[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 10, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1714-E1715]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LATTIMER MINE DISASTER
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HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI
of pennsylvania
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, September 10, 1997
Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, on September 10, 1897, near Hazleton, PA,
a seminal event in American labor history occurred. In one of the
earliest efforts by workers to organize to seek better working
conditions and higher wages, 19 men died and at least 36 others were
wounded in what is now known as the Lattimer Mine Massacre. These men
forever changed the face of the American labor movement.
It is difficult to imagine today the working conditions of the miners
of 1897. Not only were workers paid low wages for extremely long hours
under dangerous and sometimes deadly working conditions, but the coal
companies maintained control over virtually every aspect of the miners'
lives. They lived in company-owned houses, were forced to buy from
company-owned stores, and were treated by company doctors.
The coal mined in northeastern Pennsylvania was the energy source for
the industrial revolution in America. Jobs in the coal mining industry
gave the newly arrived immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe of
the late 1800's a chance to make better lives for themselves and their
children. Immigrants from Italy, Hungary, Poland, and other countries
faced enormous prejudices and difficulties in assimilating into
American culture and becoming accepted by the native-born population.
On September 10, 1897, 400 men began what was to be a peaceful march
and demonstration to fight to obtain better wages, better working
conditions, and the ability to organize.
A posse of armed citizens led by the local sheriff attacked the
miners in a massacre that left at least 19 men dead and countless
others injured.
The Lattimer Mine Massacre and the subsequent trial, which ended in
an acquittal of the massacre leader mine superintendent Gomer Jones,
brought national attention to workers rights and the plight of the men
who toiled under abysmal conditions in our Nation's coal mines. The
massacre led to a strengthening of the United Mine Workers of America
as the voice for anthracite miners and was the first step in helping to
empower miners and break down the walls of anti-immigrant sentiment
which these men faced.
Mr. Speaker, in 100 years the labor movement has come a long way. The
right of workers to organize and bargain collectively is no longer
questioned. Regulations now help ensure the safety of mines and other
workplaces.
Mr. Speaker, on the 100th anniversary of this terrible tragedy in
American labor history I would like to remember the spirit of the
miners that is summed up in the following statement from the monument
memorializing the massacre:
``It was not a battle because they were not aggressive, nor were they
on the defensive, because they had no weapons of any kind and were
simply shot down like so many worthless objects; each of the licensed
life takers trying to outdo the others in butchery.''
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to include a copy of a story from the
Hazleton Standard Speaker from September 10, 1995 which recognized the
98th Anniversary of this event. This article provides a background on
what transpired 100 years ago today.
Ninety-Eight Years Ago, Guns Rang Out in Lattimer
(By Ed Conrad)
Today marks the 98th anniversary of the Lattimer Massacre,
one of the most gruesome days in the annals of American
labor.
On Sept. 10, 1897, a group of striking anthracite miners at
the A.D. Pardee & Co. colliery near Harwood were marching
toward Lattimer Mines in an effort to persuade miners at the
Pardee mining operation there to join their cause and walk
off their jobs.
Luzerne County Sheriff James Martin and members of his
posse, brandishing firearms reported supplied by mining
operators, formed a roadblock near the village in an attempt
to prevent the unarmed marchers from gaining access to the
colliery.
Martin was ordering the miners to turn back when, suddenly,
the sheriff fell to the ground, either by accident or when
pushed by one of the strikers.
Almost immediately, a shot was fired--by whom has never
been precisely determined--and members of the posses began
firing their weapons at the marchers and a bloodbath ensured.
Nineteen striking miners were shot and killed, with six
more succumbing to their gunshot wounds within two weeks.
The total of 25 men killed and many others injured made it
one of the worst incidents of labor violence in the nation's
history.
It was due to the growing unrest by striking miners in the
Hazleton area that Martin had been asked to intervene and try
and keep the peace.
The trouble in the Hazleton area mining area had begun a
few weeks earlier at the Honeybrook Colliery, near McAdoo.
Twenty boys who held jobs as mule drivers refused to obey
an order from Gomer Jones, division superintendent of the
Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Co., to stable their animals.
The boys refused to do so unless they received extra pay.
Consequently, Jones fired the boys and triggered a strike
that would leave an indelible mark on labor relations in
Pennsylvania's coal fields.
Although, strikes were relatively common in northeastern
Pennsylvania's coal fields, this one was worse than most as
the miners' resentment against the coal operators continued
to escalate.
Martin was notified of the situation and came to Hazleton
where he deputized 87 men, some of them prominent persons.
They reportedly were instructed to use whatever means
necessary to quell any and all disturbances.
Martin, a former mine foreman, also solicited the
assistance of sheriffs from both Carbon and Schuylkill
counties.
Jointly, the three county sheriffs issued a proclamation
banning mob parades and demonstrations.
In open defiance, striking miners began marching from
colliery to colliery. Workers in Harwood were told to leave
their jobs and join the effort.
It is not generally known but an ugly incident had occurred
earlier on the infamous day of the Lattimer Massacre.
The same group of marchers, who hours later would be mowed
down in Lattimer, had arrived in the vicinity of Hazle Mines
where they attempted to get some of the miners there to join
their strike.
However, the sheriff and his deputies stepped in and a
brawl erupted, but no member of the posse fired his gun.
In the melee, several of the strikers were injured and two
of them arrested.
Nevertheless, organizers of the march felt they had
accomplished something because quite a few miners at Hazle
Mines, apparently fearing for their well-being, left their
jobs and fled from the vicinity of the colliery.
It was at this point that word spread among the marchers
that they would leave Hazle Mines and head for the A.D.
Pardee mining operation near Lattimer.
As they approached Lattimer, there were approximately 150
marchers who were carrying a pair of American flags.
[[Page E1715]]
Then came the confrontation--and the bloodshed.
Martin had given conflicting statements to two different
newspapers about what had triggered the gunfire.
``I halted the marching column and read the proclamation
but they refused to pay attention and started to resume their
march,'' he had told a reporter from the Philadelphia North
American.
``I called the leader to stop but he ignored my order and I
attempted to arrest him. I hated to give the command to shoot
and was awful sorry that I was compelled to do so, but I was
there to do my duty.''
Later that same day, apparently on the advice of his
attorney, Martin told a reporter from another newspaper that
he had not ordered the deputies to open fire.
News of the massacre enraged residents of the entire
Hazleton area and violence was feared.
In order to prevent a serious uprising, five regiments of
the state National Guard were ordered into the Hazleton area
by Gov. Daniel H. Hastings.
Charles McGlynn, a charter member of the original three-man
Lattimer Massacre Memorial Committee and currently chairman
of that committee, has conducted extensive research on the
incident and identified the 19 men who were killed at the
scene.
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