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RE: JOHN L. LEWIS, Ef AL . Oo y 5 . | _ - 4 \ N) INTERVIEW WITH - = : | ppringtield, Illinois, \ wes tteretored on Sopten seb Special iP Agents oe are : is very “deliberate in hie actiong speech, but when h fe can express him- self so that he can be understood. Hae understands English, but claims to be uusble to read very well. _He _ he was arrested once by mistake, but it was not on a criminel charge. said he is not afraid to tell the truth as he kmows it. WBBM fornisned the rotiowing signed statements "Soringfield, 111. Leptember 8, 1943, statement freely and volun- tarily to a wno have identified theanselves to me as Specia Bureau Of Investigation. No threats or promises have been made to me to obtain this statement. , "I live a+ : Springfield, Illinois. I was born and came to the United Stetes in I acquired my ¢ittzenship through my father when he was naturalized, but don't remember the date. I am prasently working at Mine B, +. "I first joined a union, the United Mine Workers, in aE in Springfield, I11. I stayed in this union until 1932 when I joined the Progres- sive Mine ‘sorkers of America. As I recall I rejoined the U.M.¥. just before , the election in February 1941, I never have held an office in any union. ' - "From 1932 until 1937 while I was working at Mine B, everything seemed to be 0.K. The P.M.A. union was satisfactory so far as I was concerned, but it really made no difference to me which union I was in because I thought one union was as good as any other. "As I recall efter the strike started BOHANNON came to my house and asked me to join the U.M.W. I did not say "yes" or "no", I just told him that I would see about the matter later. SHRELEVIOUS was with BOHANNON; the younger JACAWAY was also present. No threats were made to me at this time. ; "After the mine reopened in 1939 there was a new bunch of men in the mine. Every few days a new bunch of men would come into the mine. They did not do any work, but morely walked around the mine and talked to the men. I think these men wore: changed frequently so that the men working in the mine . would not get to know these men. ~ "One night after the mine reopened, Mine B I mean, a big man whee ; ~ 344 -