Mass Meeting of Strikers

A mass meeting of the strikers was held on Sunday morning last, in the croft adjoining the Station Hotel, Conisbrough, when there was a large attendance of the men. Mr. F. Croft presided, and was supported by Messrs. P. Humphries, H. Humphreys, G. H. Hirst, G. Smith, J. Kelly (Manvers Main), Norman (Rotherham), and others.

Mr. F. Croft, in his opening remarks, said another challenge had been thrown out to the management, and they had endeavoured to get an interview, but were told “he” would not meet them. He (Mr. Croft) thought they knew what had gone through the country through the medium of the daily Press during the last few weeks, and the statements had assuredly been the cause of the downfall of their “nipsey” money; but, in his opinion, when the truth was made known to the world—and it would be—it would be the means of increasing it. (Hear, hear.)

There would be meetings called during the week to ask the working men of England what they were going to do with them, as they were entirely in their hands, and if they were prepared to find them (the strikers) with support, they were prepared to fight on. (Hear, hear.) They never knew any class of men to be supported as they at Denaby and Cadeby had been supported, and that was because the men of the country believed they were in the right. Never mind the few that were going to work. It would take seven years to fill the pits with workmen such as “he” had before the strike. (Hear, hear.)

Referring to the hostility of the Press to their strike, he said he had been described as “funking,” but his heart was just the same, and in the same place as it was on June 30th last, and if only they could keep good men away from the colliery they would win in the end, and he knew good men would not come to the pits. (Hear, hear.) Never mind who went to the colliery, the best thing they could do was to let them alone, and to keep out of the hands of the police. He was glad to see they had some friends there that day from Rotherham, who had come to enquire into the statements of the Press, and if the funds had fallen, no doubt they would soon be increased again.

It had been stated by a certain party that they were beaten, but they were not half beaten yet. (Laughter and hear, hear.) Children were dying in the strike, and, said the chairman, “shame upon the men who had brought such a state of things about.” In conclusion, he urged the men to keep out of the hands of the police, and to remember the old pass-word, and keep calm. (Hear, hear and applause.)

Mr. Norman (Rotherham) said he had come down to see for himself what other people would not believe, and it was his intention to return and make the best of their case to those people. He was in close connection with certain people who could either do them good or harm, but who would not take the trouble to come down themselves. He came down to see if there was any truth in the statements of the daily Press to the effect that the men were “dead beat.” He was glad to see such an attendance of men there, and he was bound to say they did not look the starved-to-death people would imagine them, and after seeing the attendance there that morning he thought they had some interest in their case yet, and he had in his own mind believed they had been suffering for the past seven or eight years—working and waiting and bearing the burden until it was too big to be borne, and they had to repel it in the manner they did. He thought and felt they were justified in the action they took. (Hear, hear.)

He knew a certain person who had bargained for 4,000 acres of the same coal as was worked at Denaby and Cadeby, with the “bag dirt” attached, and if the Denaby men lost their battle that obnoxious item would undoubtedly be more disagreeable in the projected new colliery. He was confident that if the workmen were thoroughly instilled with the facts of the Denaby dispute the necessary support would soon be forthcoming. He was quite sure the decrease in subscriptions was owing to the hostile tendency of the daily Press, and what was issued from Barnsley, but he would go back to his branch and would give them a true statement of that meeting. He had not the least doubt that their subscriptions had fallen off, but he felt sure he would be able to redeem the position, and improve it if possible. (Hear, hear and applause.)

Mr. Phil Humphries said he had a question to ask the men. It had been reported, and some of the committee had been taxed with it, that it was a committee men’s strike, and a strike of four or five men. To disprove that statement they were prepared to have Press representatives there, and the men should get on the platform and say whose strike it was. (A voice: “It’s not your strike, it’s ours.”)

