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lynching of Robert Prager, the United Mine Workers, and the problems of patriotism in 1918, The
Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Winter 2003 by Schwartz, E A
Meanwhile, the miners around Collinsville continued what the Herald called "sporadic and unorganized strikes at most of the mines about the city." Although miners went back to work at Lumaghi Mine No. 2, an "epidemic of drivers strikes" began at the Donk Bros. Mine No. 2 on 11 August and spread to Lumaghi Mine No. 3 and Consolidated Coal Co. Mine No. 17. Frank Farrington sent telegrams to all the UMW locals in the state demanding that the strikers resume work immediately and threatening explusion for non-compliance. An unidentified "prominent mine local official" told the Herald that German agents were responsible: "At one mine the rebels object to the mine manager," he said. He continued, "at another they objected to the scales, at another they want more wages-and I understand the same thing is going the round all over this section of the state."29
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Nonetheless, the Herald declared that the Labor Day celebration on 3 September was the "best in history." It began at 10 A.M. with a parade to Collinsville Park. Members of all the locals belonging to the Collinsville Trades Council marched, accompanied by three bands. "Thousands of persons stood along the street and watched the procession," the Herald said. At the park, Mayor Siegel "complimented the unions for the splendid showing they made in the parade, and commended them for the steadfastness of purpose and good judgement they had shown during the trying times of the past few weeks-in which there had been absolutely no trouble or violence in spite of the strikes."
A new unauthorized mine strike began the next day over the lack of a wash house at Lumaghi Mine No. 3 and then turned into a lock-out when the company shut down the mine the following day "while new cages were put in and other repairs made. The shut down probably will extend over a few weeks. It had not been intended to shut down the mine for repairs this season on account of the heavy demand for coal, but the company decided to make the needed repairs while the miners sweat out their dissatisfaction."
On 5 September the striking lead smelter workers held what the Herald called "a mass meeting" to formulate demands and then met with the smelter superintendent. They dropped their demand for reinstatement of the dismissed employees. They said they would go back to work if the company recognized their union and gave them a thirty percent wage increase. The superintendent said he was unwilling to give them thirty percent.30
Union members in southern Illinois got a fresh warning of the potential consequences of their unrest on 9 September when, according to the Associated Press, armed state troops broke up a parade in Springfield on behalf of striking streetcar workers. The following day, some five thousand miners responded by refusing to go to work at seventeen mines. The Associated Press account said "two men were slightly wounded by a shot fired from an army pistol, and several others were bruised and cut" when the troops broke up the parade.31 The miners returned to the pits on Monday, 17 September, after holding a parade said to have included some two thousand people.32
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