Power by Howard Fast Page B

there is of it, and in Hogan County it belongs to the mine operators. We are used to starvation, Mr. Cutter, but not to being murdered in our beds.”
    I nodded, and then for a little while we stood in silence, and then she asked me what I had written and whether she could see it. I said it was not secret, and would she like me to read it to her? She nodded, and I read as follows:
    â€œ May 27, 1920 . Somewhere in West Virginia. I am the only reporter present at the secret base of the International Miners Union. Here, at the headquarters of Benjamin R. Holt, as strange a situation is developing as American labor ever knew. Mr. Holt, twenty-eight-year-old strong man and newly elected president of the Miners Union, came down here recently to organize a union of the West Virginia coal miners. He brought with him a corps of organizers, and their arrival in the coal fields was the signal for an outbreak of violence unique even for this part of the country—an area that well remembers the notorious Hatfield-McCoy feud as well as many others.
    â€œSo far as this reporter can determine, the first violence was triggered, not by the miners, but by private detectives brought in by the coal operators. The first response of the miners to the union was enthusiastic, and several thousand of them signed union cards during the first few days of organization. Then the operators began the eviction of such miners as lived in company houses and had co-operated with the union. Since none of these miners had valid leases, the operators were entirely within their rights, both in the evictions and in the subsequent closing of the pits. About 85 per cent of the local miners were affected.
    â€œThese evictions were carried out by hired detectives, the local authorities being unwilling to take the measures requested of them. An argument between these hired operatives and the local sheriff, James D. Flecker, resulted in the death of twelve operatives. Here, in this mountain hide-out, I have just been shown the bodies of fifteen persons, ten miners, a woman, and four children. It is alleged by Mr. Holt that these fifteen persons were killed in reprisal for the deaths of the operatives, and he bluntly accuses the mine operators of a planned campaign of murder and terror against the miners.
    â€œWhatever the truth of this assertion, neither Mr. Holt nor the miners are taking the situation lying down. Well over a thousand armed miners are gathered at this hide-out, and they have sworn that they will defend themselves and their families to the death.
    â€œâ€˜We did not ask for this,’ Benjamin Holt said. ‘It was thrust on us. Rest assured, we will defend ourselves.’
    â€œEvents have proved that Mr. Holt is not someone to be taken lightly. He has a vital, magnetic personality, and appears to command the total devotion of the coal miners. When I pressed for his motivations, he insisted that he had none apart from the welfare of the miners. Nevertheless, it should be noted that in the brief time during which he has been head of the union, he has managed to raise his yearly salary from three thousand to five thousand dollars. He is a well-educated and articulate man, but it remains to be seen whether he will accept conditions of warfare as a solution to his problems. If he does, then it may be that we are on the verge of actual armed conflict here in this state, for on both sides armies are gathering. When you have thousands of angry men under arms only a few miles from each other, then an incident is inevitable. This is something that only time will tell.”
    Laura did not interrupt me while I was reading, and when I had finished, she stared at me in bewilderment. “You don’t believe those things you wrote there, do you, Mr. Cutter?”
    â€œI wrote it.”
    â€œWith your tongue in your cheek, Mr. Cutter?”
    â€œNow that was uncalled for,” I protested. “You keep regarding me as a member of