The economies of Central and Eastern Europe were struggling in the late 19th century. The European rural population was growing faster than either the agricultural or new industrial sectors of the economy could absorb, industrialization was disrupting both the agricultural and craft economy, and there was increasing competition from large-scale commercial and foreign agricultural producers.[5][page needed] These were the factors that drove most of the mass immigration to the US, where the economy was booming and many industrial jobs were available requiring little English.[5]
Disproportionate numbers of new Slavic immigrants worked in the coal mining industry;[5] they were among the most exploited of all mine workers.[4] During strikes in Northeast Pennsylvania by English-speaking miners in 1875 and 1887, mine owners imported many Slavic miners as strikebreakers, and they were "despised as scabs" by the English-speaking immigrants and American miners of the region.[6]
Conditions in coal mines of the late 19th century were harsh. Mine safety was so poor that 32,000 miners in Northeast Pennsylvania had died since 1870.[7] Wages, already low in a competitive industry, fell 17% during the mid-1890s after a coal industry slump.[4][8][page needed]
Although wages had improved to some extent by the fall of 1897, anthracite coal companies in the region cut wages and consolidated operations within the mines, often worsening working conditions.[4] In some cases, companies forced workers to lease homes from the company and required them to see only company doctors when injured.[4]
A proclamation by Sheriff Martin, dated September 6, 1897, warning against unlawful assembly, "tumult", and interference with the peaceful operation of any mines or mining equipment
In August 1897, the Honey Brook division of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company laid off workers at its strip mines, cut the pay of the remaining employees, and raised fees for workers residing in the area's company towns.[4] The company consolidated its mule stables, forcing teenage mule drivers to travel, unpaid, much farther each day to pick up their mules.[4][9] After inconclusive talks, 25 to 35 teenaged drivers struck on August 14, 1897.[4][9] A scuffle between a supervisor and some drivers led to additional walkouts by strip miners and underground coal miners; by August 16 nearly 2,000 workers were on strike.[4][9]
Nearly all the miners joined the UMW (United Mine Workers) on August 18; within two days, almost all the mines in the region had closed due to the spreading strike.[1] Many Slavic miners had not joined the nascent United Mine Workers. This was because of ethnic discrimination by English-speaking and American miners and also because of the poor relationship between unionized miners and the former strikebreakers.[6] But, worsening working conditions and a UMW call for a 15 percent wage increase attracted many Slavic miners into the union.[1][10]
The first wave of the strike ended on August 23, 1897, after the company agreed to pay overtime, bring wages up to the regional average, allow miners to see their own doctors when injured, and no longer force miners to live in company-owned housing.[4]
A second strike began on August 25. Teenaged breaker boys at the A.S. Van Wickle coal breaker in the nearby village of Colerain struck for higher wages as well.[4] When Van Wickle attempted to use Slavic workers as strikebreakers, the Slavs also joined the strike. Although the strike spread to two other nearby coal works, the company quickly agreed to raise wages up to the regional average, and the strike ended on about August 28.[4]
When the new pay rates were announced on September 1, 1897, only a few workers received raises.[4][10] Management did agree to treat Slavic workers more fairly,[10] but the mine owners reneged on their other promises.[4]
The strikes resumed. On September 3, 3,000 workers marched on four mines, shutting them down.[1][11]
The mine owners' private armed force, the Coal and Iron Police, proved too few in number to break the strike, so the owners appealed for help from Luzerne County Sheriff James F. Martin.[10] Martin established a posse of about 100 English and Irish men to prevent any further marches.[1][2] But, within five days, 8,000 to 10,000 miners were on strike.[1][4][12] On September 8, mine owners demanded that the sheriff of Schuylkill County arrest several thousand miners who had assembled near Pottsville and had forced a mine to shut down, but the sheriff refused.[10]
Retreating striking miners being shot in their backs by deputized posse, September 10, 1897.
