Matewan Page #4

You boy deaf or dumb or what?

Daniel ain't dumb,

Daniel's a preacher.

That right, boy? You a preacher?

Who do you preach to, boy?

Squirrels?

Daniel preached at the meeting

last night.

It was a good number of souls there.

You a soul saver, boy?

You want to have a go

at me and Griggsy here.

We ought to be be a real challenge.

He's a squirrel preacher is

what stands up on a stump

out in the woods and

testifies to the holy rodent

- Danny!

You in a hurry to

meet your maker, boy?

- Ain't no guns allowed at table.

Sit down, Danny

You do what your pretty

mama says, preacher.

You put that away now, mister.

- Pack it away, Griggsy.

Look, we're gonna be here a

while, little lady. You can have

it the easy way or the hard way.

Now, how about them peas?

Boy's gettin' on my nerves.

Oh lord!

They told me they would

talk to the fellas.

I saw they're faces last night, Joe.

They wasn't buying it.

We're playing right into

the company's plans...

The men voted, Joe.

What more do you want?

I seen the lights on the hill.

They're sneaking them in

for a night shift.

Let's go fellas.

- Keller told me you're

sent from the union.

Uh-huh.

I bet you seen hundreds of strikes.

Yeah.

I got thrown clear out of the

missionary the other night,

talking the union from the pulpit.

Is we gettin' close?

- Up there.

They're down the hill!

Over here.

When our fellas put their lanterns out,

you just hit the dirt.

I think this belongs to you.

I'm with him.

All of you union men, let's

welcome our new brothers.

From now on

Stone Mountain don't move one

piece of coal unless it's

a union man that moves it.

Let's get out of here.

Glad you could help us.

"In them days the coal company

owned your camp houses,

they owned your land,

they owned most of the town

and the people who run it."

"If you wasn't for the company,

there wasn't too many places

you could go that was

still on the map."

"The union didn't have too much

they could give to the people,

back then."

" 'All we got in common

is our misery',

Joe Kenehan used to say, 'and the

least we can do is share it.' "

She got the evil eye that one.

Aw, mama.

Don't you let me catch you

peeking over there.

She got the evil eye

if I ever seen it.

Well, whatta we got here?

We brung you some food.

Mama stole it from the company.

Quiet, Danny.

- Well we can use

everything you got.

You people are crazy, you ain't

never gonna win this thing.

Then what are you

helping us for?

I got work to do.

We appreciate your help.

I ain't never seen everybody

all together like this.

Company don't stand a chance.

Jessie...

What's the pitch?

Well I was just saying to the

mayor here how

we're all trying to do our jobs.

You, and me and him.

And nobody is paying us enough

to be dodging no bullets for it.

Um, now,

Mr. Felts has authorized me to

make it more attractive for you

gentleman to cooperate.

Town ain't for sale, mister.

What about you?

Now, I figured that little show

you were putting on out there

the other day was just for

bargaining power.

Or are you going to

be stupid, too?

Either a you sh*t hogs

lift a finger

in town limits, I'll put you away.

Damn hillbillys always

gotta do it the hard way.

You boys are going

up against some

pretty big people.

Don't push your luck.

How's Jessie these days?

- Oh she's okay, Sid.

You think they're bluffin'?

Nope.

Neither am I.

Now the way the relief fund

works is kind of tricky

cuz all the

different situations we got

going around the country.

We stretched real thin.

There's a lot of strategy to who

gets what and when.

I report to the strike committee.

They evaluate the progress

we're making here

and the political situation

and then they release

the strike fund to us.

You mean they'd cut us off?

No, the amount we get

is based on...

What if they think

we're going to lose?

Look the strike committee

considers what's best

for the union as a whole,

but that doesn't mean...

Politics boys.

Gonna play union,

you gotta play politics.

I'm sure Joe don't like that no

more than you do.

- I don't like it one damn bit.

Me neither, I didn't get into

this thing so I can have one

more boss to tell me what to do.

The union isn't your boss,

it's you.

Then why we gotta wait

for some hunkies up

in Pittsburgh to give us

the word to move?

Cause it's a democracy.

It's like the United States.

Democracy.

- That's a joke.

Quiet!

Get down, they're shootin!

Just keep your head down, son.

They're gonna make a night of it.

- I think you just got a little

piece of bullet left in there.

Company doctor said

he wouldn't come out.

But there's a fella in Pikeville

on the Kentucky side

that'll treat union men on the sly.

He'll be here by noon.

Will he treat colored?

He treats union, he'll treat

colored.

More water, Danny

- Yes, ma'am

You just hold this up there

against that real gentle.

Don't press hard.

- Elma, you seen any of the men?

Only them that's wounded.

How's he doin'?

- Not bad.

At least nobody got killed.

No thanks to you.

Take it easy buddy.

Morning, Joe.

- Hey, Bridey.

You seen any of the fellas?

- Not a one.

He's real nice lookin'.

He likes me, I can tell.

How?

- I just know men that's all.

That'd make a cat laugh.

If you want to make

that kind of slop

for dinner you go

back home and make it.

This is United States here and

we do things differently.

Listen to me, you can

learn something here.

C'mon ladies, what's the problem?

I thought she was going to make

up some cornbread with it.

You should see the slop

she come up with.

Miss Elkins,

These people got their own way

of doing things.

Well that is a waste of good

corn meal if you ask me.

She makes up this porrigly

kind of mess I wouldn't

feed it to the pigs.

- Listen!

Where's all the men gone to?

That changes the whole picture.

What I'm saying is unions is

fine for some things,

but for other things a man's

got to go on his own.

Of course that's up to you.

Roscoe...

You make sindacato, you do what

the sindacato say.

I listen to Joe.

Few Clothes...

We gonna be shooting white folks,

right?

That's the idea.

People hear about black

folks shooting white folks,

no matter what it's for,

there's going to be hell to pay.

You gotta point.

Well then,

if you gentleman will excuse us...

You people have been put out of

Stone Mountain Mine housing

and some of you have seen fit to

take along certain items

of food, furniture and clothing

that don't belong to you but

belong to the company.

As of the day of the strike

your script ceased

to be legal tender, meaning

that any item of food,

clothing, and furniture

not paid for in cash money

must be turned over to me

and my deputies and I suggest

that you all cooperate.

See, my boys,

they didn't get much sleep last

night so they're kinda jumpy.

Besides we got

the law on our side.

- You ain't no law!

You got to slip around the real law!

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