The New York herald., 1871-03-12
THE COAL CONUNDRUIN.
Reply of the Miners to the GOwen
Memorial.
The Mount Carmel Murder and
the Blacklegs.
Attempted Massacre of Nine
teen People.
THREATS OF RIOT AND DISORDER

IanEAI0 VI hlUI AND UlSUhDEN
TAMAouA, Pa, March 10, 1871.
am enabled TO furnish specially for the inrorma-
tion OF the HERALD the following advance copy OF
an editorial that will appear in the Anthracite
Monitor, the miners organ on Saturday, March II,
In reply to Governs memorial to the Legislature,
already published In the HERALD. AS the express
sion Of the acknowledged organ of the worklngmen
1t Is interesting and Important
MR.. GOwEN's DEFENCE.
Mr. Franklin b. GOwen, under date OF March 4,
sent to the Legislature document lii defence Of his
present attitude filed with Measurements, and
reader grossly erroneous Impressions. His first as
sertion is that the suspension was ordered at time
when there was no contest ABOUT wages. In Sehuyl-
Kill county there was no actual dispute in reference
to the wages but In Luzerne there was such dis
pute. An attempt had been made, as IS well known,
to cut down the wages OF miners employed by the
Delaware Lackawanna and Western Company forty
five cents on the car This attempt was OF course
resisted, and an appeal was made TO the lower
regions TO turn out, which they did In part 10 as
sist the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western men,
and IN part to await consumption OF the enormous
supply OF coal at That time lying unsold in the mar
kets open TO this region The glut great that
1t is acknowledged that the operators would them.
orders, had they not been anticipated by the action
Of the Council. The estimate OF the average price
OF coal sold during November, made by the Joint
committee or operators and miners in this county,
was 81 AZ u per ton, which gave TO the miners for
day WORK $40 SO, to the inside aborer so 03 and 10
the outside aborer SIS 2S. If these figures do not
prove That the market was thoroughly gutted. per-
haps the fact that, though no coal, comparatively
speaking has been shipped to market since the 10th
OF January-tWO months ago-a the city papers
unite IN declaring that there is yet no well founded
tear of coal famine.
In his letter to President Slney, that the basis wages
for 1871 had .'already been definitely agreed upon"
our denial invite attention to the words Of the pro-
pOsal, Mr.. Gowen calls an agreement, submitted by
the joint committee Of the Workingmen's Benevolent
Association and the Anthracite Board OF Trade,
which are as fOllOws:-
The committees the part OF the Anthracite Board of
Trade and the Workingmens Benevolent Association
that satisfactory ARRANGEMENTS be made with the Phlade
PSi Se .o Reading Railroad Company for " reduction of
1t will be observed that this is recommendation
and not an agreement The proposal was consid-
cred by sOmeO OF the districts, but IL not ratified
Dy majority OF them. Besides, the agreement was
made conditional upon proportonate reduction OF
Company. Mr.. Gowen promised that he would re-
duce the tolls, but added that an announcement OF
the reduction he proposed making before February
would be il-advised and premature. Does not this
look as though he either expected almost total
suspension OF operations during January-because
wanted 10 bind the other parties to an agreement
which ne could at any time violateS His third and
fourth lou we may 50 can them
order Of the Council was reluctantly ooeyed py va a
Il
their leaders, that it would result in their obtaining
much higher wages than they had agreed to take
falsehood. The leaders made no such promise. Tney
only expected as oil Of expected, a rise in the
price OF COAL and OF course proportionate rise in
wages. Mr.. GOwen next sayS:-'When d resump-
tion of work, to take erect the 10th OF February
was ordered by decree OF the Grand Council of the
Worklngmens Benevolent Association, 1t had been
preceded by demand for rate OF wages far in ex-
cess OF what had previously been agreed upon, ana
which cond not have been paid by the coal opera.
This Is also untrue. No formal demand for wages
was made until the meeting of the Executive Board
on the l4tn ut. when 1t was resolved that the
Schuylkill county men might return to work on the
three dollar basis, with sliding scale to 81 50--fn
no reduction was to be made in wages below the
rates payable when coal Is selling 81 80 ut Port
bring ruin upon the operators, as Mr. Gowen urges
they would. u by paying the miner $ll 60 the In
side aborer $40 o2, and the outside laborer so 1s
per week. the operator cannot make profit, the
fault surely does not rest with the work
men. But we venture the assertion, that
pays that basis had not seen op p
Mr.. G0wen and the other carrying companies Mr..
GoWen attended the meeting OF the operators held
In Philadelphia and unlOded to them scheme by
which he would bring "thOse unruly miners to
terms" and the operators, forgetting their own
interests and thinking only OF the joy Of overriding
those to whom they are indebted for a troublesome
ventilation law and other vexatlons, gave willing
fused even to negotiate with the workmen's commit
tee, who at any time since the 18th ult have been
prepared to arrange terms upon which the men
would be willing to resume.
MIR. Governs next paragraph is devoted to charg-
Ing the Worklngmen's Benevolent Association with
demanding, as minimum the the prices they
would be entitled to receive with coal ruling for
three dollars per ton at Port Carbon The schuylki
men have not yet made, through their executive
board, formal demand for such terms Mr.. GOwen
to the contrary, Notwithstanding In the next para.
graph Mr. Gowen explains the operators prOposltlon
which Is to fix two dollars the mnimum; that Is
to say. the men shall receive, no matter how low
coal may 50, Ior miners 80 3s, inside laborers,
s. o, and outside laborers 81 81 per week. N
another paragraph Mr.. GOwen says his COM
pany Is prepared to send TO market $50, 900 tons
Of coal per week. This would make, allowing
him TO WORK fifty weeks in the year, an aggregate
OF 100000 tons. Last year the market TOOK, Of
anthracite in all, something over 15,3O0,oOO tons.
Suppose all The carrying companies are prepared to
GOwen declares his road prepared to take; does ne
pretend to say that the market can absorb 1t all
will ruin operators to pay dollars and nifty cents
rates, with coal selling below that figure, at the
p0nh ih1 0d shlpmen IN WIZ II not be quite as runous
ing for less than two d0larsS Mr.. Gowen next says
that the suspension continues because the Working
mems Benevolent Association rejected the working
mems offer. He certainly cannot mean what he
says, for did he not oind himself to the confedera-
tion OF carrying companies to permit Schuylkil
to go TO work without their consent2 Does he not
acqulese In the peremptory demand made by the
tney w ana swan aoffe0 fy w s na sHs 70
with? Did he not pledge himself, as did the opera
tors who attended the conspirators' meetings. held
should not be paid higher than three-doar rates. no
matter how high the price OF coal might go at Port
Carbon, until all the other counties have returned
to work.
Mr. Gowen then proceeds TO give five reasons why
the operators terms are fair and Just:"First," he
says, "because thev are practically the same as
those under which the men were working when
the suspension took place. Suppose they are;
cause, while the men receive the benefit
OF every advance in price, they are pro,
tected, by minimum, from being forced
too low" II the minimum be liked at two dollars
they are not protected from being forced too low,
for God knows $l1 49, $40 OF and 50 Is are terms
as low as any set Of men should be expected to
labor for, especially men Who follow an occupation
beset with as many dangers as mining. His fourth
reason we quote entire. Fourth. Because at the
rate OF wages offered every good miner can readily
earn from four to five dollars per day las can be
shown from the actual pay lists at different col
neries during the past two years. a rate OF wages
wnlch exceeds the average income OF the members
OF the three learned professions in the United States
ana IS higher than Is earned by any other sim1-
lar class oil labor in the word.n Those who
read this paragraph, and nnnn IL nnse an