Hellraisers Journal – Saturday September 27, 1902 “The Anthracite Coal Strike” by Comrade William Mailly, Part I
From the International Socialist Review of August 1902:
The Anthracite Coal Strike.
[-by William Mailly] ———-
[Part I of II]
Scranton Tribune September 26, 1902
There is only one issue in the present struggle between the anthracite coal miners and the mine and railroad owners. That issue is the right to organize. There were other issues when the strike began—wages, hours, dockage, weighing, etc., but they have all been subordinated to this one. The coal trust wants to get rid of the union; the miners want to preserve it. No other question will be settled, or will even be considered, until this one is disposed of: The right of the miners to organize—that is, the issue. The mine owners refuse to arbitrate because that will mean recognizing the union. This they will not do, unless forced to it. The miners, having exhausted every other means, say they will compel recognition.
In order to fully understand how much the preservation or the destruction of the miners’ union means to both sides, one has to be right on the ground and hear direct testimony. For twelve years, following upon the failure of the Hazleton and Panther Creek Valley strike in 1887, there were practically no unions in the anthracite region. Strikes broke out spasmodically, but were soon crushed. Lattimer became famous through one of these in 1897. The operators had everything their own way, and that way was simply one of extortion and oppression. There are no gentler names for it—and these are too mild. The miners were discouraged, cowed and spiritless. Those among them who tried, secretly or openly, to organize were “spotted” and blacklisted out of the region. I met several such men, who had returned after the strike of 1900. During this time the mine owners were organizing. Untrammeled by any resistance from their employes, they had free scope to fight one another in the market. Inevitably combination resulted. Small owners were wiped out or absorbed, until now the coal trust controls the anthracite output, the transportation facilities and dictates prices to the consumer. There are individual operators, but they are dependent, more or less, upon the trust, and their position makes them even harder task masters than the trust companies.
In 1899 the Vanticoke [Nanticoke] miners succeeded in organizing, and in winning a strike which lasted five months. Wages were increased, docking regulated, hours reduced and several minor grievances adjusted. This victory awoke the miners of the whole region. A clamor for organization arose from various quarters. President Mitchell answered the cry by sending “Mother” Jones and other organizers into the field. They worked all winter. Every corner of the region was invaded. The capitalists fought them tooth and nail. At some places the miners themselves, goaded on by their bosses, mobbed and jeered the agitators. There are exciting stories told of those time, but this is not the place to tell them.
Out of those feverish days and nights of dangerous and difficult work came the strike of 1900. Not all the miners responded immediately to the call. Persuasion was required to get some, exhibition of numbers to get others. After six stormy weeks the strike was settled. It was won, whether politics had anything to do with it or not. True, the union was not directly recognized, but it was established. And that was the main point.
From that time, organization spread and strengthened. Every mine in the region has its local and the districts are well organized. Last year, when the mine owners refused to consider the miners’ demands, a strike was avoided through the advice of President Mitchell. He counseled peace, told the men they were not ready to strike, the organization was not compact enough and that they lacked resources. They should accept the situation and prepare for decisive action later. The advice was taken. The men continued to organize and they did prepare. And the present strike is the result.
There can be no doubt that the capitalists really wish to destroy the union—just as ardently as the miners desire to preserve it. With many of the miners this desire amounts virtually to a passion. This has to be seen to be understood. It arises from the changed conditions prevailing since 1900. Not that wages, hours or docking have materially changed, although some advantages have been gained. The men acknowledge that the operators are able, in divers ways, to circumvent and evade rules and agreements. But the miners have more liberty than ever before. From one end of the region to the other this is the one thing they harp upon. They have been able to force consideration where before they were treated with contempt. Formerly, if a man complained, he was ignored or insulted. If he complained again, he was told he “could bring his tools out if he didn’t like it.”
Things have been different during the past two years. There has been more freedom, more independence. Local unions can send a committee to the boss now and have that committee received courteously, at least, where before its members would have been discharged. Petty exactions have been wiped out, irritating grievances remedied. And having tasted a mite of freedom, the miners want more of it. They are determined not to surrender their newly gained privileges without a bitter struggle.
Nevertheless, the existing situation would have been impossible if it had not been for the confidence felt in John Mitchell. Whatever opinion Socialists may hold of his policy, the miners believe in him, radical and conservative alike. And yet Mitchell opposed the strike. It was declared over his vigorous protests, for Mitchell is extremely cautious and naturally conservative. At the Hazleton convention he spoke at length against the strike, and then, when the resolution was carried, the delegates cheered him until they were hoarse and he shed tears. Those who witnessed it say that no more dramatic scene has occurred in the history of the American labor movement.
