention was as follows: 
 ‘ ‘ It was said this morning that President Howat of District fourteen 
 had appealed in vain to the International Union for cooperation or 
 assistance, that is not a fact, since the enactment of the law the 
 officers of district fourteen have not requested cooperation, have not 
 requested any assistance moral or financial but have repulsed every 
 effort of the International Union to cooperate toward the repeal of 
 that law or have it declared unconstitutional by the higher coqxto. ” 
 As indisputable proof that the truth was not stated to the conven- 
 tion, by President Lewis, I quote a letter written by Alexander 
 Howat to President Lewis. It reads as follows : 
 
56 
 
 '‘Pittsburg, Kan., March 4, 1920. 
 
 Mr. John L. Lewis, 
 
 International President U. M. W. of A., 
 
 1106 Merchants Bank Bldg., 
 
 Indianapolis, Ind. 
 
 Dear Sir and Brother : 
 
 I suppose you know before ^this time that Gov. Allen of 
 Kansas was successful at the special session of the Legislature, 
 in having a law passed that is known as the Kansas Court of 
 Industrial Relations. This law is intended to enslave the work- 
 ing class of this state and to destroy organized labor in Kansas. 
 
 This law is an insult to every honest working man who be- 
 lieves in the principles of liberty and justice, and is a disgrace 
 to the state of Kansas. It is intended to place us at the complete 
 mercy of the employers of labor and to put us where we were 
 years ago before we had an organization here. 
 
 There is no law even in the most autocratic country of 
 Europe today that destroys the usefullness and effectiveness of 
 organized labor and places them more completely at the mercy 
 of the employers than does the law we have in Kansas at this 
 time. This law provides one year in prison and $500 fine on 
 any of the men who may go on a local strike, that is, where they 
 go on strike of their ov/n accord without being called out by the 
 executive board. It also provides a penalty of two years in the 
 penitentiary and a fine of $5000 on -any district official of the 
 organization who may call a strike. 
 
 Gov. Allen was not satisfied with passing a law for com- 
 pulsory arbitration, but he had this penalty attached that I have 
 just called to your attention, and not satisfied with that, he had 
 a provision written into this law which provides also that he is 
 to appoint the three arbitrators. When the Kansas Legislature 
 passed a law of this character, they struck a blow at the rights 
 of every union man in the state, both as an organized workman 
 and as an American citizen. 
 
 The recent general strike of the U. M. W. of A. created a 
 very bitter sentiment against the miners in Kansas and against 
 organized labor in general, and it was as a result of the miners 
 general strike, which caused a few of the people in Kansas to 
 suffer because of their inability to obtain coal, that caused this 
 law to be passed at the special session of the Kansas Legislature. 
 
 We intend to fight this law to a finish. We do not propose 
 to go back to the days of slavery. We expect in Kansas to 
 continue to be free men — we expect to be accorded the same 
 degree of liberty and freedom in Kansas as the mine workers 
 iL'^he other states in the nation. 
 
 At the time we were striking in Kansas from 1899 until 1903 
 to compel the operators to recognize our union, we were also 
 fighting then to be free men. Gov. Allen proposes now after all 
 
57 
 
 these years to put us back in the same condition that existed 
 before we had an organization. 
 
 Our convention meets in Kansas City, Mo., on the 8th day 
 of March, and I am inclined to believe at that time that our 
 convention will go on record to continue to fight as we have in 
 the past, regardless of this so-called law. Sentiment against 
 this law in Kansas today is very bitter, more especially among 
 the mine workers, because they realize only too well what it 
 means. In my report to the convention I am advising that we 
 refuse to surrender any of the rights and privileges that we 
 have enjoyed in the past, and I am quite sure our convention 
 will go on record to that effect. 
 
 Every local union in the district is going to be represented. 
 There will be about 225 delegates in attendance to speak for the 
 mine workers of this district as to our future policy regarding — 
 this outrage that has been perpetrated by the Kansas Legisla- - 
 ture on the organized labor movement of this state. The fight 
 must be made in Kansas against this law, because if we submit 
 tamely here to an outrage of this kind, it is only a question of a 
 very short time until the working class of this entire country 
 will be enslaved wdth a law similar to that which we have in 
 Kansas today. 
 
 You will therefore readily understand the importance of 
 this question and what it means to organized labor, and also the 
 importance of the fight being made in Kansas at this time. We 
 can never agree to take a backward step, and we can never 
 agree to surrender the principles that we have fought and* 
 struggled so long to establish. It is for these reasons that we 
 intend to continue to fight for the principles of justice rather 
 than submit to Gov. Allen, the tyrant and would-be destroyer of 
 organized labor. 
 
