The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1874-02-21

SAp~see~
the Suits BY which thsy were UnhOused- The Compa
aiss siIl Mine oal at Cost Of t86 Per Ton Raihe
than AioS q uaIoa to be 0rpanlasd-Ihe oppresss
Miners and Families. though Living In ExtsmporI1s'
Sheds, sun Stand Firm-A Letter that shoad be Rsa
and On Appeal that should be LlbsraI Responded to
To the Editor Of the woRKiSoAAS's ADVOCATE.
ST. CLAIR, Feb. 8, 1874
After repeated invitations from the mer
of Tioga county, left my home On Friday
Jan. 30th, and making my trip by way o.
WilllPnsport, arrived in Blossburg on thC
afternoon Of the 31st, where | met with
very warm reception at the hands of the
citizens of ''the city Of refuge" Tho men
immediately began to prepare for publ,
meeting. The cornet band was awaiting
my arrival, aud by the time got dinner
the streets of that town were alive with
people out of employment, Who we're and
are willing to work. Willing to work il
they had the privilege Of doing so as free
men. The whole body Immediately pro,
ceeded to
fKR ACADEMY OP MUSIC
I whore they expected to hear an address
from their newly arrived guest but being
a stranger in their midst, and having no
tion with their difficulties, and having no
desire to DO instrumental in widening the
breach between the employer and the em-
ployed, and being desirOus Of seeing the
managers of the respective companies in
order to get both sides Of the question,
made my address very short and very con-
servative After the meeting | got out
amongst the people to see the signs Of
WANT AND DEsTIrUTIoN
that had been caused because the men OF
Tloga refused to sacrifice their manhood.
Just as | entered the town my eve fell
upon a long string If new buildings, which
! took to be coal sheds, such as are to be
met with in this section of the country
The buildings are composed of common
rough slabs thrown together temporarily.
On inquiry, You may imagine my surprise
when ! learned that 1t was III those places
lived the mine rs and their families who
had been refused employment, and had
been turned out Of the compsnies' houses,
simply because they had refused to sign
what the men themselves term
THE IRON CLAD OATH
In addition to these pens, almost every
house in Blossburg that could make room
for family or families have done so. On
Sunday, gentleman by the name Of Scully
hitched up his horse and carriage and
drove me the distance Of three or four
miles to place called Morris Run, the
former reslderce Of some Of the people who
have taken refuge in Biossburg. There
beheld their fOrmer homes, houses
that the company had built from their
labor, with the doors and the windows
nailed up. On our way back through the
village We called into a drug store that, l
suppose, is owned by the company. II
not, the drugs III the store and the house
and ground on which it stands are owned
by them. | went inside for the purpose
Of ascertaining from the store keeper the
amount of
HOUSES EMPTY,
and other matters app ertaining to the con-
ditlon of affairs. But he, in common with
all others who have not already been dis
P assessed by the company, refused to have
anything to say on the subject, for fear
that he might meet the same fate re-
turned to BlOssburg. and continued in COM
pany with a number Of prominent men,
gathering information until late hour Oh
Sunday night, which fully bears out the
charges sent i'll to the Bureau Of Statistics
Of labor. On Monday | proceeded to Arnot
where a meeting was held, and there the
same sight met my eyes, namely, empty
houses with doors and windows nailed up.
Report had it that we would not be al
lowed to hold a meeting, but | was deter
mined to put it to the test. Almost as
soon as got of the train met Mr. San
ders, Superintendent of the Arnot Coal
Company, and after shake Of hands and
few friendly remarks, | asked him if he
would have any objections to a meeting
being held in that place, telling him at the
same time that there would be no disturb
ance under any circumstances, on the part
Of the men disemployed, to which he very
graciously replied,
NONE WHATEVER.
then asked him if he would please name
the place where we could hold the meeting
(for mark you, all the ground and every
thing thereon belong to the company, and
l wanted him to name the place 50 that
there could be no objections afterward:
ralsed), and he told us to hold it anywhere
we could find room.
After an effort being made to get the
| school-house, a number Of the members
| Of the church then waited on the directors
to get permit to have the meeting held
\ in it, for the day was bitter cold. Being
unable to procure place of shelter to hold
the meeting, We proceeded to tho depot
where the boys stood out on he railroad
/ in the snow, while the meeting was adj.
dressed from the platform by Messrs
Waddle, Morgan, TAFT and others, who al
advised sobriety and order.
MY OWN REMARKS
were about the same as at Blossburg, OF
Saturday, After the meeting dispersed,
again met Mr. Sanders, the Superintend
ent, who invited Mr. TAFT, President Of tn
Tioga Miners, and myself into his Office
where we had a lengthy and very friendl.
exchange Of views He went on to sa,
that he was sorry the men had left tn
houses, and that the iron-clad had eve
been submitted to them. In brief, h
ssemed to be in sympathy with the men
He admitted that they we're good, faithful
workmen aud law-abiding citizens. | va
70 taken up in the man that | conhdentl
hoped that | would be able to bring abou
SETTLEMENT
before left. To this end tried to obtai
an interview with himself, Mr.. Nearing
Of the Morris Run Coal Company, an
Mr.. Knight, OF the Fall Brook Coal Com
pany.
On the following day met in the com
pany office, at Blossburg, Messrs. Nearing
Sanders and the Superintendent Of tn
railway company. was accompanied b
Messrs. TAFT, and one man from eac
county. Mr.. Knight was absent in const
quence Of being sick in bed.
The interview lasted q considerable time
the men having the best Of the argumer
all through, and ably sustaining ever
charge preferred against the companies
that have already been preferred and put
lished by the independent press Of til
country. Mr.. Nearing, being spokesma
; for the occasion, leaving nothing for th
others to say at all. Finding himself beate