The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-10-05
Miners' Strikes.

This is the time of.the year for the an
Dual pestllential demagogue to come
around and stir up coal miners to demand
an increase of wages or quit work. 1t is
doubtful if much good ever comes of
strikes, and it is very certain that great
harm often comes out of these disturbances.
But men must of course be their own
judges of what they will do, and must learn
by experience as well as observation how
their interests are affected by following the
advice of those who stir them up to strike.
Sometimes operatives in the various trades
or occupations gain something by strikes,
but as a general thing they produce much
suffering, loss of time, and injury to all
classes of people,-not alone to the work
men and their families, but to everybody.
The demagogues who go around organizing
unions generally live in clover, playing upon
the credulity Of the workmen, levying con-
TT. 9si5ns upon them and stirring up strife.
1t is not SO much the welfare Of the work
men that they seek as to fill their own
pockets and live without work.
This time, the demagogue who is around
giving coal miners bad ADVICE is one Muir
ply. He has been to La Sale, where a
strike took place, the second vein miners
demanding raise from ninety cents ton
to one dollar ton. The coal owners yield
ed and the men went to work on that vein.
| Tho tlirI ctrraI- for &l a
ton. The owners offered ST. 3O-and 50
the matter stands. Whether they will get
| the other 10 cents cannot now be told.
Last week. Tuesday the man Murphy ar
rived in this county. He commenced in
Hampton, where he has succeeded in SIR
ring up quite a disturbance. Meetings
were held and exciting speeches made, and
on the following Thursday miners to the
number Of nearly 500 knocked off work
aud demanded $l.2 per ton. They were
receiving Sl,-the price that the miners
demanded at La Sale, and at which price
they were making from "a to $40 day, ac-
cording to skill and position.
The strike includes the mines Of lIeagy
& Stoddard, Durfee 4 Adams, Lowrey,
Weightman x Co., Taylor q Williams, Gil
christ 4 Jones, and the Cook banks, in
Hampton township; Hamilton & Baker,
and Taylor & Williams, at Cleveland, on
Rock river; the Green River Coal Com,
pany, John s. Lord superintendent, Green
River, and perhaps other operators in
Hampton, and near Rock river, The coal
operators declare that they will not pay
over one dollar a ton-which is the price
the SECOND vein miners are reported to have
accepted at La Sale.
The great objection to trades unions is
that they attempt too much; they inter
fere with what is not their business; they
make such demands that the proprietor OF
the business, whatever it may be, might
as well surrender to them the ownership
or management of his business and take
for his share Of it whatever they in then
good pleasure may please to hand over to
him. Look for instance, at some Of the
rules Of the Miners Union. They demand
the right to appoint their own bosses
which no coal operator will or ought to
man from working In any mine where they
attempt to enforce this rule by driving
him away-for which they are punishable
by law. They demand that each miner
shall have an opportunity TO see to the
weighing of the coal he digs each day
which is perfectly proper demand. They
insist upon debating how much work each
man shall do, when and how long he shall
work which no coal operator can submit
to it would utterly disarrange and de-
stroy his business to permit any such inter-
ference with it.
If miners, and men engaged 10 other
occupations and trades, formed unions
simply TO determine for what wages
they will work, there could be
no objection to that; they have a
right to do So and ought to be sustained
and protected in that right Every man
in the land possesses that right, and it
cannot be taken from him. Unions or as,
sociations for that purpose, and for mu
tual education, and the protection of their
families, are all right. But when they at
tempt to take another mans right to man
age his own business in his own way out
of his hands they do wrong and array com
munity against them, And when they
use force to prevent men from working
who are willing to work for such wages as
are offered, then they bring the power Of
the State down upon themselves to punish
them for interfering with the right of
fellow man to earn his support. We be
lieye in and sustain the right of these
miners to ask whatever price they please
for their services, and to refuse to work
unless they get it. But when they 60 be-
yond that they cannot be sustained by the
public Whether they will be benefited
by remaining idle unless they get $l.25
ton is for them to judge, Most people
would say that it would be better for them
to continue work at 81 per ton, than to re
main out of employ nent and run the risk
If having others take their places and
/ thus lose work altogether. But that is
their business not ours.
! This man Murphy also made an effort
| to form union and stir up strike at
Coal Valley, but it proved an utter failure.
| For some Is years-ever since Mr. Cable
started his cooperation system of labor in
Coal Valley everything has been harmo-
NOUS there. The practical working of
Mr. Gable system commends itself to the
better judgement of all miners and coal
operators. In the long run it is greatly to
the advantage OF both,
Criminals Sentenced.
On Saturday Judge Peasants ordered
the criminals found guilty at this term of