 I am writing you at this time to see whether or not we may 
 expect the full moral and financial support of our international 
 organization in any fight that we may decide to make against 
 this law, as this is a fight for organized labor, not only in 
 Kansas but for organized labor in the other states as well. We 
 intend to fight this law to a finish whether we have any assist- 
 ance from others or not, but I am sure that we may expect to 
 receive the full assistance of our international union in this 
 struggle to make free men of organized labor in this state. The 
 fight will be a great deal easier with our international organiza- 
 tion standing with us, and it will give more hope and encourage- 
 ment to the mine workers of District 14 who have always been 
 loyal to our union, and one thing that had a great deal to do 
 with causing Gov. Allen to have this law passed was the fact 
 that the miners in this state refused to dig coal for him when he 
 toured our district and called for volunteers and urged the 
 miners to return to work. 
 
58 
 
 I am sure, John, if you take all these questions into con- 
 sideration, that you will have no hesitancy in telling me in 
 behalf of our international union where you are going to stand 
 in this fight. We have resolutions, I believe,* from about every 
 local union in our district condemning Gov. Allen and this law 
 that he was instrumental in having passed. 
 
 I will appreciate it very much indeed if you will write me 
 by return mail and make your position clear so no one can mis- 
 understand. Write me to the Cordova Hotel, Kansas City, Mo., 
 as I am leaving here Sunday morning. I want to read your 
 letter to the miners in convention, and you may rest assured, if 
 you can see your way clear to stand with us in this fight, it will 
 be appreciated bj^ every mine worker in our district. 
 
 Hoping to receive a favorable reply, I am with kind regards 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Signed: Alexander Howat, 
 
 President Dist. 14.’’ 
 
 That Lewis received the letter quoted above is made clear by 
 one he wrote to Howat. It reads as follows: 
 
 '‘Continental Hotel, 
 
 New York City, March 10, 1920. 
 
 Mr. Alexander Howat, 
 
 President, District No. 14, U. M. W. of A., 
 
 Pittsburg, Kansas. 
 
 Dear Sir and Brother : 
 
 Your esteemed favor of March 4th was received in Indian- 
 apolis on March 6th and forwarded to me here in New York, 
 arriving too late for me to make reply in time to reach you at 
 the Convention of District No. 14 in Kansas City. I did not 
 know that your convention was to be held on that date, having 
 had no notification. Had I been aware of the holding of the con- 
 vention, I would have endeavored to have had a representative 
 of the International union present to confer with yourself and 
 associate officers in the matter concerning the new law in 
 Kansas. 
 
 I have in mind that this is a most serious matter and re- 
 quires careful and deliberate consideration. Press dispatches 
 today in the New York papers advise that the convention of 
 District No. 14 has granted you authority to call a strike at any 
 time you desire as a protest against the enactment of Governor 
 Allen’s industrial court law. I trust that you will take no hasty 
 action upon this matter and that any action that may be taken 
 will be subsequent to the most careful consideration. I shall he 
 glad to confer with you in person upon this matter at some later 
 date after our affairs take more definite shape in the anthracite 
 and bituminous matters. As I wired you yesterday, the Bitum- 
 inous Coal Commission has not yet agreed. We must always 
 
59 
 
 consider the possibility of a disagreement and, if so, there may 
 be a national suspension of the mining industry on April 1st, 
 Consequently, you will see the advisability of deferring judg- 
 ment with respect to the Kansas situation. 
 
 Reciprocating your kind regards, I am 
 Very truly yours. 
 
 Signed: John L. Lewis, President.” 
 
 President Lewis also told the Convention that Frank P. Walsh 
 and Attorney Callery lobbied for a compromise hill at the time the 
 industrial court act was before the Kansas Legislature. Following 
 is a telegram from Frank P. Walsh on the subject. It reads as 
 follows : 
 
 ‘‘New York, N. Y., Oct. 3, 1921. 
 
 John H. Walker, 
 
 Severin Hotel, Indianapolis, Ind. 
 
 Have just sent following wire to William Green care of 
 Convention. ‘Am advised statement has been made to your 
 convention that I lobbied for compromise of industrial court 
 law at Topeka. On January eighth nineteen twenty I appeared 
 in opposition to the proposed industrial law before a special 
 session of the Legislature of Kansas representing the Kansas 
 State Federation of Labor and the four Railroad Brotherhoods. 
 Did not lobby with individual members of Legislature but pre- 
 sented an argument against the proposed law publicly to a 
 joint session of the house and senate. The opening words of my 
 argument taken from the official stenographic transcript now 
 before me were ‘We oppose every clause in this bill and every 
 line of it. ’ My argument was to the effect that it was an attempt 
 to impose slavery upon the workers of Kansas. Afterwards 
 made many public speeches and wrote newspaper articles to 
 same effect and adhere to that position to this moment. Believe 
 the principles urged to be fundamental. I never lobbied for a 
 compromise and opposed then and will continue to oppose com- 
 promise upon such a vital question. While I am sure no one 
 would intentionally misrepresent me there if such statements 
 have been made will you be good enough to r«ad this telegram to 
 the convention so that the members whose good opinion I value 
 may be correctly advised. With my kind regards and every 
 good wish for a successful convention I am sincerely, 
 
 Frank P. Walsh’.” 
 
 Following is a telegram from Phil Callery, Attorney for the 
 Kansas miners. It reads as follows: 
 
 “Pittsburg, Kan. Oct. 17, 1921. 
 
