◆ SpookStack

INTERVIE- WITH oe, Illinois, was Po jointly interviewed at bis restrence on September 6 1943 by Sp: cial con aT ae is mentally alert, he makes a good appeatance, 2 @ was an eye, witness to beatings inflicted by UM organizers’ | w seems sine-re, on PLN memvers at the mine and quit working at Mine "B" from fear of being beaten. He is presently employed at Panther Creck Mine #2, Springfield, Na Tllinois, which is under a PNA contract, and he executed the following written statement: . ecrrared Illinois Sentember 6, 1943. make tie following volur nbary statement whem i know to be Special Agents am present) envloyed at the The first ailinoise Panther Cree 4, porinssieid, Iilinois mine union I joined was the United ine Worker cL1erred to here-- inafter as the Uw, at Tllinais in At this time, I went to work at Riverton Mine fee . worked in local Races near Spaulding, Illinois cron i : a member of UMW. In sevmcrcp one I started working at wine B and worked there continucusly until ley 37, the day that mine closed dom. I again worked at this mine when it re-opened in November, 1939 on open shop basis. I worked there wntil the first part of February, 1941 and never did work at that mine after that date. As I mentioned before, I joined the Uk in we: remained a member of that union wmtil September, 1932. I voluntari yo Joined the Progressive Mine Workers of America. referred to hereinafter as the FMA, in 1922 when the miners at Mine B joined that union. I did not take an active part in the formation of the PLA. tI felt that the rank am file of the PMA and the officials of that union got along fine, and there was no trouble in the PMA. I believe that union was free fraud on the part of it's leaders. I never held an office in a mine union with the exception of "As far as I know, the relations between Elshoff and UMW prior to 1932 were satisfactory and he seemed to get along alright with the PMA from 1932 to the latter part of 1935. However, from the latter part of 1936 to May 12, 1937, Elshoff seemed to be dissatisfied. I never heard the Company officials mke any statements but felt tha relations were strained. "The following men held PMA cards and worked at Mine B in the Spring - 220 « a ee mmm geek OT Rh ames atoge peter ge clea ee p mw gtee te a : * - . Meee ® a Pd