, 1870-08-23
The story OF a Strife.


!crons who had occasion to visit the
sNhuylkill coal region at any time frum May
to August, eaw all .bout them tile injurious
etft cts OF the miners rtnke, Tourists fos
pleasure, except few hardy ones. Stunned
the region ~ rcs:ilcntial. Trsdc having al
most stepped. even tho adventurous :om-
1neEr'al traveller Eavc tho disturbed district
Tie 20 by. StorckecpeFs did bkrrly enough
b,iriness to live on Hotel proprietors wern
i'll despair at losing the rich patrons who cus-
tunsanly came with every summer to thu
lne-zy mountain tors or cosy uooks whore
their hostelrics arc situated. On piazzas lsu-
ally Iromenaded ty orulent old philade1-
rlnans,t thcir hu1pm wives aud tlithesoms
+.argltels, Eullen miners were seated, aglow
With fiery potations from Astounding bars, aul
lisrussing their grievances with tiresome tier
alton. Tie wives Of these illers we're wearing
ont their liyca in equaHd houses, desperately
striving 10 make their ac1nty supply OF food
70 the round Of a brood Of hungry children
and the lattcE were ~ tatterel and dirty and
i::nched AZ tho poor little ones who fish
Az the strike continued and the boarded earn
ings wcso withdrawn, dollar by dollar, from
tie savings banks. the peril OF actual atArva-
tiou eet ins and Ill through the richer aaja-
cent country these women begged for money
sud food to keep the souls and bodies Of their
households together. II tho visitor, tired OF
contemplating all tf,ss squnlor and wzctchod-
ncss, turned for relief to the local newspapers
tllst he found lying about his inn, ho thero
discovered 4 new czusc Of depression in tho
s,anailoanent alpcals o. editoIs-eolumn
INCL, but 10 fight ont their battle to the last
man and tho last dollar. Tie same mock
heroic sentiments were enforced in strings OF
doggere1 from et1iktrs with tho gift" The
rcet OF these int]amm1tory Journals was mainly
occupied With hiEll-aown accounts OF the 1uon-
ser receptions accorded 10 this or that we'll
fed and comfortable president Of some labor
union who hal leer up 10 scc the minors, and
conlnred them all that uas sacrel 10 starvo
rather than yield. And they took these apoa-
Ties of liberty and equal rights at their word,
they male cleAn back-iown from their ulti-
naasun, and we're glad to accept the terms
That tho mining operators or ownoFs gave
them. The collapse was complete, as we will
show. The miners struck carly in the year
for the following reason: During 1862 thcv
At Port Carbon, tho recognized shipping point
CT tue schuylka!l region. II the price Of coal
~elit above that figure they were to receive
I'rorortpuate iucsease OF rrice, 10th for day
work and Oh contract-but il it went below.
there was no corresponding reduction Of wa
Toward the close OF the year coal 1t Port
Carbon bad declined, and stood at a-5o to IS
ton. The arrangement for 1869 terminated
December S1st Of that year. The miners
wished TO continue it-as If coal we're still at
@3 ton But the operators. being free to
make new basis, fixed it at i 50, whirh was
ali that coal seemed iikc,v 10 he wn1th in 1870.
The miners were obstinate md the operators
cot less 20, for the 1atter haa j largo stock
and could anotd to stop work, with 4 view T.
getting higher prices for the coal on hand.
To the miners came Ill the suffering, aaI to
the OPERATOR good!y line of profits out OF
! the strike. still the operators would not have
| objected continue MIXING il I. ir compromise
could hare beet made: bnt, ,undertho demsSoIc
dEcctions and advice II tlads-unions in differ
ent PARTS Of the country, the strikers declined
| any practicable adjustment OF the difficulties,
aud went on starving. Finally. early in the
Treeent month, this scnkc1css trouble ended
just ss every eaGarious observer said it would
| eEd. The operators proposed, and the st1ick-
ess ACCEPTED, sliding ecale OF wages paset on
the actual price of coal 1t Port Carbon. Tho
rrires enumerated 1t which the increase or
| decrease Of wages shall take rlaee range all
| the way from - to =. At Present tho price
is between so and -, With \ prospect Of going
to the fi1st-named figure. Thus ii viii be u. q
tlat the strikers have been forced TO break
lpayored 10 force upon. the operators for
| 1870. by accepting prices based upon coal st
| ]eks &han IS. aud q natural law has won the
victory. ~ it ever will in the long run against
! all odds. Work has generally been resumed In
the Schuylkill region. except among the con
tract lAborers, and they will rro1aaiy s1Se 10
| 10 the operators terms also- The losses sus-
taincd By tho strskcrs are immense u lhe ak.
regSse; and each OF them must now wori
fa11 for a long time to reaccumulste the SINAI
store Of earnings which he has wasted IN tn.
desperate warfare not merely aga1nst tht
| orerntozr but against nature and the common
tense OF mankind. We greatly pity them be
cause they have been misguided il this wnot;
affair. We wish them TO receive the fnl
worth Of their labor. neither less nor more
but neither We, nor they, nor the ooal-nin
owners Themselves, can regulate that 81 an.
given rate. go that it viii stay h1ed. The Law
Of supply and demand, Of production and con
sumption, establish all that. When tue MN
err zee this as clearly as ali other men no
purb1ind do, they will abandon strikes, and Gu
loose from the theoIizing demagogues whit
have brought them into al their trouble an
left them to founder out Of it the best VA
they could.