 Frank Farrington, 
 
 Mine Workers Bldg., Springfield, 111. 
 
 The assertion that I lobbied for compromise industrial court 
 law at Topeka is a despicable lie and contains not a particle of 
 truth. Every skunk who has been circulating such statements 
 is now working hand in hand with the industrial court and the 
 
60 
 
 Coal Operators Association in their effort to lash the miners 
 
 back to the pits and save the industrial court from extinction. 
 
 Their conspiracy will fail as long as the Kansas miners can get 
 
 a crust of bread their fight will go on. 
 
 Signed: Phil Gallery.’^ 
 
 President Lewis also told how he had wired the legislative 
 representatives of District No. 14 to oppose all legislation of a com- 
 pulsory kind. Who were the legislative representatives ? Earl 
 Draper, Chairman of the Committee appointed by President Lewis 
 to draw up a report on the election of organizers and which com- 
 mittee advised against their election, and Thos. Harvey, now “pro- 
 visional” Secretary of District No. 14, by reason of President Lewis’ 
 action in suspending the officers of that District. How easy it would 
 be to frame up any kind of a story with them. I venture the opinion 
 that if Harvey or Draper were called upon to produce the telegram 
 Lewis said he sent them they could not do so. It seems strange that 
 he would wire them instead of the President of District No. 14 and 
 it seems passing strange that he would wire them and keep the Presi- 
 dent of the District in the dark as to what he had done on such an 
 important matter. 
 
 Then too President Lewis told the Convention of how Howat 
 had spurned the offer of the International Union to have Attorney 
 Clarkson of District No. 13 inducted into the fight against the In- 
 dustrial Court Act, President Howat could hardly be blamed for 
 spurning the aid of Attorney Clarkson. Mr. Clarkson is a high 
 classed attorney and an esteemable gentleman and no one can 
 properly say a word against him as such, but he would hardly be a 
 proper person to make the fight against the Industrial Court Act, 
 considering his son owns the coal mine at Nashville, Illinois, and 
 many of our members at Nashville believe Mr. Clarkson himself is 
 interested in the mine, their belief being based upon the fact that 
 he spends four and five days at a time in Nashville examining the 
 mine underground and on the surface. 
 
 I enter this matter in my report because Alexander Howat was 
 in prison at the time and therefore could not be in the convention to 
 personally disprove the false statements of President Lewis and 
 because I do not like to remain silent and see any man crucified by 
 falsehoods and misstatements. 
 
 In this connection it may also be well to point out that Secre- 
 tary Green did not read the telegram from Frank P. Walsh to the 
 convention. 
 
 Injunctions. 
 
 Below is quoted notice of application for a temporary injunction 
 and restraining order to be made in the district court of the United 
 States for the district of Indiana at Indanapolis in the case of 
 Borderland Coal Corporation vs the United Mine Workers of 
 America. It follows: 
 
61 
 
 “To The International Organization of The United Mine 
 Workers of America; John L. Lewis, President of said Or- 
 ganization, Phillip Murray, Vice-President of said Organizaton; 
 William G-reen, Secretary-Treasurer of said Organization; Dis- 
 tricts Numbers 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 
 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 29 of said Organization ; Thomas 
 Davis, John Ghizzoni, John O’Leary, A. K. Watkins, N. J, Ferry, 
 Ora Gasaway, John J. Mates, Sam Caddy, W. D. Vanhorn, Ed 
 Dobbins, D. H. Watkins, G. L. Peck, Luke Brennan, B. A. Scott, 
 Robert Livett, Frank Walters, W. L. Harrison, William Dal- 
 yrmple, Phillip Juranovich, W. D. Duncan, Rodger Quinnan, 
 Andrew Steel, John Livingstone, Stephen Ely and Lawrence 
 Dwyer, International Executive Board Members of said United 
 Mine Workers Organization; Frank Kenney, President of Dis- 
 trict 17 of said Organization and Fred Mooney, Secretary- 
 Treasurer of District 17 of said Organization, and all the mem-' 
 hers of said International Organization of the United Mine 
 Workers of America, whose names are unkowh to the plaintiff, 
 and too numerous to mention, and Jackson Hill Coal & Coke 
 Company, Queen Coal & Mining Company, Rowlands Power 
 Consolidated Colliery Company, Lower Vein Coal Company, 
 corporations created and existing under the laws of the State of 
 Indiana ; P. H. Penna, J. K. Seifert, J. H. McClelland and W. 
 J. Snyder. 
 
