The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1870-09-01
HOW THE COAL-MINERS ARE
PROTECTED.
From the CHICAGO Tribune.

l. AT the recent AdDoE 'CouV eHClOH, III
i Cincinnati, one Mr.. Brady, of Hazelton,
Pennsylvania, appeared in behalf of the
Golfers of his state, and made a formal
explanation of their recent organization.
From Mr.. Brady's speech we gather the
: following facts: The trade IS pecul lar
lone. The men are in communities of
from fifty to two hundred, and neces-
sarily, isolated. The days are spent in
darkness, and the nights. very I'M
i profitably. Men thus situated are a.
tempting prize to capitalists. The
mode Of living and their compensation
are thus described:
:. First, the tenements for the accom-
mediation Of the miner and his family are
of the most primitive style of architec7
ture, and possess the least possible
amount of comfort and convenience for
the occupant and, although the rents for
the same may sound low when compared
with those paid in cities, yet, as interest
4 OH the capital required To build the same,
the amount assumes the enormous pro
portion of from 80 to so per cent Then
followed the supplying of the necessaries
of life to the workmen and their families.
A system of employers stores become gen
eral, known better rs company's stores.
In these prices were charged far in excess
of those for similar articles III the stores
tot the nearest villages The incon
4 venience OF access, In the latter case,
i made acquiescence in the imposition of
the extortion almost necessity. And,
further, system of annual settlements
i with the workmen compelled them to
ideal at the store of their employer, who
was already secured against loss in credit
ing them, by having their previously
earned wages in his hands. By this
ICON bination of circumstances it often
Happened that miners and laborers work
led steadily for years and never handled
ten dollars In money; and at the yearly
settlements it was often found that the
store bill. the rent, the coal bill, the
doctors bill, the shoe makers and the
butchers bills, all of which were, de-
Quoted from the wages at the office, left
little or nothing to the workman as his
j years savings from his wages, and fire.
: quently he was brought into debt at the
balancing of accounts"
! 1t should be remembered, and especial
iy by the workingmen of the country,
that under the pretence of protecting
these laborers, and of enabling their
employers to pay them liberal wages, the
American people have been for many
years keeping up tariff of 1925 per ton
on coal, snd high duties on all the man
ufacturles in which coal is used. How
these laborers have been protected by
! the tariff, let the above statement of the
miners show. M
Mr.. Brady states that, this condition of
things becoming uncomfortable, the miners,
r two years and half ago, organized the
ri" Miners and Laborcr's Union of the An.
thracite Coal Field OF Pennsylvania. y
;. He explained that, in the spring of 1869,
, there was more coal in the market than
there was demand for, and, as such a
i state of things was liable to occur often,
fI the miners resolved to prevent it happen
ing any more. The first thing done Yves
to order general suspension of work,
{ and $4,000 men stopped mining. When
|, the coal at the seaboard had diminished,
4 the Grand Council submitted to the mi.
ners and their employers the basis " for
; the future. This basis was, that the men
should be paid so much per ton for dig,
ging, and no less. Ifcoal advanced above
!. ISIS per ton at Elizabethport or Philadel.
(, phia, portion of that advance was to be
II IL
: the price of coal fell so tar below So that
. employers could not pay the minimum
t rate of wages, then there was to be a
general suspension of work until the
scarcity should raise the price again.
The minimum price fixed in the district
n where Mr.. Brady works was 30 cents per
ton, out of which the miner has to pay
his helper, purchase his powder and oil,
. find his own drills, picks, &c. To real
: ize So per day for himself, he has to send
! to the surface twelve tons of coal per day.
Mr. Brady has thus shown that the
' cost of ton of anthracite coal at the
;. mouth of the mine is but So cents This
VI is the share which labor receives. This
4 includes the wages of the miner and his
3 laborer, who furnish their own tools.
. The average distance of these mines from
Philadelphia and E,izabethport is 100
@ miles. The difference between the cost
, of the coal at the mines and the price at
these places is made up of the cost OF
: transportation and the profits of the com
y lpany. AS the owners of the mines are
also owners of the railways, they receive
all the profits. These railways are i'm.
. mensely profitable They pay enormous
L dividends upon stock repeatedly watered
ftThe holders of the stock are the rich
men OF Pennsylvania. They grind the
81 workmen down to 55 cents per ton for
u coal delivered at the mouth of the mine
n and then collect 81 for its transportation
4 100 miles They own the mines; they
own the railways; and the government,
j. by its tax, excludes foreign coal. Under
u the pretence Of protecting labor " and
e enabling them to pay high wages to
n their miners, the. whole country is taxed
to swell the profits OF these men. while