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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 27, 1962)
ECentucky Mimes Plagued by Labor Unrest By JOSEPH VARILLA United Pr International Hazard, Ky. - (UPIt An un easy peace nanus over the coal fields of east Kentucky - un easy because there can be no peace in desperation. For nearly two months, la bor unrest has threatened to erupt any day into war-like violence. Pickets tired of their lot roamed the mountains trying to close down mining oper ations. Coal tipples were dyna mited, a railroad bridge was damaged, some homes were peppered with bullets, and a man was killed during an ar.' gumcnt about the picketing. The immediate danger has been lessened by cold weath er, snow-slick mountain roads and pressure from the state and the United Mine Workers union. The number of pickets has dwindled and state police are optimistic that, for the time, peace will prevail. But the threat remains. Violence could erupt tomor row, the next day or next spring. Economic Futility The seeds of violence are rooted not so much in an iso lated contract dispute but in a generalized feeling of eco nomic futility - despair and hopelessness. It was not a strike, but a rebellion. The pickets rebelled against a society that no longer has a place for them and no longer has a need for the skills they possess. The mountainer miners belong to another age and another place. They're not exactly sure of what they want or whom they're against. They know only they're tired of being poor and want to do something about it. Eastern Ken tucky's little educated, unskilled people are in a fight for which there is no victory. Economics, geog raphy and the 20th century miliated against them. Gov. Bert Combs called the picket ing and action like it "an acute symptom of the plight of the entire Appalachian area." Sick Industry The median family income in east Kentucky is less than S2S per week. Mining is the only industry of significance and the industry is sick. Many subsist on relief payments and surplus food. At least one third of the families receive some kind of help. Many men have not worked for years, others only a few days a month. Not long ago, the UMW heightened the tension when it withdrew welfare cards from miners whose employers were delinquent in their roy alty payments to the union's welfare fund. The cards en title the miners to free medi cal care. That there was no whole sale outbreak of violence dur ing the past two months was attributed to state police. Sgt. Willard Mitchell said that during the period he and his men faced a new crisis every day. "There was always the pos sibility that they'd rush us," he said. "They didn't try, but it came awfully close to a showdown at times." The troopers were heavily armed and the pickets carried weapons in their automobiles. The mine operators hired tough guards to protect their property. These were men that would shoot if they had to - perhaps even if they didn't. Men reaching in their back pockets for a handker chief have been killed in east Kentucky and juries have ruled it self defense. Few issues in the emotion charged situation here are de fineable. The pickets themselves do little talking. They appear either surly or frightened - probably bolh. When this cor respondent walked up to one group outside a Perry county mine, he was told: "Unless you got some food for us, you better get outa here." The small truck mines whose operators failed to make welfare payments were the pickets' main target. But bigger steel company mines also were confronted by the fcar-sprcading, loosely organ ized pickets. Pickets who roved in cars, occasionally threatening and destroying, included those di rectly affected by the with drawal of the welfare cards -men who feared for their families' future; those" fright ened into picketing, and mal contents, some of whom never worked in the mines, who i were sympathetic to the cause, j Might Do Some Good j For many, unemployed for : months or years and with no prospect of - employment.