| Show blamed for herrin HE united states coal commission in a report to president coolidge cooledge on thin the causes of strikes declined to fix final re visibility for the herrin massacre strongly itron gly criticized public officials failing ailing to prevent the killings the aern iera illinois coal company for de g the union and inviting mob vloe and subordinate officers and bers berg of the united mine aline workers defended the outrage it has been suggested that this was movement said the mission referring to the herrin iacre it Is true that communists made efforts to establish ons ta lii that county and that a few 1 eigners were induced to join but e filsno IS no evidence that this had any flon ion to this lamentable and hor occurrence the voters are in ily ely partisan rind and divide dilong nor party lines with a negligible soil vote ne lie local point of view Is well aed d in the of the corb coroners nees 1 we tha jury find from the evl ce e that the deaths of decedents dece dents 10 i due to the acts direct and int acts of the officials of the southern ts coal company we becom al 1 that an investigation be coned aed for the purpose of fixing the mo ie personally on individuals re jo sible mere Is 13 no doubt that when tho the promoter of the southern illinois coal company started to operate his mine in de defiance flance of the union ho he was vas in biting mob violence ond and flirting with death lie he knew it and prepared to meet it tile resentment was spon ganeous and instantaneous ile he chat challenged the supremacy of the union those in the mob that it arts lin an attempt to return to old conditions before the mines had been unionized there were of course fatal omissions of duty on the part of public officials and neither the officials nor the public wanted troops to protect the operator in his union destroying operations it might have been stopped by the sheriff by the officers of the minors miners union by public sentiment but all were for the union and all believed that an attempt was being abeln made to destroy it this statement unfortunately cannot end here clothed with all the charitable excuses above set out these furnish no justification for the brazen audacity with which subordinate officials and members of the united mine aline workers of america defended the crime and the criminals that they were espousing the cause and defending the lawbreakers Is further shown to the commission by the fact that they have since bought the mine where the tragedy occurred and have paid |
