Companies E and I, First Regiment, under command of Major Carmack, arrived here Tuesday night to relieve Troop B and Battery A who have been on duty here for the past two weeks. The relieved troops departed for St. Louis Wednesday afternoon.
The condition throughout the entire Lead Belt, so far as keeping the peace is concerned, is now in direct charge of the Federal government. Whether or not the troops are now needed here to keep the peace is beside the question. The fact remains that they are here and for an indefinite period. The orders received by Major Carmack from the War Department, when instructed to proceed to Flat River, stated among other things: "Special attention will be given to protection of mine workers, whether American or foreigners, as it is essential that the mines be operated to full capacity as soon as practicable."
According to figures furnished the War Department, St. Francois county produces 65 per cent of all the lead now contracted for by the government for the manufacture of war munitions. This being true, it becomes the patriotic duty of every person concerned in the welfare of this district, and not only this district but of the whole United States, to do everything possible to bring about a peaceable adjustment of the serious trouble resulting from the attempt to drive the foreigners from the Lead Belt.
In this most critical period in the history of the nation, patriotism should assert itself and nothing should be done that will in any way embarass the government in the successful conduct of the war. Already more than 25 young men from Flat River, representative of the most stalwart manhood of the community, have offered their services to Uncle Sam and by so doing stand ready to make the supreme sacrifice in defence of a righteous cause. These boys have been inspired by love of country to lay their lives, if need be, on the altar of patriotism, and their welfare should be kept prominently in mind in the adjustment of any disturbance which has, or may at any future time during the progress of the war, arise here.
The trouble here cannot be adjusted with a club. The utmost tact must be used in handling the situation. Patriotism does not apply to the rank and file alone, but should so permeate the whole fabric of the nation that it will inspire men in every industrial activity, whether they be the most humble employee or the men in complete charge of some big corporation employing thousands of men, to make an effort when a dispute arises to try and get the other fellow's point of view when trying to adjust any controversy which may arise.
So far as the present trouble here is concerned, it is well known that the explosion, if it may be called such, took place almost over night. It was agitated chiefly by men who had been residents of the district only a short time. Not the slightest effort was made on the part of county authorities, either by force or conciliation, to stop it until it had attained such momemtum that it was absolutely beyond control. As a result hundreds of men who took part in the deportation of the foreigners, did so, secure in the belief that they were entirely within the law so long as they did not resort to killing or destruction of property. It is true that men are presumed to know the law and that ignorance of its decrees cannot be offered as an excuse for its violations, but if the officers, whose duty it is to take charge of affairs when riots occur, had taken the trouble to address the men while there was still time to prevent what took place on the Saturday following the first outbreak, another story might have been told.
While the outbreak came as sudden almost as a bolt from the blue, the underlying causes date back for several years, and among these causes is discrimination on the part of underground foremen. We believe that much of this discrimination has been carried on without the knowledge or consent of the companies involved. We know of at least one instance where an underground foreman was discharged when it came to the knowledge of the manager of his company that he had required a foreigner to give him a pint of whiskey before giving him a job. This, according to general rumor, is by no means an isolated case, but it is the only one we have heard of being brought directly to the attention of the company. In discussing with the men why more exposures of this kind are not made, they claim that company officials assume an attitude which discourages approaching them on matters of this kind. On the other hand, company officials claim that they are always willing to lend a listening ear to any well founded complaint on the part of any man in their employ.
The mines here have been more or less disorganized for the past two weeks and no new men aside from foreigners have been employed. On the contrary many have been laid off. Many of these men are skilled mechanics and among the best men in the community, many of them having been here for years and own their homes. These men will certainly be needed when a full force is put back to work. If instead of summarily dismissing these men, they had been informed when laid off, [that] their services would be needed again in the near future or as soon as a reorganization of the mines could be perfected, they would have felt more kindly toward the companies, and would be more willing to lend their assistance toward the reorganization that must follow within a very short time.
We may be accused of offering a lot of free advice in this matter but be that as it may, the above impressions are in the minds of the people and are here set forth only after a careful investigation of the causes of the present deplorable state of affairs.
If things are to run smoothly in the Lead Belt, an effort must be made on the part of the companies and the men to blot out the past, forget all about the vindictiveness prompted by a spirit of getting even for real or imagined wrongs, and start all over again.
The information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to MOGenWeb to make it available online.