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“— # h wa Re: JOHN L. LEWIS, £T AL oe 20 INTERVIE., WITH with the way the PMA officials were runring the loca TERVIE TH with th Pos ts handling the money matters. PMA never had any speci assessments except once I recall when they needed some money to help out other locals who were out or were short of money but that money went to help those other miners. The miners in local 54 ran that local thenselves and it was not run for or by a few anc ever;thing was taken up at meetings and was propertly voted upon or debated on. I was not very active in the union affairs as it wes too far for me to go to attend the mestints as by the time I pot hore and ate it was too late to ro to Springfield, Tli. anc attend a meeting but I . 1 go once ir. awhile. pi "In regards to those FIA men co-victed in those bombinces cases we miners felt that they cot a rottc., devi, and there was some fossip that Edmundson and that bunch had thon railvoaced. The rossip then was that Edmundson was wery muck inte ested in their trials, "Prior to the time the mine closed down UMW never bothered Pua men at the mine to my Itowledre and there was no strikes or pickets out there and there was no trouble that I know of. However, before the strike started there were 2 or 3 PiA men who were protty strong for UM and they were FRANK AUSTIN, 2A’! and ANDY Schrelevious and Jim Hale. They would go around and talk to the other miners about goin- back to UMW. But they never personally contacted me. Inever heard anything about Elshoff or UM civing any parties. "in the spring of 1937 vhen our contract ran ovt a: us several times at the mine that they had a temporary acreement ™ the manage- ment and that if there was any increase it would be retroactive back to April lst. ve miners felt that Elshoff would make a contract and that it would be just as rood as any contract that UY could cet for us. There were no fichts on pay days and everybody seened to be satisfied with the acreement and we all thoucht we ‘vould cet a lump sum if the increase went thru. Tvervone seemed +o be satisfied wlth the way it was handled. I never say any short. oP other strikes then, J heard that arounc in April, 1937 Pasquale and several others were playinre around with men in their own nationalities and were trying to swing them over but they never contacted me. The management of Mine B never said anything to me about the wage agreement that I know of. "T don't recall of any neeting being held the nisht before the mine closed but there could have been one but I did not attend it as I went” to very fev of them. On the mornin~ of 5-12-37 when I went to work I did not know there was foinr to be a strike and no one talked about a strike to me at the mine and the men were not arcuinr or fi-htine about.their wages either. However, later that afternoon I heard some cossip that?” ar eee