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C | Oo Re: JOHN L. LEWIS, ET AL bt" po1b INTERVIES “ITH the persons who told me about this. inued "In 1937 the P.M.A. were cettine anrry about theactivities of the mcn I havo named above. They did not want to work in Mine B with these men because these men were organizing for U.M.1. I think that the only re2scn for the strike in 1937 was thit the P.M.A. men did not want to vor’: with the U.LL%. organizers. The members of the P.M.A. felt that their leaders could pet as good a wage scale as the U.M.W. leade~s, so I don't think the wage scale had anything to do with the strike. *I did not know of any meeting just before the strike in 1937. On the morning of the strike, the officials of P.u.A. and the men themselves said that they would not go intc the mine if tho U.M.7. mon went in. The U.M.W. men stayed ir the office of Mine B that morniny,and the P.H.a. men stood arcund the shaft to prevent the U.N... men from coing into the mine. Prior to the strike I heard smethinz about the activity of 5 or 6 U.N. spies in Hine B, and that the P.M.A. had fined them and dis- charged them. I don't reeall from whom I heard this. ‘Then the manacement of Mine B let the U.N. mon co into the mine on the day of the strike, the P.M.A. men, who did not want to strike, began to load their coal cars short. I don't know if this action had been decided on in advance of the strike. I think the men just decided to do it on thc spur of the moment. "I simed the P.M... petition in May 1937 voluntarily because I wanted to. As I recall I was told that the petition was to be sent to Tashinpton to show that P.u.a. had a majority of the miners in Mine B. I think I signed the petition in the vicinity of the nine. i "J recall sipning a second petition for P.M.A. just before the election in Decenber 1937. I think that the purpose of this petition was to sent? it to Washington with the request that an election be held for Mine B. I think this petition wis started by tho P.M.A. officials. "J was not asked to join the new U.M.W. local that started up in the summer of 1937. I don't recall any incidents of violence in the summer of 1937, "I received a notice from the minarement of Mine B about the openine that was scheduled for Septanber 1937, but I don't recall patting any other notices of an openins of the mine. I don't recall any comment by P.M.A. officials about the mine reopening in Sept. 1937. Im the fall Iwas in the picket line at Mine B for about 30 days. The purpose of this picket was to keep U.M.W. men out of the mine. I was not forced to picket, and I di¢ so tecakse I wanted to. ‘ - 360 =