 You and each of you are hereby notified that the under- 
 signed Borderland Coal Corporation, will, on the 14th day of 
 October, 1921, at 10 o’clock a. m. of that day in the City of 
 Indianapolis, Indiana, make application to Hon. Albert B. 
 Anderson, Judge of the District Court of the United States for 
 the District of Indiana, for a temporary injunction and re- 
 straining order to enjoin and restrain the defendants, the Inter- 
 national Organization, United Mine Workers of America, its 
 officials, districts, sub districts, local unions and members, 
 from assessing, levying, charging and collecting any dues and 
 assessments levied or to be levied or charged upon or against its 
 members or any of them and at every place for any purpose or 
 purposes whatsoever upon the ground and for the reason that 
 the said International Organization, The United Mine Workers 
 of America, its districts, sub districts and local unions has be- 
 come unlawful per se and is an unlawful combination and con- 
 spiracy in restraint of interstate trade and commerce and is 
 acting and existing in violation of the Sherman Anti Trust Act 
 of 1890, the Clayton Anti Trust Act, and in violation of the 
 Constitution of the United States and the Federal Statute en- 
 acted thereunder. 
 
 To enjoin and restrain the defendant coal companies and 
 the defendant operators from collecting or causing to be col- 
 lected and paid over to said organization on their pay rolls all 
 dues and assessments levied or charged by the officials, repre- 
 sentatives and members of the United Mine Workers, upon or 
 
62 
 
 against any of its members, employes of said defendant com- 
 panies and defendant operators, which dues and assessments 
 are commonly known and designated “check off/^ 
 
 To enjoin and restrain the defendants and each of them 
 from doing any further act or thing in furtherance of, or to 
 bring about or to accomplish the objects and purposes of the 
 unlawful combination and conspiracy now existing, which con- 
 spiracy was entered into between the International Organiza- 
 tion, the United Mine Workers of America, by and through its 
 officials, and the operators of the central competative field com- 
 posed of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and western Penn- 
 sylvania in the year 1898 as set forth, averred and complained 
 of in the Bill of Complaint to be filed in the above styled cause 
 and which Bill of Complaint has been lodged with the Clerk of 
 the United States District Court in the said City of Indianapolis. 
 
 To enjoin and restrain the defendants, the United Mine 
 Workers, its officials, districts, local unions and members from 
 further maintaining, by any act, policy or practice at- any and 
 all coal mines or operations where said organization has con- 
 tractural relations with the operators of said mining operations 
 the ‘closed shop,’ and to enjoin and restrain the defendants 
 from doing any act or thing to prevent or interfere with the 
 rights of non-union miners to work in or about said mines. 
 
 To enjoin and restrain the defendants from doing or causing 
 to be done any act or thing that will suppress or unduly limit 
 the right of the plaintiff to employ non-union labor, or that 
 will prevent or restrict the right of the plaintiff from voluntarily 
 contracting with its employes, and its employes from voluntarily 
 contracting with it, and particularly the acts of insurrection, 
 murder, violence, intimidation, threats and other unlawful acts 
 complained of in said Bill of Complaint heretofore referred to. 
 
 To enjoin and restrain the defendants from doing any act 
 or thing that will create, or further tend to create and establish, 
 a monopoly of labor for the purpose of unreasonably increasing 
 wages or the price of labor above what it should be under 
 normal conditions, and from, in any way interfering with or 
 restricting free competition among those seeking employment 
 in the mines of the plaintiff and those working in and about 
 the coal industry of the country. 
 
 To enjoin and restrain the said defendants from doing any 
 further acts or things that will give a coal producer of the cen- 
 tral competative field a monopoly on the markets for the sale 
 of coal in any of the states or territories of the United States 
 or foreign countries, to the exclusion of coal mined by this plain- 
 tiff and the other operators in said Thacker or Williamson field 
 and transported and sold in interstate trade and commerce. 
 
 To enjoin and restrain the United Mine Workers organiza- 
 tion, its officials and representatives and the operators of said 
 central competative field, from further doing any act or thing 
 
63 
 
 that will lessen the ability of the plaintiff and other coal 
 operators in said Thacker or Williamson field, to continue their 
 competition with coal produced by the operators of said central 
 competative field in the sale of their coal in interstate trade 
 and commerce. 
 
 To enjoin and restrain the United Mine Workers organiza- 
 tion from taking any further steps, or from doing any further 
 act or thing, to unionize the mines of this plaintiff, by menaces, 
 threats, intimidation, force or violence, or in any manner what- 
 soever, or in any manner interfering with the contract of em- 
 ployment with its empleyes and the lawful rights of this plain- 
 tiff, and other coal operators in said Thacker or Williamson 
 field to employ such laborers as they may choose, and discharge 
 them when and as they see fit, either with or without cause. 
 
 To enjoin and restrain the United Mine Workers of 
 America, its officials, representatives and agents from in any 
 manner interfering with the employes of this plaintiff, and of 
 other said coal operators in said Thacker or Williamson field, or 
 with men seeking employment at their mines, by menace, 
 threats, violence, or injury to them, their persons, families or 
 properties, or by abusing them, or their families or by doing 
 them violence, or doing any other act or thing with the right of 
 such employes and those seeking employment to work, upon 
 such terms as to them seem proper, unmolested, and from in 
 any manner injuring or destroying the property of plaintiff, or 
 of said other coal operators, and from counseling or advising 
 that they should in any manner be injured in the conduct of 
 their said business and the enjoyment of their property. 
 
