◆ SpookStack

_ . ve eee a eli fe: JOHN L. LEIS, ET AL. resides at ia, tas interviered AOS 3 Lae Benes 4 3 a VLPOoL aL hat of the average tiner. He gave information rhich ame wake Se ee EY folloving signed statement. "Springfield, Til. Septenber 9, 1945. "ter nane is ke the folloring _ statenent to an » who have identified theuselves to ne to be Special agents o e Federal Bureau of Investigation. J’0 promiese, threats, or consideration of any kind has been made to me to make this statenent. I am willing, if necessary, to go to court and repeat any part of this statement. nT s ae llmmr—C“‘CSC‘isCQY ef the Hin p : 1932, and Pall of A, a at tue time that - the men at Hine A mostly svitched over to *}.. I had been sick, and had not torked at luine A since 1935, but + stayed active in the local, I sav the nen quite frequently around torn, ended all the meetings, and a e heetings, ‘During the suamer of 1941, the mince tas closed, as it - vuspally vas. There tas no discussion anong the men about any aisatis~ faction vith the opsration of the lecal or of changing over to the Ui:. Suddenly, an announcement cane out in the paper that Elshoff vas going to run line &. Right atay there vas talk among the men about changing. There vas a necting of the local about tro nights after the announcement. I do not recall exactly \hat happened that night, because I was pretty busy filling out axoneration papers, etc., for nan that cannot read or trite so Voll, ‘here was @ lot of confusion that night. Wo one mer vhat vas going to happen. I do not know vhat vas said from the floor, __. but I did hear many men talking in private conversations about the possibility of taking the coal out of “tine A through ifine B, vhich Zishoff ren, and not open Ifine A at all, That rould have been possible, and the men kner that, because these t’o mines vere joined and used the same escape. There ras also talk that if the nen joined the UF that the mine vould be reopened, ‘ZT do not Imor rh they thought that it vould open if it vas Wi., but that ras vhat everyone thought. I think the men who favored the Wi: vero passing that word around, The nen kner that Iline B ras DW! and the mon ranted to RNIB - B52 ~