| |
AMALGAMATED
MINE WORKERS OF NOVA SCOTIA CONTINUED
Barrett was asked to resign by the International, which also
requested repayment of relief benefits that were spent illegally.
The strike was later settled in April 1924.
By 1925, coal markets were growing soft because American coal
was underselling Cape Breton coal in the Montreal markets. To
offset this, Besco initiated a 10% wage reduction. Attempts
at negotiations failed and on March 6, 1925, a strike was called.
The Company then refused the men any credit in the Company Stores.
The struggle was a hard and bitter one, and the separation of
the two classes was widening. Vice
President J.E. McLurg (Besco) stated,"We hold all the cards…they
(the miners) will have to come to us…they can't stand the
gaff." This became a catch phrase for miners and made them
even more determined to prove to McLurg and other that they
could indeed "stand the gaff."
Hard
pressed merchants continued to provide credit to miners and
fishermen contributed their catch. This time, sympathy and support
seemed to be on the side of the miners and their families. The
Company and their government friends would soon see the result
of this support.
The Town of New Waterford was especially hard hit by the strike.
The town's water supply and electrical needs all came from New
Waterford Lake. Besco Police had control of this location and
they also terrorized people of New Waterford by charging through
the town on horseback.
On
June 11, approximately 3,000 infuriated men and boys gathered
at New Waterford and made their way toward the power plant.
Approximately 100-armed police met them at the site and the
so-called Battle of Waterford Lake took place. Police were hauled
off horseback and beaten, while others jumped in New Waterford
Lake and swam to the other side. The police began to fire their
revolvers and three of the miners were shot. Gilbert Watson
was shot in the stomach, Michael O'Handley was shot and trampled
by horses and William Davis was fatally wounded in the heart.
The miners overtook the police and marched them back to town
to jail. Later, they were hurried to Sydney for safety. The
men were driven to this action because their supply of water
and power to their homes and schools was cut off. Soon after,
however, the affair was pushed aside and forgotten.
A provincial election that year saw the defeat of Armstrong's
Liberal government. The miners' wage scale was reduced to the
1922 level (a reduction of between six and eight percent) and
the Corporation received a rebate of 1/5th of the coal royalties
paid to the province for a six-month period. On August 5, the
miners voted 3,913 to 2,780 to end their strike. The strike
had lasted for 155 days, and J.B. McLachlan rationalized the
suffering of the miners this way: "Under capitalism, the
working class had but two courses to follow: crawl or fight."
GO TO 1
| 2 | 3
|4
|
|
|