 To enjoin the said United Mine Workers organization, its 
 officials, representatives and agents from doing any act or 
 thing to induce or persuade the employes of this plaintiff and 
 the other coal companies of said Thacker or Williamson field 
 to break their contract of employment now existing between 
 this plaintiff and its employes and between the other coal com- 
 panies of said field and their employes. 
 
 BORDEELAND COAL CORPORATION, 
 
 By A. M. BELCHER, 
 
 Of Counsel for Plaintiff.” 
 
 Hearing on the above application for injunction was to have 
 been held in Judge Anderson’s Court on October 14th,, but the hear- 
 ing on that date was deferred and at the time of going to press with 
 this report had not yet been held, therefore, it is improper to ven- 
 ture any prediction as to what the action of the Court will be. How- 
 ever, if the injunction is granted as prayed for, it will be the most 
 disastrous blow ever delivered to the United Mine Workers of 
 America and the resultant effect cannot be completely forecast, but 
 of one thing we may be sure and that is that the souls of men will 
 be tried in the fight that must be made for the preservation of our 
 Union and to you I say that the time has come when a vigorous. 
 
64 
 
 aggressive fight for unionism., nation wide in character, must be 
 launched against such measures. It is almost idle to be talking 
 singly of either the injunction, the improper use of the militia, the 
 industrial gunmen or the State constabulary or police, or the tie-up 
 of the funds of an organization, because they are all in the same 
 category. They are repressive and oppressive measures used some- 
 times singly, but generally in a collective way. 
 
 The assertion must be made of the unqualified right of labor to 
 organize, and it must be made clear that this is an empty phrase if 
 thereafter they do not have the right to maintain their organization, 
 to strengthen it to that point where its bargaining voice is effective, 
 and at least equally potent with that of the employers’ bargaining 
 voice. 
 
 To my mind, this is one of the greatest things we may consider 
 in the labor movement. We must be bold about this. We must say 
 that we have the God-given right to organize and that governmental 
 agencies, whether they be courts or executive officers, must stop 
 their interference. Laws should be made in legislative halls — not in 
 the injunctions of judges, either elective or appointed, and not in the 
 military proclamations of Governors. Labor must arouse itself to 
 this situation and make a determined, unflinching fight against such 
 oppressive and repressive measures. 
 
 Believing that we were justified in resorting to any available 
 measure to protect our Union against the aggression of its enemies, 
 I instructed our Chief Counsel, Mr. A. W. Kerr, to prepare a bill 
 asking the Circuit Court of Franklin County to issue a writ of in- 
 junction enjoining against certain things being done against our 
 Union. The bill as presented to the court reads as follows : 
 
 '‘State of Illinois, Franklin County, ss: In the Circuit Court, 
 to the November Term, A. D. 1921. 
 
 Bill For Injunction. 
 
 To the Honorable Charles H. Miller, Judge Presiding — In 
 Chancery Sitting: 
 
 Your orators, Frank Farrington, Harry Fish wick, Walter 
 Nesbit as individuals and as President, Vice-President and 
 Secretary-Treasurer, respectively, of the withinafter named 
 12th District United Mine Workers of America, Michael 
 Pietzrak, Joseph Macona, George Stoffer, Allan S. Haywood, 
 John Young, Fullerton Fulton, James Walker, Dave Wilson, 
 William Hutton, Hugh Willis, David Babington, Charles Grace 
 and Edward Dobbins, individually and together with the 3 first 
 named herein constituting the District Board of said 12th Dis- 
 trict United Mine Workers of America and as such District 
 Board, and John Schultz, a member of Local Union No. 1959 
 of said 12th District, all but the last named representing that 
 they have been for years last past residents of the State of 
 Illinois, and the said John Schultz representing that for 2 
 years and upwards last past he has been a resident of the 
 
65 
 
 County of Franklin in said State of Illinois; that all but the 
 last named were and now are officials of said 12th District 
 United Mine Workers of America duly and legally elected to 
 such positions under and by virtue of the constitution and laws 
 of said 12th District United Mine Workers of America ; that they 
 regularly assumed the performance of the duties of their re- 
 spective offices and are now acting in such capacities ; that said 
 12th District United Mine Workers of America is a District of 
 the United Mine Workers of America; that said District has a 
 membership in the State of Illinois of ninety thousand (90,000) 
 and upwards; that for many years it has been the instru- 
 mentality or agency through which the bituminous coal miners 
 working in 'the coal mines of the State of Illinois have dealt 
 with the owners and operators of said coal mines with relation 
 to terms and conditions of employment; that for a number of 
 years there has existed in the said State of Illinois and else- 
 where in the United States of America a contract between 
 various operators associations and the United Mine Workers 
 of America; that said 12th District is in a contract between 
 what is knowm as the organized miners of the Central Competi- 
 tive Field and the coal owners and operators of the said Central 
 Competitive Field. 
 
 That in and within the State of Illinois the greater number 
 of the operators of coal mines are in and members of what is 
 know as 3 operators associations, namely, (a), Illinois Coal 
 Operators Association, (b), 5th and 9th Districts Coal Operators 
 Association, and (c). Central Illinois Operators Association; 
 that the powers, functions and work of said last mentioned coal 
 operators associations is performed all within the State of 
 Illinois with reference to the carrying out and enforcement of 
 the contract hereinbefore mentioned. 
 
