The Militant (logo)  
   Vol. 71/No. 5           February 5, 2007  
 
 
25, 50 and 75 years ago
 
February 5, 1982
Nine underground coal miners were killed in two accidents in Kentucky January 20 and 22. Since December 3, the underground slaughter has averaged one miner killed every workday.

These are murders, not accidents. The criminals sit in the White House, Congress, and the state governments. They take their orders from the energy barons who are pushing up coal production and attacking safety.

Nationally, 153 miners were killed in 1981, thirty more than in 1980. One hundred twelve miners were killed underground last year, up from ninety-four killed underground in 1980.

And the increase is even sharper when you consider that most underground coal miners were on strike for seventy-two days in 1981. Underground coal production was down 7.4 percent for the year, yet the rate of underground mine fatalities jumped more than 25 percent.  
 
February 4, 1957
NEW HAVEN, January 26—Fire struck an 80-year-old structure in the old downtown section of this city two days ago leaving seven known dead and eight on critical lists in local hospitals. Firemen are still digging through the rubble of fallen walls in search of two missing.

Over 100 women worked in little garment shops in the ancient four story building. The fire flashed up the elevator shaft and stairwells and completely enveloped the tinder dry trap in a few minutes. Most of the known dead were women trapped on a side fire escape that had been pinned and would not lower to the ground. Before the pin was knocked out by onlookers, fire poured out of the windows around and under the escape.

The exact cause of the fire is uncertain but it is thought to have started in crates of trash piled in a lower hall. Regardless of the origin, the condition of the building made loss of life almost inevitable.  
 
February 6, 1932
The capitalist regime of Greece is carrying a reign of terror against all revolutionary workers and is concentrating its efforts especially to exterminate by all means at its disposal, the comrades of the Opposition (Archia Marxist-Bolsheviks) on account of their valiant activities in the front ranks of the class struggle.

Now that the edifice of the capitalist system of Greece is enfeebled by the acute economic crisis, the bourgeoisie of Greece are desperately trying to suppress every workers’ resistance by exterminating the vanguard of the proletariat, the Communists. They imprison them for many years in dark cells, and they deport them to desert islands, and very often apply terrorist methods.

Many workers’ organizations have protested vigorously. The Leather Workers, the Cigarette boxmakers and Lithographers, Stevedores, Hotel Workers, Needle Workers Union are among these.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home