MATEWAN BEFORE THE MASSACRE: "POLITICS, COAL AND THE ROOTS OF CONFLICT IN A WEST VIRGINIA MINING COMMUNITY"

4. WORLD WAR I AND THE RISE OF CLASS TENSIONS

163 4 WORLD WAR I AND THE RISE OF CLASS TENSIONS “We hope our people can get along better in the future and strive to have a better community in which to live.”1 – Williamson Daily News FOR MOST OF THE PERIOD between 1917 and 1919, World War I dominated the social atmosphere of Mingo County. Civic organizations and public activities focused almost completely on supporting the war effort. However, government-sanctioned compulsory patriotism exacerbated existing social strains, such as the county’s ongoing struggles with criminal behavior, sporadic acts of violence, and public health crises. Although state and federal war policies facilitated the seizure of control of Mingo’s public sphere by the coal elite, the county’s social transformation proved temporary. The war not only empowered the “better classes,” it also inspired marginalized groups to seek greater autonomy. Ostensibly united to fight the nation’s enemies, Mingo Countians emerged from the war with disparate and conflicting views of what the future should hold. This new agitation, along with the cumulative effect of Mingo’s systemic political and economic dilemmas, facilitated the descent into violence in the spring of 1920. To most elites, America’s entry into the war justified the adoption of a centralized, paternalistic public policy that validated the repression of “individualism and diversity of opinion in order to secure . . . unwavering allegiance.” West Virginia’s application of restrictive war policies and programs was among the most extreme in the country. The implementation of state and federal war regulations fulfilled the long-delayed dream of enforcing a rationalized work “discipline” in the Tug Valley. By cloaking their MATEWAN BEFORE THE MASSACRE 164 efforts at social and economic control in patriotism, Mingo’s political and industrial leaders legitimized the suppression of dissent and deviation.2 The wartime activities of Mingo’s elite were celebrated in the Williamson Daily News and the formal reports of state officials. Mingo’s Red Cross, YMCA, and Salvation Army campaigns were guided by political and economic leaders from Williamson. Para-political organizations such as Mingo’s County and Community Councils of Defense and Four-Minute Men also featured bipartisan membership and prominent participation from coal company superintendents. Half of the 12-member County Council of Defense was linked to the coal industry.3 Although the war effort ultimately elicited an unprecedented bipartisanship from Mingo’s political leaders, local disputes initially interfered with the establishment of the most significant war committees. The first crisis involved the county’s Selective Service Board when turmoil threatened Mingo’s ability to meet its quota of inductees. Other war committee work was also affected because the State Council of Defense appointed county and community Councils of Defense based on recommendations from the local conscription boards. When two overhauls of the committee failed to eradicate the intrusion of petty local squabbles, a leader from each party stepped forward to stabilize the situation. When anti-Hatfield Republican and coal attorney Harry Scherr of Williamson joined Williamson’s deposed seven-term Democratic mayor A. C. Pinson on the draft board, matters settled down to the business of organizing Mingo’s war effort.4 The domination of the Mingo draft board by Democrats and Williamson Republicans influenced the selection of the county’s next important war committees. The state Council of Defense appointed the County and Community Councils of Defense based on recommendations from the county draft boards. As a result, Matewan Democrats and members of the Hatfield machine played no significant role in the war committee work of Mingo County. Despite being the second largest independent town in the county, Matewan had no representative on the County Council of Defense. Citizens of Williamson held eight of the twelve positions on the council. William N. Cummins, the superintendent of Red Jacket served on the County Council as the member from the Magnolia district. Democrat Dr. W. F. McCoy chaired the Matewan Community Council of Defense.5 WORLD WAR I AND THE RISE OF CLASS TENSIONS 165 The lack of Hatfields and Hatfield associates in Mingo’s patriotic organizations coincided with their political eclipse from 1916 through 1920. As corrupt as the Hatfield machine appeared to be, it had cultivated support among the native working class and the ethnic communities of Mingo. With the absence of the Hatfields and the corollary increased prominence of coal men on the war committees, many people in Mingo County felt unrepresented in those groups.6 Two...