The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-10-15
FROM ILLINOIS.
BELLvILLE. ILL., Oct. 10th, 1870


To the Editor Of the woRKxGnAS's ADvocArE.
Please insert the following, which was
originally sent to the Aarocate Of this
city
RESPECTED SIR,-It is Of the highest
interest to all Of our miners to have the law
published which was adopted ID regard to
their interest in one Of the late sessions Of
our Legi>lature-that of 1861. That law
provides that " Whenever the quantity Of
mineral coal is to be determined in the
'Ounty OF St. Clair, in this State, BY the
use of boxes, barrows, or otherwise than BIZ
actual weight, it shall be the duty Of sellers
or contractors for the digging Of coal By the
bushel, to use boxes, barrows, or other
measures, the capacity of which, in bushels,
has been ascertalned and marked on the
box, barrow, Or measure used, as provided
in section three Ofthis act F" Section three
provides for the appointment by the County
Judge Of coal-sealers, and makes it their
duty " to determine and mark by brand or
otherwise, on the box, barrow, or other
measure, Its capacity as a measure of coal. :"
Section five provides that " for each viola
ton Of the provisions of this act" the Of
fender shall " forfeit and pay" sum not
less than five dollars, nor more than fifty
dollars, to be used for and recovered in an
action of debt in the name and for the use
of the informer, before any Justice OF the
Peace OF said county. Section SIX imposes
penalty upon any person who shall know
lngly, for the purpose of deceiving or
defrauding any other person Or persons,
falsely state and compute the number of
bushels Of coal contained in any box,
barrow or measure. Sections seven and
eight provide for determining the quantity
Of coal by weighing on accurate scales, and
imposes penalty for determining coal By
weighing on scales that are false and not
correct"
The same, by special clause, emphati-
cally provides that every miner shall be
fairly paid either by the bushel or by
weight, in accordance with contract But
there are some owners Of coal mines on the
Belleville and st. Louis railroad used to
acting in contradiction to the law above re-
terred to, and at the same time they are
bent on discharging such laborers as now
and then were elected to control the amount
of work done; and those "bosses" are
glOryng at the same time in the fact that
they will not employ any working men who
are able TO read and write and make out
their own calculations and accounts. And
yet answers like these "You are too intel
lgent to be employed by me! ~ 81 cannot
use yOu!" and the like, must be shocking
to every true workingman's heart, ESPECIALLY
when he himself has some two or three
children going to school in order to learn to
read aud write, and must pay taxes Of every
kind like any other citizen, but at the same
time feels himself bound to declare to his
wife, II cannot get any work, because i
can read and write little - or, | have to
enter upon an arrangement binding myself
for whole year beneath the earth, " and to
leave every month part Of my we'll earned
money in the hands of the boss" because
my name or face is not good enough for the
work to be done; and then | am condemn
ed to silence when receiving pay, according
to the stipulated conditions of an arbitrary
"boss."
If any miners should be inclined to enter
upon such an arrangement, they will please
to get reliable information before signing
any document, whether or not their intend
ed employers are those very men who are
in search of, and on the lookout for ssstu-
pid fellows :" THOMAS HARGRAvEs.
President Lodge No. l English and
German.