 That for years in and within the State of Illinois only the 
 said 12th District United Mine Workers of America acting for 
 its members all of whom reside within the State af Illinois have 
 adjusted differences arising out of the employment of its mem- 
 bers in the said coal mines with the said mentioned coal 
 operators associations ; that this has been by mutual agreement 
 and by virtue of the terms of the contract aforesaid. 
 
 12th District of the United Mine Workers of America is a 
 voluntary unincorporated society formed solely for the purpose 
 of advancing the moral, educational and industrial interests of 
 the men residing in the said State of Illinois who labor in its 
 coal mines; that out of the Industrial system in the United 
 States of America and in the State of Illinois coal mining and 
 many other large adventures of capital are pursued through 
 corporations many times with large capital and large numbers 
 of stockholders ; that the personal contact between employer 
 and employee as it existed half a century ago is missing in the 
 modern relation; that out of this and many other situations 
 arose the necessity for the organization and banding together 
 
66 
 
 of the men who labored in the coal mines of this state as has 
 as well been necessary or deemed necessary in other large in- 
 dustries in the state; that the individual miner could not well 
 alone speak his desires nor his demands; that equality of bar- 
 gaining power did not exist in fact between an organized em- 
 ployer and a single coal miner; that for years in the State of 
 Illinois the right of such organization on the part of the coal 
 miners and others has been fully and freely conceded legally 
 and morally ; that in addition to the adjustment of differences 
 arising under contract heretofore mentioned the said 12th Dis- 
 trict United Mine Workers of America acts for its membership 
 in securing the adoption and passage of laws in the State of 
 Illinois for the protection of life and limb in the very hazardous 
 occupation of mining coal in the said State of Illinois that many 
 of the miners of this state are killed in the course of a year in 
 the employment and many taken by death before a natural time 
 by the conditions of work ; that for the relief of those surviving 
 and the proper burial of the deceased it was deemed proper to 
 establish a fund in the nature of a funeral and death benefit ; 
 that in addition to the many miners killed in the course of the 
 business of mining coal several thousand are annually injured; 
 that it was necessary to seek to have the industry bear this 
 human loss resulting from the killing and maiming of the 
 miners ; that to that end legislation was sought through the chan- 
 nels and agency of said 12th District acting for its members upon 
 the securing of the passage of this legislation known as ‘The 
 Workmen’s Compensation Act’ it was thought best to create 
 a legal department; the agencies and activities aforesaid are 
 only a part of the functions performed by the said 12th District 
 United Mine Workers of America acting for its members all in 
 the State of Illinois ; that to the ends aforesaid it was necessary 
 to create and keep maintained a fund or treasury out of which 
 these obligations were to be met ; that such a fund was created 
 and has always been maintained since its creation in varying 
 amounts ; that at present such fund is $2,000,000.00 and up- 
 wards ; that this fund is maintained by voluntary contribution of 
 1% of the earnings of the members of said 12th District United 
 Mine Workers of America and that the disbursements for the 
 activities aforesaid are all made to members within the State of 
 Illinois or to their beneficiaries ; that the creation, maintenance 
 and disbursement of said fund or treasury are all made under 
 and by virtue of the constitution and laws of the said 12th Dis- 
 trict United Mine Workers of America; that to deplete said 
 fund by or through any other agency would be violative of the 
 legal rights of the membership of said 12th District United Mine 
 Workers of America; that to have the same attached or dis- 
 tributed or ordered paid out through channels or for purposes 
 other than those provided for in the constitution and laws of said 
 12th District would be violative of the legal rights of said 12th 
 District and of its membership in behalf of whom your orators 
 file this bill as well as in their own behalf. 
 
67 
 
 Your orators aver the fear of an effort, and aver that 
 coercive measures are about to be taken to compel the defend- 
 ants hereinafter named, to declare the existence of the said 
 District Organization and its purpose or purposes to be unlawful 
 and the assessing, levying, charging and collecting of dues and 
 assessments levied or to be levied or charged upon or against 
 its members or any of them in the State of Illinois to be unlaw- 
 ful. 
 
 To refuse to collect or cause to be collected and paid over to 
 said organization dues and assessments aforesaid to the said 
 District which dues and assessments have heretofore been paid 
 over under a system designated as a check-off to seek to inter- 
 fere with the program or policy of said 12th District in seeking 
 to induce by peaceful means all men who work in the coal mines 
 of this State to unite with said District Organization to attack 
 the fund or treasury hereinbefore mentioned by various devices 
 other than that of preventing its replenishment, to treat said 
 fund or treasury as an illegal accumulation of funds by said 
 District Union, all of which are contrary to the legal rights of 
 the complainants and your orators believe that unless restrained 
 by the Injunction of this Honorable Court that the measures 
 aforesaid will be taken. 
 
