The 1913 Vancouver Island Miners Strike
by Jack Kavanagh (continued)

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IV.

The strike dragged on, the Companies endeavoring to get strike­breakers. In this they were ably assisted by the special police, those stationed at South Wellington even acting as employment agents. Two women were fined for calling "Scab" at a strikebreaker, although, he, escorted as he was by special policemen, was permitted to use the most obscene language towards them.

On July 16 the Cumberland strikers received word that a man named Cave, a big husky fellow who was acting as a scab herder for the company, had declared his intention of coming into Cumberland and cleaning out the strikers.

On the evening of Saturday, July 19, Cave, accompanied by about fifteen others, came down the street leading from the company's property. They marched down one side of the street, the strikers being on the other side, Cave calling upon the strikers to come over and fight. No notice was taken of this. On reaching the bottom of the street one of Cave's gang struck one of the strikers. A fight ensued and both were arrested.

Cave, with the remainder of his gang, then marched back up the street, repeating his previous performance. As he was calling out his challenges a young striker name Reynolds, a man weighing fully fifty pounds less than Cave, crossed over the street and met Cave and said to him "Have you got a gun on you." Cave replied that he did not need a gun "to clean out such-----." With that Reynolds swung his right on to Cave's jaw, bringing him to his knees. The police immediately rushed over and arrested them, releasing Cave, however, a few minutes later.

The discovery of this latter episode irritated the strikers beyond endurance and they proceeded to drive the strikebreakers back on to the company's property.

At the point where the government road leaves the townsite and runs between the property of the company is situated the house of Mr. Clinton, the cashier for the company, and also United States Consul. At this point were drawn up the special police, mounted and foot, to prevent the strikers going any further.

While the argument was proceeding between the police and strikers, Mr. Clinton came out of his house, rushed down to the fence gate and exhorted the police to "Shoot them, ride them down, drive them into the sea, etc."

After a short time the strikers returned home.

Some two weeks later several of the strikers were arrested, among them being Joe Naylor, President of the Union, and charged with being members of an unlawful assembly on the night of July 19. Neither Cave, or any of his companions, who were the instigators of the trouble, have been arrested.

Those arrested were refused bail.

Up to this time no trouble had occurred in any of the other towns, though the miners at Extension and South Wellington were somewhat irritated by the importation of strikebreakers by the operators. At South Wellington the special police were especially officious on behalf of the company. One of them, named Killam, threatening, on one occasion, to drill a striker full of holes for speaking to him on the question of strikebreakers.

Nanaimo had been very quiet, no special provincial police being there, although the city police force of two, had been reinforced by the addition of a few more.

The companies were, by this time, undergoing a financial strain owing to the source of their profits having been cut off, and it was apparent that the miners were prepared to remain on strike until their demands had been granted.

While there was no definite proof that the executive of the B. C. Provincial legislature was conniving with the coal operators for the purpose of fomenting trouble in the mining camps, at the same time a careful review of later events leads one to that conclusion.

The strikebreakers at Extension and South Wellington had become possessed of firearms. How they became possessed of them, and for what reason, is a question that only the company officials can answer. They were becoming correspondingly aggressive.

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