The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1874-06-26
[For the Press.
THE MINERS UNION VS.. THE OP.
ERATORS' UNION.
The Miners Prefer Sacrificing Their
Homes and suffering Hunger to
Sacrificing their Manhood = A
Plain, unvarnished Statement of
Facts Relating to the Situation.

THE INFAMY OF THE OPERATORS.
They make contract with Miners,
to take effect April LIST, 1873, by which
p cents per bushel was to be paid for
the 1st months. In these four months
work is plenty and there is no complaint.
The next three months the Miners were
to have 3 cents per bushel. Work be-
gins to grow slack and the Operator be-
gins to turn down the screws. The next
the last three months January, Feb
ruary, and March, work suspends, un-
der promises of the Operators of first
weekly, then monthly resumption, dn-
ring which time the miners having
nothing to do, consume their surplus
earnings, and at the end of March, when
a new contract is to be made, the Opera
tors felt as if they were masters of the
situation McClung, one of the leading
Operators, is reported by good authority
az having said-"We have the Miners
nor where we want them. They must
come to our terms"
What terms? Lower prices for dig
ging? Not So But the same prices
paid last year coupled with the dis3and-
ment of.the Miners Union. This was
the condition on which freemen, in a
land, under the shadow Of the Old Flag
of Liberty and Equality, were to have
employment! 1t was not the price fol
mining the same coal from the same
mines, but the LIBERTY of THE NITNEF
which must be-surrendered at the nod
of monopoly. The Miners Union is
summoned to surrender its organization
to whom? To those who religiously op
pose such organizations as secret societie;
and who are forbidden by creed anc
faith to belong to any or to encourage
any? Not so. But the Miners Union
composed Of working men who for the
love of their wives and children, labol
with their hands for bread to feed then
and for clothing to keep them in the
church pew and the school room, have
associated themselves together in sucl
way as to make contracts most favorably
to themselves-the Miners Union by
which labor is defended against th'
greed of the capital, is summoned, on
April LIST, 1874, to surrender, not the
| price for digging bushel of coal, bu
its right and Its liberty to exist as an or
ganization-to surrender this liberty
not to the foes of all such Unions, bui
to the Operators Union, Union com
posed of the Mine owners, Coal strip
pers and spectators in Coal who mean
| not to reduce the price of coal 10 th'
| consumer, but by first destroying the
Unions protection to labor, to fore
terms on the laborer and reap the prof
it's of such oppression. Not in the in
terests then of the consu mer, nor of tn,
Miners of coal, but solely in the inter
est of Monopoly, is the war of the ope
rators carried on against the operative
the war of monopoly against labor
the war of greed against those who earn
their living in an honest manner.
/ What more is asked? These labor
riders, demand that nut coal shall b.
dug for nothing, like slack coal has al
wavs been dug. Is this nut coal, usefu
or worthless? If il is worth nothing, lik,
slack coal, then nothing should be al
lowed for lifting it out of the mine int,
the car of the Operator. But this SAM
hut coal is used in Somerset Steam Mill
by A. p. & T. NJ. Ashbrook, who pay
to 10 cents per bushel for it. 1t is there
fore useful and the Miner should be al
lowed some equitable price for produ
cling it, as it cost him the same labor a
it costs to produce lump coal. But tn,
demand is that the Miner shall have n,
more for lump coal than he has alway
been receiving, but he shall charge moth
ing for one fifth of his work.
The Operators have Union anon,
themselves. Here is the proof. Martil
& McCluny had contract last Spring Il
fill with large quantity of Coal. Thei
bargain comPelled them to give in tn
last months Of the contract year, 3
cents per bushel for mining. they tnrl
over this contract to be filed from