Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1863-10-28
Z The Miners, Reply.

ducement to take them into the army.
The Miners Reply.
The Miners of the Bodiam Mines have
read an article in the Journal of October
18th, headed, The Strike at the Bodiam
Nine" in which the writer appeals to the
public They desire, through the same
medium, to state briefly and respectfully
their side of the case They are willing
for the public to'decide on the justice of
their demand after hearing beth sides
the Employees as well as the Employer.
The writer says that the Miner can
earn, at 4 cents per bushel, $50 to $50, |
by working much shorter time than |
what are usually esteemed regular work.
ing hours" The Miner at the Bodiam
Mines works below and under the ground
more than eight hours He works in an
atmosphere of noxious gases and of pow
der smoke. He is begrimed with dirt
and surrounded by danger. He never
knows when he goes down whether he
will ever get up again to his wife and
children. And this is the character of la
Dor which the writer compares in value
with the ordinary labor of the mcdaniel
1t is not true that "some of the men
earning such wages are not even regu-
lar miners" and have learned by being
employed as laborers," &C., as general
rule Sometimes, and very rarely, such
wages have been made by unprofes-
sional miners, but they are exceptions.
The average gain of such miners does
not amount to $50, and not more than
three men that have learned to dig coal
here have earned $50 to $50, and they
have been at the business from three to
six years, or thereabouts 1t is not easy
to learn a business attended with so much
danger, exposure and fatigue, nor is it
true that dollar or dollar and quar-
ter day are the regular wages of even
common laborers. Labor cannot now
be had for such prices.
The writer says, it is reported that at
Shawneetown and Gasey's Mines similar
troubles have resulted in the discharge of
the old hands," &c. We don't know how
that is, but we do know that great efforts
have been made to induce some of US to go
| to these and other mines at advanced wa
GEES We have refused to leave Evansville
because we are men of families, and the
manager of the Bodiam mines, relies on
that fact now. We hold that. the mines
are realizing profits enough to accede to
our demands without raising the price
of coal, which has already been greatly
advanced in price. We knOw what the
expenses are, and what the receipts are,
nearly exaetlyi and we knoO that the
mines can well afford to pagan increased
price for labor.
The-wages paid at the Bodiam mines
are not the average of wages Epaid else
where We know mines of five feet veins
inwhich 5 cents per bushel are paid In
such mines the cost of powder is very
slight, as very little blasting is required
But in the Bodiam mines the vein varies
from 8 feet 9 inches to fleet, and it costs
vrvry f.o... s1a to 500 mar month
to buy powder with which to blast.
The miners do not desire to benefit by
anybody's necessities But all prices
J have gone up on them, and they have in
l some cases large families, and it is with
) difficulty that they can support them, and
they think their wages should Ego up in
: proportion to those of otherIworkmen
This fact is noticeable: that the miners
!. wages have always been reduced wher
t coal is low, and now when coal is higl
they are not proportionatelgput up. We
:, never did get the prices which are paiC
: elsewhere. Coal has gone up from 9, II
4 and IL cents to II cents, but the miners
h wages have not increased in the SANE
5 ratio, while the expenses of the mines
have remained nearly the same in tn,
other small matters besides the wages o
the coaldiggers. Our labor is the chic
expense of the mines, and now, whel
:, coal goes up to IA cents, is it not fai
!. that we should receive proportional
r increase? The price of powder has beer
t increased to US, but our wages have no
> been increased in proportion to the in
q crease in the price of coal.
). We did not commence this newspape
0 discussion, but justice to ourselves re
y !. quired this answer. The manager seek
- to curry favor with the citizens. w
i think the surest foundation of such favo
e would be to do justice to US, who are ais
e citizens. Getting now five, four an,
q three cents more for coal than he fol
!. merry did, he can well afford to act u
1t to the cd rule, "the laborer is worthy c
r his hire s.fsi ~ -
e Tuh MINERS OF THE BoDIAM NINE.
n DaE Mr. John Kits, the well know
+. Jeweler, of Louisville, died of Appc
= plexy on Wednesday last, ina wagon e