Mr. G. Smith expressed pleasure at seeing such a large and representative meeting, which showed a tendency to contradict the statements of the daily Press, saying the men were falling off and going back to work. Through the action of the Press they had been handicapped, and terribly, too, because through the daily Press reports subscriptions had fallen off; but seeing the men were still firm and determined, he was pleased to say that so far this week the subscriptions were being raised again, and that showed to them that they (the men) were in the right, and the Press in the wrong. He was also pleased to say they had friends outside the county who believed them to be in the right, and were prepared to stand with them until the end. (Hear, hear.)

That in itself, said the speaker, proved the reports had been wrong in the past, and people were beginning to realise that what the men said was right, and what the company said was wrong. (Hear, hear.) The Press was now beginning to find out there was a mistake somewhere. A Council meeting had been held at Barnsley during the last week, and Mr. Pickard had been empowered to make an application to Mr. Chambers, but the latter refused to meet them, and that showed he did not intend to have any of them back again. (Laughter.)

Mr. Croft said that matter would rest with the men as to whether some of them would not be allowed to again work at the pits. (A voice: “If we doesn’t have jobs, he won’t have us,” and hear, hear.)

Mr. J. Nolan caused an outburst of laughter by saying he was pleased to say he was living not only for his own self but for those people who allowed him to be one of their “loud-mouthed agitators” for the last eight months. He thought it was only fair to have a few words dealing with the attitude the daily Press had taken up. When ever he came into contact with reporters who did their duty between workmen and masters and their own paper, he gloried in seeing them at a meeting, and reading their reports in a paper; but there was one reporter who, he considered, had not done his duty as he should have done, and could be regarded as a partisan of the colliery company.

When they went face to face with Judge Grantham, they little thought there was anybody there with private notes to be used as a weapon against them. They met him outside the room in which the injunction case was heard, and he told them he was a subpoenaed witness against them, but he did not think he could do them any harm. When he went into the box, Mr. Lash told the judge that the men refused to work upon the ten per cent. reduction granted to the owners by Lord James of Hereford. They could not find it in any newspaper report, but the reporter had it there in his private notes, and they all knew perfectly well that the ten per cent. reduction had nothing whatever to do with the strike.

In consequence of their being unable to trust that reporter, he had been kept out of their meetings, and the other reporters, too, and he thought it was a scandalous shame that they had to stand such tyranny. The reporters did not know their grievances as they knew them themselves, and they kept nothing back that they had to say, but at times there were matters they could not allow to be made public, and if those reporters were to act in the manner that this one had done he thought they were justified in keeping them from the meetings. (Hear, hear.)

From what he had recently heard, he had not got to work any more—(laughter)—or he would have a long road now. (Laughter.)

There were men amongst them who wished to go back to work, and, so far as he was concerned, he was of the same opinion, and if they entered the mines on the old conditions they would remember the day, for the moment that they had the £6 damages to face, also back pay, and there would be other extra stoppages out of their wages. It would be five years or so before they could get on their feet, and not only that, but there was also a certain amount of tyranny that would almost surely be practised upon them; but if the people would only rally round and support them they would yet win their struggle. (Hear, hear.)

Referring to the tactics adopted by the Metropolitan police, he said that when a man passed through Denaby he had to look as though he had stolen something—(laughter)—but he thought the pleasanter a man looked the more pleasant it would be both for them and the police.

In conclusion, Mr. Hirst asked every man to use his own judgment as to what future course they should take, and not to go away and say: “Harry Hirst, Jack Nolan, and Fred Croft have advised us to play on and keep calm.” He wished them to give a conscientious statement of their feelings, and if they were in favour of returning to work, vote so, and if they were in favour of standing firm, let them vote so.

To test the feeling of the men, Mr. Hirst moved, and it was seconded, that the men resume work on the old conditions.

The vote was called by the Chairman, but only the mover and seconder supported, and there was then a unanimous resolution moved by hundreds of men in the crowd to stand firm.—The men then dispersed.