Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1874-09-06
communicated
A MINER on THE POLITICAL SIT
CATIUN.

EDITOR SENTINEL: In a recent issue
of your paper appeared Il synopsis of
Il speech delivered by William Sharon,
at Virginia City, on the occasion of j.
Y. Jones' visit there. when, in treating
of the Chinese question, hs remarked
that he was in favor of using horses to
do horses work and jackasSes to do
the work of iackasses, or words to
that effect; and, from my knowledge of
the man, think it very expressive of
his estimate of working men. He has
no regard for them but to use them as
beasts of burden, and while he applies
70 white men the pleasing appeilation
of horses, he would fain whip them i'll
the traces. For this friendly notice |
see he was checred to the echo.
If such were The case, the men of
Virginia City must have dcgenerated
fcarfullv, and it may with truth be
sail, "Iioine, thou hast lost tho breed
of noble bloods." Having lived i'll
Virginia City. and knowing the ma
terial composing the working classes
there. the struggles they have hitherto
had with this same Mr.. Sharon, how
nobly they have defended Their rights
ii !ainst his most strenuous efforts, and
with what perseverance they still pre-
serve them. | am inclined to think
such is not the case. Mon possessed of
such spirit, and so united a. to feel
their power and to make their infln-
pnce felt over the whole coast, are not
likely to feel f,attcred by such degrad-
ing cuiihct~, or to lick the hand Just
lifted to strike tneEl.
| RI her think ii nice little act Cf
hv-plav. after the fashion of low melo-
dgonS, where the dead heads are en-
p.oycd to applaud in the proper places
and the press subsidized TO magnify ii
t. the largest proportions. low far
the managers succeeded i'll this in
Stance the readers may judge iroiA the
reports of tle local papers. The Ter
,TiDrini Enterprise, under the head Of
"A Bit Of History" cunnin9iy pub
fishes an agreement entered into be-
tween Mir. sharon AMI representatives
of he God Hill and Virginia Miners
Union, in 50, thinking II make il
arraar that he vas not i'll El.or al
NbEkili8 ilEiltiiieil titt iiiisAtN. A'it
failed to state The circumstances under
W hi IN that agreement WAS cXtortcd
from him.
In lS6o. when building tie Virginia
and Truci,ee rai!road, large numbers
of Cinnamon were pat 10 work III God
lli!l. on the Very croHpln@s of thr
Con, stock. The PEOPLE aecanie alarmed,
and thinking if uninterrupted the next
move would ie TO place them i'll the
mines, rose in heir hi; -hi and Guietly
dove the Cilia;ncn Gear ont OF so
rev cointy. The news WAS tcle-ra nhod
to SAP Francisco and had Il marked et-
ttrt ,ln stocks and ~enuri les owned by
the Bank Of California, tie finances oi
which institution were none too flush
1T that tnae. 1t VAS under these cir
,,lin,,ancc, that Mr.. Sharon, in order
to secure confidence. mad. the propo-
si.io., above referred to, and the mi
ucr-, lccil, the RIG rs they had sworn
10 defend safe 10: the lrc cit. ac-
copied; tranquility WAS restored, aad
work Went on a. Il >tial.
Eut, The EAicgptt,sc AXIS, "IIave any
Ht their condition. : been Niaiatcd?'
True, 10 Cinnamon have yet been
woriie. in the mines there. thanks tn
TIC Aiiuer,' mons that wouil no
permit them, ana not 10 Mr.. Sharnn,
who. Il day OF tWo la.eT, sent fer v IN.
!. Cummings. then Shcilit OF storey
county, and handing him list OF
names, foremost on which were the
names of those men with whom he
CS!aronN had made the agreement, de-
ii.andei hn to arrest every one of
them. MIR. Cummings. seeing ~ Oh
'rnSr 81 Iii cnt to make Il ease out OF,
tnd being Il little i'll sympathy With
the miners, refused 10 comply. ]. L..
RcUua and some other mining super
intcntlen:S, friends of Mr.. sharon, who
were present, urged the matter and
said they would swear out warrants
and compel him TO arrest them. Mr.
Cummings signiiied his Willingness to
comply if furnished WIFI the warrants,
but stated that he would call on Mr..
sharon. Mr.. Requa and the u. hers, and
apEoint them his deputies, to assist i'll
making the arrests, and only then.
when he feared to .'ansWer the walked
wrath" of the men he would thus out
rae, did Mr.. Sharon abandon the
project.
This is the ,nan whom the Enterprise
wouid have Us believe i the soul OF
honor, Il perfect hlianthropiSt.
Such, in brief, are the true facts i'll the
hit Of history" alluded To i'll the Ea-
ic1JIiSe; and tho sequel was that MIR.
Cummings. who thus adroitly saved
the miners fram long imprisonment,
as in the case OF JohnJ. Hill, of nion-
Vile, that ternsinetcd IA The death ol
Sandy Baldwin, OF still Morse. fnrci-
Bile rcscuc by their companions and
the consequences attending 1t, coiid
get no nomination from the Repuhii-
can party wear later, when that party
was con- rolled hy the Bank Ring. and
so siynally defeated on that account
alone.
You were pleased TO co.Nment on Mr.
SharOn'S remarks to the eight hour
leagues of san Francisco. ThNc re-
marks deserved little attention. There
are many capitalists living in distant
cities and controlling our mining ccn-
panies who have no knowledge OF a
mans work. but count the hours of
labor a. they do the months their
money draws interest, and draw their
conclusions accordingly, never con-
sidcr.ng that working men know
enough to regulate the force of their
blows in inverse proportion to the time
they must continue them, 81, that the
rcSul, is made equal. Hut Mr.. sharon
is none OF these; ha has had cNreri-
cuce enough to know different. With
the opinion of eminent s1'iv,lti6t> WHO
pronounce the eight-h0ur system the
most beneficial division of time, sup
ported by examples like those shown
hy j. q. Fair. at Nir@inia. and Col.
iigh,ner. at Phoebe, who have long
worked meR eight hours with better
results, before his eyes, and although
convinced tha. ii is not only heneiiciai
Ia the employer and the employed but
from the tendency of The age became
one ofihe inevitabies, his innate iyran-
ny inapels him 10 oppose il 10 he ut
most of his power. and only Yield bit
by bit when he can no longer resist.
The man who would thus block the
wheels of progress seeks tie suffrage
I