◆ SpookStack

Re: JOHN L. LEWIS, ET AL be. . Oo 64 O- "I did not attend the meeting the night before the mine closed out, JI do recall the contention over the § men who were to be expell&ie. I remember telling some of the trial board members that the charge that they had placed aprainst these men was a2 serious one, a bad thing and would only cause trouble unless they had good proof of the charges made. I think that this was a special meeting of the trial beard and was handled in the same way that ali such matters were handled. I went to work the morning of the _ ron we Acs T woernoemher i+ the day of the strike the men went to work as always. AS 1 Tensmoer iv tne men worked nost of this day_ I think that I heard that the men were being called out about 5 min. before quitting time. I do know that during that day the men were going 2round wispe.inpe s12e to the other to load the cars short. I dont have any idea who started this nor do I know what it was about. I dont know te this day why ths strike started that day, some said that it wae over pase some that it wos over loading the cars short I never heard it seid th.t it was over the men who were expelled from the union. JI dont remember hearing anything avout the management refusing to fire the men expelled from the union. # have often wondered why this strike was called I believe that if every man head tended to his own business that this mine would have never shut down. - "I believe I signed the PMA petition of May 26, 1937, as I recall we signed this petition out on the read in front of the’ mine and those that didn't ret to sign it there were visited at home and given a chance to Sign it. I signed because TI thought as long as we had a PMA union out there we had a chance of getting a contract_ I felt'at this time that in a few d ays we would have a contract. "I did not hear of or sign any petition for the UMM. "I dont remember signing specific petitions but think I signed one or two these were all for PMA. ; "During the summer of 1937 I read about the UMW starting a local in Sprine. ail I knew was what I read in the paper. I remember that Chas. Bohanon was president of it. "I dont recall any unusual activity or events during the summer of 1937_ I did hear that some of the mine B men had gone to the Jefferson Nine to work and heard that Falsetti was over there as boss of the mine, I remember signing the affidavit which has been shown me by agents of the FRI, this affidavit was mde at Virden, Till. Aug. 25th, 1937, and concerned statements made to myself and other miners about going to UMW meetings this statement is true and the signature attached thereto is my ow. tater on learning of this Mr. Falsetti told Roth that he had no power to make any ~ 350 = ee ene en OPS Pi eeg ote SCE ee, SS Oe