The De Armitt men are, however, quite content with their treatment, and
not anxious to join the strike. To win them over, large bands of
striking miners have camped near the De Armitt mines, and every morning
they march to the pit's mouth, intercepting the men as they are going to
work, and urging them to join the strike and help their fellows.
They have already persuaded many of the men to leave work.
They have been very orderly so far, and though fears of violence are
entertained, as yet there has been no rioting.
The only person who has got into trouble has been Debs.
When the strike was first organized, Debs and the other labor agitators
declared that it was impossible for the strike to fail if the miners
only held together. They gave such a rosy picture of the whole affair,
that many of the miners believed that the great strike would be settled
with little delay or trouble.
They were quite unprepared for the long and bitter struggle into which
it has developed, and many of them are angry with Debs and the other
agitators for misrepresenting affairs to them. Debs is therefore losing
influence with the miners just now.
On the other hand, the coal-owners are combining against him, declaring
that but for his mischievous intermeddling, everything could have been
adjusted without trouble.
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