- l j was something to do and a way to dramatize their dis-! content. And they felt it might do some good.' Many miners were threat ened with anonymous phone , calls or a volley of rocks i against their homes. Even if i they were employed in mines that complied with the union contract, they were warned not to go to work. But many : employed in the truck mines ! at substandard wages and few benefits went to work any- ' way. They are willing to fight to keep working. Jobs are ' that scarce. The picketing like most previous labor trouble in the area was directed against the small truck mines, which em ploy an average of 14 men. They are in the majority and employ the most people. Many are non-union and others have so - called "sweetheart con tracts." The operators Insist they cannot meet the UMW contract and exist - mainly because in an age of automa tion they still use the old methods. "I told the union people when I signed my contract that I couldn't meet its terms," said Bazel Collins, a Harlan operator. "They said sign it anyway and do the best I can. Then they took the cards away from my men." The truck miners viewed the picketing as an attempt to drive them out of business and they accused the UMW of secretly aiding the pickets -at least in the beginning. But the union denied it. District 30 President C. E. Beane marie an appeal early this month to union miners to return to work, saying the picketing could destroy the UMW in east Kentucky. He was par ticularly concerned that the large rail mines, which are in compliance with the union contract, resume operations. Because of the UMW pressure, employees of the big mines returned. Although negotiations be tween leaders of the pickets Medford, fS&JTRIBUNE and truck mine operators are under way in some counties there is little hope for a set tlement. The operators appear serious in saying they can't possibly pay the royalty fee of 40 cents a ton or the union wage scale of $25.25 per day. Bigger Problems Moreover, even if there is a settlement of this one ques tion the bigger problems re main - poverty, lack of edu cation, isolation. Those closest to the situation say that until these are solved, east Ken tucky will continue to be a potential powder keg that could blow up because men SECTION B MEDFORD, OREGON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1962 PAGES 1 to 14 ' it n nn ir Rra nn f3F ir ti m ii 1 1 in i si MR v ri n ii ii rim i i i ii are desperate. Thitra i nn puav vnliiiinn in' the area's dilemma. Dedicated men have grappled with it for three decades. Federal pro grams have not worked. Gov. Combs maintains that the only way to solve it is to first recognize east Kentucky and the rest of the Appalachian region for what it is - an un derdeveloped area similar to those in Latin America, Asia or Africa. He is on record as favoring a domestic "Marshall Plan" to provide roads, schools, water control and eventually jobs in this land-locked area where the people don'i live much differently than their ancestors of a century ago. THE DANMOORE HOTEL 1217 SW.Morrilon St. PORTLAND, OREGON M e n t h I y fate, available fer hart er indefinite Day. $15.00 anal up. Private bath. Children Under Sevan No Charge Jarfi' try 4 POVERTY Reminiscent of today s povcrtv, shown in a picture taken in l!)4fi. The pov children of this mining community are erlv which existed then remains unchanged, (UPI) Chicken Preparation Related To Education Houston, Texas - (UPIt - How you prepare your chicken seems to be related to how much money your family has and how much education, ac cording to a survey of Hous ton housewives. The Texas Agricultural sta tion reported the survey show ed that, as income and educa tion went up, the popularity of fried and stewed chicken went down. Homemakers with more money and broader backgrounds liked their chic ken barbecued or baked. And so did their families. NAVY tk Awn 7innn K3 Japan Joins Ranks Of Top Auto Producers New York - Wli - For some years the top five aulomobile producing countries have been the United Slates, West Germany, Britain, France and Italy, in that order. But not any more, reports the January issue of Car and Driver magazine. During 19fil Japan built 815.000 autos, dis placing Italy from fifth place. Italian manufacturers, con sidered by some to be the top auto designers in the world, put out 760,000 vehicles. The Navy hoi ill first turbo-prop onti-lubmorine patrol plane, the P3V. Its lop ipeed it in ciceu of 460 milei per hour and the can fiy oi ilow at UO knots. She it deiigned lo ilrile with rocleU, depth charges, torpedo!, end other special weapons. This four engine oircraft con detect ond destroy any tub known today. see your NAVY recruiter Mcdford Post Office Phone 772-4060 I'M made naturally.,, to naturally better H THRIFTY GREEN STAMPS! 2330 CRATER LAKE AVENUE MONEY ORDERS mm TV & Radio Tubes (Testing and Sales) Fast Film Service Warm Room Locker i.',r.i;ii4j.t.'vu 6 HAPPY NEW YEAR WITH THANKS TO YOU We greet you at the year's dawning with our best wishes and warm thanks for your patronage, your confidence and cooperation. It has in deed been a pleasure to serve you! 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