Vanguard October 1915
Source: George Pettigrew, Vanguard, October 1915, p. 2, & 3;
Pettigrew was an Executive Board member of the United Mine Workers of America and was arrested in the course of this strike in 1913. – Note by transcriber;
Transcribed: by Ted Crawford.
Socialists the world over spend much time in discussing whether political action or otherwise is the best weapon of the working class. In writing the story of Vancouver Island Miners Strike, I am not denouncing political action, as the men on Vancouver Island are the only section of the workers in British Columbia represented by workers in the local Parliament and two Socialists at that. However, even though the mining camps are the only places represented, the Socialist vote has been fair all over.
In the year 1907 the Liberal and Conservative parties were evenly represented, and the then three Socialists held the balance of power, the outcome being that they used the advantage of that power tactically, and had the Mines Regulation Act, Compensation Act, and others amended to a degree that should have benefited the workers.
Even though the mines on Vancouver Island were and are dangerous, when the time came for one of the Parties to hold the balance of power, it disregarded the law and the old state of conditions persisted. The Prime Minister is paid $1,600 per year as member of the House, also $5,000 as Prime Minister and $5,000 as Minister of Mines. Even though he was the Minister responsible for amending the Coal Mines Act, he made no pretence of seeing it carried out.
The men at this time had no industrial organisation, due to the fact that they had lost previous strikes in attempting to establish such and partly due to the Socialist Party of Canada doing propaganda that unions and palliatives were useless and unworthy of support.
In 1911, owing to the heavy death-roll caused by explosions in the mines, the men decided in the interests of themselves to have that portion of the Mines Act put into effect by which they, at their own expense, elect two of their own number to examine the workings and report to the Coal Companies, the men, and the Government alike.
When the first of the Committees executed their duties according to law, they were immediately dismissed. The attention of the Minister of Mines was called, and he decided it was no function of his to interfere between employers and men. The men continued to elect their own Committees, and all alike were dismissed. In the meantime, the Coal Companies and the Government were asked for a conference to be arranged to avoid future trouble. On September 16, 1912, the men in the Cumberland District, employed by the Canadian Collieries Co., and managed by Sir Wm. Mackenzie and Sir Dan Mann, of the Canadian Northern Railway, took an idle day in protest against conditions, and the following day were locked out till they would sign a contract, individually, to work two years under old conditions. This the men refused to do, and were locked out. Every man stood solid, with no craft divisions, no religious divisions, no race divisions – the Chinese and Japanese standing solid. The following day the men in the other camps decided to strike in defence of the men against the conditions being imposed at Cumberland. At the end of six weeks the Coal Companies applied to the Government for special police, and were granted nearly two thousand. The first duty of the special police granted by the Prime Minister (who did not desire to interfere between employers and men) was to surround the districts where the Chinese and the Japanese lived, to keep them from getting among the white men, or vice versa; then, under the threat of deportation these two races went to work. The Companies and the Government thought this would end this strike as it did previous ones. This failing, they tried to find strike-breakers in Canada and the United States without success.
The next move was to get agents in Europe, and nearly six hundred men were sent from Riga. The Union sent men across the country to intercept these Russians, and the result was that none went to the mines.
The next move of the Companies and the Government was to make trouble in some of the districts as an excuse to get the Militia forces introduced. So, in July, 1913, – some strike-breakers – southern Italians – used the knife on the strikers, and a little disturbance followed in some of the camps and the desired result was obtained – the Militia forces were called out. Men were now brought in small groups to the districts from Germany, Austria, Greece, and Southern Italy, and closely guarded by the Militia forces and special police.
On August 12, 1913, a meeting of sixteen hundred strikers was being held in Nanaimo, and during the time the meeting was held the hall was surrounded by the Militia (72nd Highlanders), every man being fitted with the gun and fixed bayonet, ball cartridge in the rifle, and several rounds in the belt. A machine gun was placed at the back door.