In view of this, Mitchell occupies a decidedly interesting position, and we might well ask: What is the secret of his hold upon his people? He was unknown to the anthracite miners four years ago. He seldom goes out among them, remaining entirely in his headquarters. He is very reserved and apparently shuns publicity. His reticence makes him the despair of the reporters, who, nevertheless, respect him highly and consider him one of the ablest public men in America. Every utterance is well weighed, every statement issued carefully considered in company with his colleagues, with whom he is in perfect harmony.
Mitchell’s success of two years ago is, of course, largely responsible for his popularity. Still, such a man was necessary at this time. Some one the miners believed in, whom they could trust their interests with. They are loyal to their union, because they believe John Mitchell is loyal to them. They know he is no orator, that he is still young and that necessarily he is surrounded by temptations. But they believe in his honesty, his ability and his intentions, and they feel secure. The only serious criticism I heard of President Mitchell was about the thirty days’ armistice proposed by the Civic Federation and accepted by Mitchell and his colleagues. The operators violated an agreement and stocked coal during the thirty days. Even then, Mitchell is not blamed but the Civic Federation is damned and doomed.
The business men of the region are not with the strikers. There are exceptions, here and there, mostly in the smaller towns. In the cities the merchants seem unable to understand the conditions of the miners or the necessity for organization. Apparently, they can imagine no other lot for the miners than that which obtained for years before the union appeared. They only know that then there were no strikes and the men worked steadily. Now business is dead, bills are hard to meet, goods are piled upon the shelf. They want the strike settled in some way. If the miners lose—thank God, it will be all over! If they win—well, the union will still be here, and won’t that mean more strikes?
Then the miners’ boycott, endorsed and carried on by other workmen, is exceedingly troublesome. Its necessity or meaning is entirely lost to the merchants. They are blind to everything but that their business is interfered with. The question of justice for the miner, good conditions, restriction of docking, shorter hours, or even higher wages, never illumines their mental horizon. So, encouraged and assisted by the trust emissaries, they join “Citizen’s Alliances” which attempt to prosecute boycotters and “disturbers of the peace.” These “Alliances” have had strikers arrested and prosecuted upon charges which, at any other time, would be thrown out of court, but they have never moved toward the apprehension of drunken and riotous deputies or the conviction of the coal and iron police who shed the only blood spilled so far in the strike.
Membership in the Alliance is usually kept a secret. (Only a few dare reveal themselves in connection therewith, and these few are generally broken down politicians, lawyers or professional men. The merchants keep discreetly in the background, for they know that, won or lost, they will be remembered when the strike is over. So they confine their activities to giving money and attending meetings, which are held in secret. Only to some one whom they believe to be in sympathy with themselves, will they acknowledge their hatred of the union and display their indifference to the miners’ grievances.
There is a gubernatorial election in Pennsylvania this year and the politicians have to be careful. So have the papers, for election day is not so far away that the workingmen may forget. It happens, therefore, that the politicians are scarce in the strike field, and the papers, with very few exceptions, have done nothing but give advice or scold. The politicians heard of are prolific of schemes how to settle the strike, but they are careful not to be seen too much among the strikers.
The Republican Governor, Mr. [William Alexis] Stone, sat up nights when the strike started signing commissions for coal and iron police to serve the companies. When the Republican convention met at Harrisburg, [Matthew Stanley] Quay openly bought up the delegates instructed for Mr. Elkin and had [Samuel Whitaker] Pennypacker nominated. As Quay had Stone elected Governor, the miners, with their usual guilelessness, turned towards the Democratic party to see whom it would nominate and what it would offer to do for them. They were rewarded by seeing ex-Gov. Pattison nominated through the assistance of Mr. Guffey, Standard Oil magnate, who is the Quay of the Pennsylvania Democracy. Pattison has been hated by the workmen ever since 1892, when he sent the troops to Homestead and broke the famous strike. It was most encouraging to note that this act of Pattison’s is vividly remembered by the workmen throughout the State. Both old party conventions gave forth no sign of sympathy for the miners.
To further accentuate the political situation it should be noted that the officeholders, constables, squires, sheriffs, burgesses, judges, on up to Governor, have uniformly displayed only antagonism to the strikers. Except in conspicuously rare instances, the trust, in the various localities, has had the powers of government used in its favor. Wherever a man attempted to act with the miners, his efforts have been nullified by the actions of others. Party lines are obliterated to serving the capitalists.
Divided Loyalties The Public and Private Life of Labor Leader John Mitchell -by Craig Phelan SUNY Press, Jan 1, 1994 (search with dates mentioned above) https://books.google.com/books?id=uXKMlemav88C
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