 FORASMUCH, THEREFORE, as your orators are without 
 remedy in the premises except in a Court of Equity your orators 
 pray that the defendants. The Illinois Coal Operators Associa- 
 tion, 5th and 9th Districts Coal Operators Association, Central 
 Illinois Coal Operators Association, Black Star Coal Company, 
 and all persons, firms or corporations engaged in the operation 
 of coal mines in this State whose names are to these complain- 
 ants unknown, their agents, attorneys, solicitors, and all acting 
 in concert with them and all other persons whomsoever or 
 groups of persons acting or threatening to act with like intent 
 and purpose or to the same end may be perpetually enjoined 
 and restrained by the order and injunction of this Honorable 
 Court from declaring the existence of the said District Or- 
 ganization to be unlawful or from treating the same as such 
 and from declaring or treating its purpose or purposes to be 
 unlawful and from in any manner interfering with assessing, 
 leving, charging and the collecting of dues and assessments 
 heretofore levied or to be levied or charged upon or against 
 the members of said District organization or any of them in the 
 State of Illinois and from in any manner interfering with the 
 said members or the coal owners or operators mentioned in this 
 bill from paying the moneys so collected by them over to said 
 District Organization or from refusing to collect or cause to be 
 collected and paid over to said District Organization dues and 
 assessments or, from abandoning the check-off system now in 
 effect between said 12th District and the members of said 
 Operators Associations in said Bill named or from interfering 
 in any manner in the peaceful persuasion of miners employed 
 
68 
 
 in the coal mines of this state to join with the members of said 
 District Organization in said Union or from attacking the 
 validity of the accumulated fund now in the Treasury of said 
 District Organization by means of attachment, suits to impound 
 the same or any other means by which the full and free use of 
 the said fund and treasury may not be available to the officers 
 and members of said District Union in accordance with the Con- 
 stitution and Laws of the said District Union or from in any 
 manner treating the said fund or treasury as an illegal accumu- 
 lation of funds by said District or from by any means whatso- 
 ever interfering with the replenishment of the said fund as the 
 same shall be exhausted and as the same is now accomplished 
 under the said agreement or from in any manner interfering 
 with the disbursement of the said funds by the constituted 
 officers of said District Union in the manner provided for in the 
 Constitution Laws of said District Union and that your orators 
 may have such other and further relief in the premises as Equity 
 may require and to the Court shall seem mete. 
 
 May it also please the Court to grant unto your orators the 
 People’s Writ of Injunction enjoining and restraining the acts 
 and things mentioned in the foregoing paragraph until the 
 further order of the Court. 
 
 May it please your Honor to grant unto your orators the 
 Writ of Summons in Chancery directed to the Sheriff of Frank- 
 lin County, commanding him to summon the Illinois Coal Opera- 
 tors Association, 5th and 9th Districts Coal Operators Associa- 
 tion, Central Illinois Coal Operators Association and Black Star 
 Coal Company, if they may be found in your County to appear 
 at the November Term of said Court, to be held in the Court 
 House in the City of Benton, on the 28th day of November, 
 1921, then and there to answer this bill. 
 
 Frank Farrington, 
 
 Harry Fishwick, 
 
 Walter Nesbit, 
 
 Michael Pietzrak, 
 
 Joseph Ma^iona, 
 
 George Stoffer, 
 
 Allan S. Haywood, 
 
 John Young, 
 
 Fullerton Fulton, 
 
 James Walker, 
 
 Dave Wilson, 
 
 William Hutton, 
 
 Hugh Willis, 
 
 David Babington, 
 
 Charles Grace, 
 
 Edward Dobbins, 
 and John Schultz. 
 
 By A. W. Kerr and W. P. Seeber, 
 
 Sols, for Complainants.” 
 
69 
 
 The injunction was issued, as prayed for, by the circuit court of 
 Franklin County. Judge Charles H. Miller presiding, on October 5, 
 1921, and reads as follows: 
 
 Copy of 
 
 WRIT OF INJUNCTION. 
 
 The People of the State of Illinois ; to Illinois Coal Opera- 
 tors Association, 5th and 9th Districts Coal Operators Associa- 
 tion, Central Illinois Coal Operators Association, Black Star 
 Coal Company, and all persons, firms or corporations engaged 
 in the operation of coal mines in this State whose names are to 
 these complainants unknown, their agents, attorneys, solicitors 
 and all acting in concert with them and all other persons whom- 
 soever or groups of persons acting or threatening to act with 
 like intent and purpose or to the same end, 
 
 GREETING: 
 
