Telegram To Governor Horner

Here's a 1934 telegram from the Taylorville Women's Auxiliary of the Progressive Miners of America to Illinois Governor Horner. They were protesting the ceaseless violence in their community.


The Progressives frequently implored state, local and federal government to protect their right to assemble, speak and organize. Typically these pleas were ignored or resulted in government intervention on behalf of the United Mine Workers and the coal companies. And when the federal government chose to act, it indicted 41 members of the Progressive Miners in 1936. Subsequently 34 were sent to federal prison.

The source of this image is the State's Hard Times in Illinois. It's an interesting site, but the claim that "as time passed the Progressive Miners increasingly became influenced by communist interests" is unsubstantiated. In fact, both the Progressives and the United Mine Workers often engaged in paranoid red-baiting.

"They Were Just Trying To Make A Point."

Attorney Daniel Reese was a young boy when Taylorville, IL during the mine war. His father, Leal Reese was an attorney for the Progressive Miners of America. The Reese home suffered retaliatory bombings on several occasions during that time.

The level of violence had become so intense that it had even caught the attention of the New York Times. The July 24, 1933 edition reports, "Five bombs were exploded and a watchman was shot and wounded early today in a renewal of Christian County's coal mine controversy."

"Bombs were exploded at the homes of three officials of the Progressive Miners of America, labor union trying to wrest control from the older United Mine Workers of America."

Daniel Reese explains, "There were two separate bombings. They bombed the front porch. They blew the pillars off a little bit. Then another time they blew the back porch or the house here."

He adds, "I don't think they actually tried to hurt anybody. They were just trying to make a point I think."

And who were "they"?

"Well, that was the other side - the United Mine Workers. I don't think anyone was prosecuted for the bombing here. There were so many things going on like that, it was hard to prosecute everybody... Jurors kind of overlooked these things as a social problem, not a criminal problem...I think people were all glad when it ended eventually."