Signing On – The Cadeby Trouble.

April 1912

Mexborough & Swinton Times – Saturday 06 April 1912

Signing On At Cadeby.

No attempt has been made to interfere with the workmen returning from Cadeby since Friday, and it is more than probable that there will be no further trouble there.

The local miners’ leaders, interviewed on the subject, have expressed their annoyance at the disturbances and declare that the mischief has not originated- with the Denaby and Cisideby men. With the women they have nothing to do, but they say that the advantages to the men of having the pits kept in proper condition ready for work immediately a settlement was elected have explicitly placed before the men, and although they lays been unable to agree upon a system by which they should all take part in the work, they have shown no violent hostility to the work being done.

These leaders point out that much of the mischief was caused by a large body of Hickleton Main miners who walked over to Cadeby to “kick up a row,” when there were actually more men working at Hickleton than there were at Cadeby.

The management have taken the same view, and have consistently refused to believe that the rioting was inspired by the Denby and Cadeby men. Although the Cadeby miners have shown a pretty substantial majority against returning to work, as have also those at Denaby, it is anticipated there will soon be a resumption of work, and as a consequence a considerable number signed on for work on Tuesday.

The management want all the men they can get at the present time, apart altogether from the prospect of coal-getting, for a “gob” has broken out afresh in the Cadeby mine and calls for considerable attention. .

The Cadeby Trouble.

More trouble was threatened at Cadeby on Friday when the handful of men engaged in repairs and maintenance down the mine returned from work and the crowd assembled on the highway appeared to be bigger than ever. The police had been further reinforced and Superintendent Hickes had quite a hundred men at his disposal.

The workmen came out of the pit a little earlier than usual and were again subjected to a demonstration. The crowd could not help recognising however that they were mainly composed of deputies and horse keepers, and other men who are quite outside the range of the dispute; and they were allowed to walk a considerable distance before any serious attempt at interference was made. Then a few sticks and stones were thrown, and the crowd once more attempted to rush the police; but it was a half-hearted attempt at best and the police were not called upon to retaliate, though a few of the younger constables, who had been forming the rear-guard whipped out their staffs and would have made another baton charge had they not been re-called by orders from behind.

One man in the crowd had his head cut with flying stone, but nothing worse occurred, and the men were allowed to go home in peace save for that one slight demonstration.

On Saturday everything was quiet, and the men left work before anything like a crowd gathered. Indeed, the majority of the strikers went at a mew meeting near the Station Hotel, where Mr. Herbert Smith, the President of the Yorkshire Miners’ Association was advising time to return to work, and take hold of the Minimum Wage Act with a view to taking advantage of the facilities for settlement of wages it offered.

No Demonstration on Monday

Although there were strong rumours that the ballot on Monday was going against a resumption of work in spite of the advice of the President of the Yorkshire Miners’ Association, then was no trouble when the men came out of the Cadeby pit.

A strong body of the police were present, but the crowd of strikers were not nearly so large or so formidable as upon the four previous occasions upon which demonstrations had been made and no attempt to interfere with the workmen was made. The number of those who had been employed in the mine was larger than usual.