 You are hereby enjoined and restrained by the order and 
 injunction of this Honorable Court from declaring the existence 
 of the said 12th District United Mine Workers of America to 
 be unlawful or from treating the same as such and from declar- 
 ing or treating its purpose or purposes to be unlawful and 
 from in any manner interfering with assessing, levying, charg- 
 ing and the collecting of dues and assessments heretofore levied 
 or to be levied or charged upon or against the members of said 
 District Organization or any of them in the State of Illinois and 
 from in any manner interfering with the said members or the 
 coal owners or operators mentioned in this bill from paying 
 the moneys so collected by them over to said District Organiza- 
 tion or from refusing to collect or cause to be collected and 
 paid over to said District Organization dues and assessments 
 or from abandoning the check-off system now in effect between 
 said 12th District and the members of said Operators Associa- 
 tion in said Bill named or from interfering in any manner in the 
 peaceful persuasion of miners employed m the coal mines of 
 this State to join with the members of said District Organiza- 
 tion in said Union or from attacking the validity of the 
 accumulated fund now in the Treasury of said District Or- 
 ganization by means of attachment, suits to impound the same 
 or any other means by which the full and free use of the said 
 fund and treasury may not be available to the officers and 
 members of said District Union in accordance with the Consti- 
 tution and Laws of the said District Union or from in any 
 manner treating the said fund or treasury as an illegal accumu- 
 lation of funds by said District Union or from by any means 
 whatsoever interfering with the replenishment of the said fund 
 as the same shall be exhausted and as the same is now accom- 
 plished under the said Agreement or from in any manner inter- 
 fering with the disbursement of the said fund by the constituted 
 officers of said District Union in the ma^er provided for in the 
 Constitution Laws of said District Union, until a hearing of 
 said Bill of Complaint in the Circuit Court of said Franklin 
 
70 
 
 County, or until this Honorable Court in Chancery sitting shall 
 make other order to the contrary hereof, failing not under the 
 penalty of what the law directs. 
 
 To the Sheriff of Franklin County to execute and return 
 in due form of law. 
 
 WITNESS, P. D. Whittington, Clerk of the Circuit Court 
 of the County of Franklin and State of Illinois, and the seal 
 thereof, in Benton, in said County, this 5th day of October, A. D. 
 
 JL. 
 
 Signed : F. D. Whittington, 
 
 Clerk of the Circuit Court. 
 
 The above is sumitted without further comment. We must now 
 await eventualities. 
 
 Wage Scale. 
 
 Considering the action of our International Convention, which 
 decided to take no action on interstate wage scale matters until the 
 Convention is reconvened, which, according to the action of the 
 Convention, is to be done not later than February 14th, 1922, there 
 is nothing that can be done by this Convention in the way of formu- 
 lating a District Wage Scale policy, for the reason that a basic 
 interstate policy must be formulated before we can intelligently 
 proceed to formulate a district wage scale policy. Therefore, I 
 recommend that this Convention dispose of all matters properly 
 belonging to our regular District Convention, excepting wage scale 
 matters, and that we then adjourn to meet again upon a date that 
 will be suitable to give consideration to all wage scale matters. In 
 the meantime I advise all our members to conserve their means to 
 the fullest extent possible, both at home and in our local unions, 
 so that we may be as Well prepared as is possible to meet any condi- 
 tion that may confront us at the termination of our existing wage 
 agreement. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 During our deliberations every delegate will be given the great- 
 est freedom, consistent with the rules of the Convention, to discuss 
 all questions properly coming before the Convention. 
 
 So far as I know, your officers have nothing to conceal from 
 you and as for myself, I know I have not. There is no reason why 
 your officers cannot take you into their confidence and I know of no 
 reason why you should not take them into yours, and all of us apply 
 ourselves with diligence and mutual confidence to the problems 
 coming before the Convention. 
 
 To my official associates I extend my sincere thanks for the help 
 they have given me. Their advice has been indispensable and our 
 relations have been pleasant and they have done much to lighten the 
 burdens of my position. 
 
71 
 
 To you, I say in all earnestness, that in preparing this report I 
 have not sought to satisfy any political ambition. I am quite content 
 to continue as your President and to cooperate with every officer 
 and every member that will honestly work in a constructive way 
 for the betterment of our Union, and on the other hand I shall con- 
 tinue to oppose, as best I can, those who resort to^ falsehood and 
 deception to delude our membership and whose dominant traits are 
 dishonesty, malice, arrogance, pomp and sham and who place their 
 personal interest above the affairs and betterment of our Union. I 
 shall do this because of the conviction that our Union cannot live 
 and prosper when the policies of dishonest, selfish men prevail, and 
 I shall be against all who are against the Illinois Mine Workers. 
 
 If you are in accord, with my position as herein expressed, I 
 solicit your cooperation and support. If you are not, then it is 
 best for you that you select my successor, as I shall not alter my 
 determination to oppose wrong in our Union, no matter where or in 
 what form it may be found. 
 
 I express the hope that our deliberations may be harmonious 
 and productive of much good for those whom we represent and to 
 you, and through you to our membership, I express my profound 
 appreciation of the splendid support given me and to all I express 
 the desire that we may be united in thought and deed so that by our 
 crystalized action we may bring more light and happiness into the 
 lives and homes of those who make up the United Mine Workers of 
 America. 
 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 

 
 M 
 
 *■ - 
 
 
ILLINOIS MINE WORKERS’ BUILDING 
 
 4TH & MONROE STREETS 
 SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS 
 
 Purchased July 1st, 1921, by District No. 12, United Mine Workers of America, 
 
 Cost $275,000.00