The gallant Colonel of the regiment, Hail by name, entered the meeting and ordered the men to disperse single file; if they left the meeting faster than single file he would order his men to fire, and if the hall was not cleared in three minutes he would use the machine gun at the back door to help them through the front door.
The men decided not to obey orders, and remained in the meeting place. The gallant Colonel again came and decided to give them one hour to do business, provided they agreed to go home without making trouble. When the meeting ended they were only allowed out ten at a time, and, guarded by police and militia, were taken to the courthouse and examined for fire-arms (none being found). The outcome was two hundred and twenty-seven were thrown into prison to wait months for a trial, and when tried sentences were imposed from months to terms of years in the penitentiary. The long terms of imprisonment had not the desired effect of weakening the strikers, and the strike lasted till August 21 1914. The men were not defeated in the sense of defeat, but the mining companies forced a strike in Colorado, thus taxing the finances of the union to a degree that one of the strikes had to be given up. The men on Vancouver Island could have carried on the fight for a longer period.
However, the ending of the strike has shown up the Government to a larger degree. The mines have, been filled up by Chinese by the thousands, even though the law says they must be conversant with the English language, and even though a White B.C. has been the battle cry of the Government at election times.
The war in Europe started the same month as the strike ended, and union men who were Germans or Austrians were interned; but not so the strike-breakers. Deputations visited the Prime Minister and asked him to intern the German and Austrian strike-breakers; but he, still being neutral as far as employer and employee are concerned, refused; saying that the men in the mining Camps voted the Socialist ticket, and Socialism was International, and that the deputation did not desire these Germans and Austrians interned as such, but only to have the defeated strikers in their places. The Lusitania was sunk in May this year, and the Germans and Austrians continued to work till nearly a month after that. The Militia forces desired revenge for the Lusitania, and were locked in the barracks to prevent them.
The following appeared in the Vancouver Federationist on Friday, May14 1915 Nanaimo is mixed up pretty badly these days between its purse and its patriotism and the Lusitania horror. The Western Fuel Co. has about one hundred Austrians employed in its mines there. Last week-end a deputation of business men waited on Mr. T.R. Stockett, the manager of the mines, to request him to discharge the Austrians as a protest against the Lusitania outrage. On Monday last Mr. A.E. Planta, mayor of Nanaimo, issued an appeal in the “Free Press” asking citizens not to cause anti-German disturbances such as had taken place in Victoria the previous Saturday night. Also on Monday night last the soldiers in Nanaimo barracks were confined, apparently to prevent them from emulating their fellows in Victoria. The upshot of it all is that the mines were closed down for a week or two in the hope the whole thing will blow over. The Austrians employed there are strike-breakers, brought into the mines to assist in defeating the miners in their late strike. In that capacity they have proved useful tools of the companies, which doubtless do not care a rap where they come from as long as they are profitable slaves. When the strike was on, the mine-owners assured the public their prime reason for fighting the miners was for their good. They wanted them to be delivered from the yoke of foreign agitators and a foreign union (the United Mine Workers of America), and enjoy their freedom as British subjects. That, despite the fact that the Western Fuel Company is a foreign concern, with its headquarters in San Francisco, where it supplied Namaimo coal to the German cruiser Leipsic last August.”
Since that time the German and Austrian strike-breakers have been let go, but the Coal Companies have advertised for Italians for their mines, and the British subjects are still going idle and hungry but being asked to enlist and fight for freedom against the German yoke. The strike has ended and the men defeated and scattered all over the world, the remaining few starving; but the lesson has been learned, that Industrial Unionism must be spread and acted upon to a greater degree than before. Political action as a working class weapon, used once in a few years, is too slow. Use both, but by all means organise on the industrial field. Thus ends the story of a small but well organised industrial fight, bitter to the end; but the end is yet to come. “Workers, learn its lesson and prepare,” is the cry of Vancouver Island Miners.
GEO. PETTIGREW.