Strike
"Gomer Jones, Slave Driver" (mid-August 1897)
"[the Slavs] moved too slow"
-Gomer Jones
-Gomer Jones
"When I came here a year ago, I came to restore discipline in the mines and to operate them in such a manner that the company could continue in business. The discipline was certainly lax. Then men did about as they pleased. The two superintendents who were here then associated with the men, mixed with them, drank with them, and were regarded as 'hail fellows well met' everywhere among the miners. Now I cannot do that. I'm not a drinking man, and I've never made it a practice to hobnob with the men. However, when I give orders I expect them to be obeyed and do not permit miners to do exactly as they please."
-Gomer Jones [statement to a Wilkes-Barre reporter in reference to his first year as Superintendent of Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company]
-Gomer Jones [statement to a Wilkes-Barre reporter in reference to his first year as Superintendent of Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company]
"The day of the slave driver is past and the once ignorant foreigner will no longer tolerate it."
- Hazleton Evening Standard
- Hazleton Evening Standard
On August 11th, 1897 Jones announced a decision to consolidate mule stables, adding two unpaid hours to mule drivers’ work days. On the 13th, 35 miners from Honey Brook colliery went on strike. Jones retaliated, attacking young John Bodan with a crow bar.
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"The drivers and miners employed at the Honeybrook No. 5 colliery struck this morning for an advance in wages. This morning two drivers left the strikers' ranks and were going to the strippings when about 30 strikers met them and tried to persuade them to come back. Superintendent Gomer Jones put in an appearance about this time. A fight followed which developed into a small sized riot in which Jones was knocked [d]own and kicked. Levi Watts, a carpenter who came to his aide, was struck on the head with a rock and was severely injured. The arrival of a number of English speaking miners probably saved the superintendent from a serious flogging. Later the rioters dispersed."
- Hazleton report to the Alexandria Gazette on August 14, 1897 [the article does not mention that Jones initiated the attack] |
 "The Harwood Breaker" - in front of which the altercation took place (click to enlarge)
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Alien Tax (Late August 1897)
On August 23rd a new alien tax on the wage of foreign laborers gave the strike new life. It was a catalyst; thousands more joined the strike demanding the abolition of company services, pay increases, and the removal of Gomer Jones for "tyrannical methods of ruling."
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"The County Solicitor of Luzerne county has decided that under the alien tax law the day for which the three cents tax is to be paid means any part of the day. If the unnaturalized laborer works only an hour the three cents tax must be collected."
- excerpt from The Columbian on August 19, 1897 [in reference to what counts as a work day when collecting the alien tax] |
On to Lattimer (Early September 1897)
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Immigrant miners marched throughout the region calling others to join their cause. Coal operators enlisted Sheriff James Martin to stop the "vigilantes." On September 10th the strikers set out to petition the miners in Lattimer to join the strike; in their view they were expressing American ideals. Learning of their plans, Martin moved to intercept them.
segment from "Stories from the Mines: How Immigrant Miners Changed America"
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 "Routes to Lattimer on Sept. 10th" - The two parties first crossed paths at McKenna's Corner, but the strikers were allowed to proceed to Lattimer. (click to enlarge)
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"A little cold lead is the only way to halt these strikers."
-Sheriff James Martin
-Sheriff James Martin
Sheriff's Proclamation
 "Luzerne Sheriff's Proclamation" - official statement of disorder allowing Sheriff Martin to deputize a posse (click to enlarge)
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"It having come to my knowledge that a certain condition of turbulence and disorder exists in the neighborhood of the city of Hazleton in the county of Luzerne, by reason of which acts of disorder are said to have been committed, and men forcibly prevented from pursuing their daily avocations, and the peace of the community seriously disturbed:
Now, therefore, notice is hereby given to all good citizens to refrain from tumultuous and unlawful assembly and from all acts of disorder or violence, and from all acts interfering with the liberty of other citizens, or tending to a breach of the peace. Notice is further given that all such acts of disorder and lawlessness will be summarily repressed and punished in accordance with the laws of the land. -James Martin High Sheriff of Luzerne County" |
Arming the Deputies
"The Coxe Company...had ordered over 500 rifles and 10,000 rounds of ammunition. With a posse better armed than many an American soldier in World War II, Martin instructed these deputies in their new duties."
-Edward Pinkowski, author of Lattimer Massacre
-Edward Pinkowski, author of Lattimer Massacre
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Ammunition used in the shooting (click to enlarge)
"The heavy shells were three inches long and could blast through metal. The buckshot shredded bone as well as tissue. The sheriff warned the men, most of whom were unfamiliar with such weapons, that at some point their lives might be in danger; only in that case would they have to use the weapons. A certain amount of joking followed."
- Michael Novak, author of The Guns of Lattimer
- Michael Novak, author of The Guns of Lattimer
"[We're] going to shoot some strikers."
-unamed deputy as he left left town
-unamed deputy as he left left town