On Friday, September 10, 1897, about 300 to 400 unarmed strikers—nearly all of them Slavs and Germans—marched to a coal mine owned by Calvin Pardee at the town of Lattimer to support a newly formed United Mine Workers union.[1][2][4][9][10] Their goal was to support the newly formed UMW union at the still-open Lattimer mine.[2][9] The demonstrators were confronted by law enforcement officials several times on the road and ordered to disperse, but kept marching.[10]
The deputies had spent most of the morning joking about how many miners they would kill.[13] While on a streetcar headed for Lattimer with the sheriff and his posse, one deputy was overheard saying, "I bet I drop six of them when I get over there."[14][15]
When the demonstrators reached Lattimer at 3:45 pm, they were met again by the sheriff and 150 armed deputies.[2][9][16] Sheriff Martin ordered the marchers to disperse, and attempted to grab an American flag out of the hands of the lead marcher.[2][9][17] A scuffle ensued, and the police opened fire on the unarmed crowd.[2]
At least 19 miners were killed, and between 17 and 49 were wounded.[1][2][3][9][17] Many had been shot in the back, and several had multiple gunshot wounds, which indicated that they had been targeted by the deputies.[10][18]
The strike led to temporary mass unrest in the area. After Sheriff Martin telephoned for help, the Pennsylvania National Guard was dispatched to the county to restore order.[10][19] Late on the evening of September 10, 1897, more than 2,500 troops of the Third Brigade (partly stationed in Luzerne County) had been deployed.[19][page needed] Local Slavic community leaders held a rally on September 11 to try to calm the workers, raise money for the support of families of the dead and wounded, and seek the prosecution of Sheriff Martin and his deputies.[10]
Outraged miners searched in vain on September 12 for Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company mine superintendent Gomer Jones, and destroyed his home when they could not find him.[10] On September 20, a group of Slavic women armed with fireplace pokers and rolling pins led some 150 men and boys to shut down the McAdoo coal works, but were turned back by the quick arrival of National Guard troops.[19][20][page needed] The Guard's artillery unit was withdrawn on September 24, and the rest of the troops five days later.[19]
Deputy shooting a miner, while he is on the ground. Caption reads "What is crime in Pennsylvania anyhow?"
Sheriff Martin and 73 deputies were arrested and put on trial.[9][10] At trial, the defendants claimed that the marchers had refused to obey an order to disperse and were charging toward the sheriff and his deputies.[18][page needed]
Witness John Pusti gave a different account in formal testimony:
I was with the strikers when the shooting occurred. When we approached the Sheriff he walked to the middle of the road and told us to stop. Some few of the men went forward, and I then heard two volleys from the deputies. None of the strikers was armed. I was shot in the right arm and as I started to run I was shot in the right leg, the ball entering from the back and coming out in front.[21]
Further medical evidence showed that nearly all the strikers had been shot in the back.[10][18] Nonetheless, the sheriff and his deputies were acquitted.[9][10]
The Lattimer massacre was a turning point in the history of the United Mine Workers (UMW).[4] After having struggled to establish itself in Pennsylvania's coal mines, the massacre resulted in a dramatic entry of more than 10,000 new members.[9][10] The incident also helped end a longstanding myth about the docility of non-English speaking miners.[22][page needed] Three years later, the union was strong enough to win large wage increases and safety improvements for miners throughout the region.[2]
These events significantly boosted the union career of John Mitchell, an activist for the UMW who was elected president of the national union because of his efforts during the Lattimer strikes.[23][page needed]
The crossroads where the Lattimer massacre occurred did not have any commemoration for 80 years. In 1972, the United Labor Council of Lower Luzerne and Carbon counties and the UMW erected a small memorial on the site.[24][page needed]
According to a contemporary report in the New York Herald,[25] 21 men were killed in the Lattimer massacre:
Michael Cheslock (Ceslak); the only miner who was a naturalized U.S. citizen
Sebastian Bozestoski, age 35
John Chobonshi, age 23
Adalbert Czaja, age 27
John Futa, age 29
John Gastack, age 32
Antonio Grazke, age 33
Frank Kodel, age 24
Andrew Kollick, age 30
Andre Nikzkowuski, age 27
Rulof Rekenits, age 35
John Ruski, age 28
John Sheka, age 27
John Tranke, age 32
John Turnasdich, age 27
Stephen Urich, age 27
Andrew Varicku, age 28
Andrew Yerkman, age 31
Stanley Zagorski, age 45
Adam Zamoski, age 26
Andrew Zeminski, age 31
John Zernovick, age 33
Working from what he describes as "known gravesites" rather than contemporary documents,[26]Michael Novak lists the following 19 names of Lattimer shooting victims in his book The Guns of Lattimer (1996):
Broztowski
Čzaja
Česlak
Chrzeszeski
Futa
Grekoš
Jurić
Jurašek
Kulik
Mieczkowski
Monikaski
Platek
Rekewicz
Skrep
Tarnowicz
Tomašantas
Zagorski
Ziominski
Ziemba
(Novak described himself as a "philosopher and theologian rather than a historian":[27]
