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RE: JOHN L. LEWIS, BT AL. a 27D INTERVIEN WIT} (Continued ) "I first started at Mine B in Springfield, Ill. : 4 a there in I was born & Ee : : I joine e UMT « cam e, With und : a nave d any union offices 932 our UM! local was alright et Mine Band it was a company union and we miners just puid our dues into the loosl but did not get any support and if we had any disputes we did net get far with them ut all. During thet time ELSHOFF would get whutever he got fram Tifl] und it is even worse now at Mine B than it wes buck in those days. Ue UMi men got «4 dirty rotten deol fran JOHN L. LEIS ond he geve us the right to vote cnd then he stole the bullots and I was glud when we went over to Pity in 1932. ‘Ye miners felt that LEVIS hed sold out to the operttors thene I took on Getive part in starting Pea ot Mine B and to get rid of Uf! there and I telked to other fellows and told them to join PMA. at that time most of the men went over to Pla of their own free will tnd no one wes forced to jcin over and I will say thot we hed a good organizes tion under the Pilh leudershipe "Between 1932 and until the mine closed down Pité officiuls got slong ulright with CARL ELSHOFF of Mine Be However, around 1935 or 1936 about 13 men established themselves together und they would go into the coal office und tolk te them about going bok to UiMil, These men were SAMY, also known 48 JR; ANDY SCHRELEVIOUS, *HINIC PASQULLE, PETE CaRTER, PRANK AUSTIN, TONY PLOTCH, COTTON sANANIAS, JOHN SIKTOUT, GEO. und EMORY JaCathY, CHARLES BOHANNON ond JIM HaLE, There also was a Lithuanian with them who is now decd ELSHOFF and the management of Mine B did not bother us at e11 before the mine closed about going back to UM! that I recell of. ‘Ja PMs miners got nlong 100% with the PMs officials fran 1932 until the mine closed with the exception of the 13 men mentioned about und we liked the officials and things got tlong just fine then. We men decided what should be done and our committees took up our troubles ond got things for us and it was & lot better then in those days than it is now at the present tine at Mine By, ‘Je never suspected anything wrong with the | ie fficiolse I ettendéd ulmost every nesting beoause © 3 ma, wos our check weigh man and he went to the neotings “and £ would go Glong with hime In regard to those PM men who were convioted for that bombing I felt pretty bed about it and I think thet JOHN Le LEVIS guvo « lot of money to & railroad diok nemsa meund he guve it out and I think thet the nen who went to the pen were G1] innocents I attended their triel on saveral times. Other miners also felt thut the PM. men were not guilty, Before the mine closed Pl, officials properly accounted for their money and I always wes given receipts for dues I puid &nd they never had o lot of special essessmentse There wis no feeling ot all that the Pd officials were getting any cut out of the money mutters, (Mil men - never vicketed Mine B before it closed and I never sew ony literature frqgn UMW then, xabont 3 tc € months before the mine closed the 15 men er ae ee ta BR re oe ey er ee we em me ee