Download or read book The Company Store written by John Mellor and published by Goodread Biography. This book was released on 1984 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: J. B. McLachlan was a fiery, idealistic Scot who came to Canada with a vision of a better world. He settled in Cape Breton, and there he worked in the coalmines beside hundreds of men and boys from all parts of the world. In the first decades of the twentieth century mine owners cared little for safety or working conditions: miners and their families were virtual serfs of the company. As their wages were squeezed lower, mine workers fought back through their union--with J. B. McLachlan at its head. The response of the authorities was fierce. The miners faced soldiers, machine guns, prison sentences, starvation, homelessness. They were betrayed by American union leaders. Throughout, J. B. McLachlan stood firm for his principles and ideals. The Company Store is the story of a remarkable Canadian, and of a little-known part of our industrial past.