^ abcdefghiAnderson, John W. Transitions: From Eastern Europe to Anthracite Community to College Classroom. Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, 2005; ISBN0-595-33732-5
^ abcdefghijMiller, Randall M. and Pencak, William. Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth. State College, Penn.: Penn State Press, 2003; ISBN0-271-02214-0
^ abEstimates of the number of wounded are inexact. They range from a low of 17 wounded (Duwe, Grant. Mass Murder in the United States: A History. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2007; ISBN0-7864-3150-4) to as many as 49 injured (DeLeon, Clark. Pennsylvania Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff. 3rd rev. ed. Guilford, Conn.: Globe Pequot, 2008; ISBN0-7627-4588-6). Other estimates include 30 wounded (Lewis, Ronald L. Welsh Americans: A History of Assimilation in the Coalfields. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 2008; ISBN0-8078-3220-0), 32 wounded (Anderson, Transitions: From Eastern Europe to Anthracite Community to College Classroom, 2005; Berger, Stefan; Croll, Andy; and Laporte, Norman. Towards A Comparative History of Coalfield Societies. Aldershot, Hampshire, UK: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2005; ISBN0-7546-3777-8; Campion, Joan. Smokestacks and Black Diamonds: A History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania. Easton, Penn.: Canal History and Technology Press, 1997; ISBN0-930973-19-4), 35 wounded (Foner, Philip S. First Facts of American Labor: A Comprehensive Collection of Labor Firsts in the United States. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1984; ISBN0-8419-0742-0; Miller and Pencak, Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth, 2003; Derks, Scott. Working Americans, 1880–2006: Volume VII: Social Movements. Amenia, NY: Grey House Publishing, 2006; ISBN1-59237-101-9), 38 wounded (Weir, Robert E. and Hanlan, James P. Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor, Vol. 1. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood Press, 2004; ISBN0-313-32863-3), 39 wounded (Long, Priscilla. Where the Sun Never Shines: A History of America's Bloody Coal Industry. Minneapolis: Paragon House, 1989; ISBN1-55778-224-5; Novak, Michael. The Guns of Lattimer. Reprint ed. New York: Transaction Publishers, 1996; ISBN1-56000-764-8), and 40 wounded (Beers, Paul B. The Pennsylvania Sampler: A Biography of the Keystone State and Its People. Mechanicsburg, Penn.: Stackpole Books, 1970).[page needed]
^ abcdefghijklmnopqBlatz, Perry K. Democratic Miners: Work and Labor Relations in the Anthracite Coal Industry, 1875–1925. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1994 ISBN0-7914-1819-7
^ abcMurrin, John M.; Johnson, Paul E.; McPherson, James M.; and Gerstle, Gary. Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People, Concise Edition. 4th ed. Florence, Kentucky: Cengage Learning, 2008; ISBN0-495-56598-9[page needed]
^ abKlein, Philip Shriver and Hoogenboom, Ari. A History of Pennsylvania. 2d ed. State College, Penn.: Penn State Press, 1973; ISBN0-271-01934-4 p. 330.
^Richards, John Stuart. Early Coal Mining in the Anthracite Region. Mount Pleasant, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2002. p. 7; ISBN0-7385-0978-7
^Graebner, William. Coal-Mining Safety in the Progressive Period: The Political Economy of Reform. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1976; ISBN0-8131-1339-3[page needed]
^ abcdefghijkDublin, Thomas and Licht, Walter. The Face of Decline: The Pennsylvania Anthracite Region in the Twentieth Century. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2005; ISBN0-8014-8473-1[page needed]
^ abcdefghijklmnoLewis, Ronald L. Welsh Americans: A History of Assimilation in the Coalfields. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008; ISBN0-8078-3220-0[page needed]
^Although the striking workers managed to close mines where the employees had not walked off the job, those mines tended to stay closed only so long as the strikers ringed the works. Once they left, the mine re-opened. See: Blatz, Democratic Miners: Work and Labor Relations in the Anthracite Coal Industry, 1875–1925, 1994.[page needed]
^ Other sources claim as many as 15,000 miners were on strike. See: Lewis, Ronald L. Welsh Americans: A History of Assimilation in the Coalfields. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008; ISBN0-8078-3220-0; Pula, James S. Polish Americans: An Ethnic Community. Bonn, Germany: VNR Publishing House for the German Business World, 1995; ISBN0-8057-8427-6[page needed]
^Sources differ on the number of deputies present. One source claims 86 deputies confronted the marchers. See: Pula, James S. Polish Americans: An Ethnic Community. Bonn, Germany: VNR Publishing House for the German Business World, 1995; ISBN0-8057-8427-6[page needed]
^ abPula, James S. Polish Americans: An Ethnic Community. Bonn, Germany: VNR Publishing House for the German Business World, 1995. ISBN0-8057-8427-6[page needed]
^Beik, Mildred A. The Miners of Windber: The Struggles of New Immigrants for Unionization, 1890s–1930s. State College, Penn.: Penn State Press, 1996; ISBN0-271-01567-5[page needed]
^Foote, Kenneth E. Shadowed Ground: America's Landscapes of Violence and Tragedy. 2d rev. ed. Arlington, Tex.: University of Texas Press, 2003; ISBN0-292-70525-5[page needed]
^"These Were Shot by Deputies," New York Herald, Sept. 12, 1897 section 1, pg. 3.
