The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1875-09-18
FROM OHIO.
CLEVELAND, Sep. 3, 1879.

CLEVELAND, Sep. ., 1879.
r. the Editor Of the woKkiNGNASs ADVOCATE.
DEAR SIR -. am advised by Mr.. King
horn, of Belleville, ILL.,, that an earnest eff
fort is being made IN that section of the
district to get 1t recognized and put in
shape to enable the men to get fair share
Of the product Of their hands. Several
meetings have been held, and some pro
gress made toward the accomplishment of
this object. Many have enrolled their
names, and the expectation is that the
miners Immediately employed in the
neighborhood 81 Bellevllle will soon be in
working order, under the National. This
is good, and the men there, leaders and
and followers show their good sense and
business capacity, in thus getting thor
house in order They find if they do moth
| ing for themselves none else viii, and 1t is
a sign when men come 70 realize this fact
for when they AZ they will surely begin to
move forward
Nhilst this is the case with the men III
/ that part Of the district, how is it with
those IN the other sections Are they
also alive to the fact that disorganization
has brought their price down to cents
| per bushel, hen they ought to be getting
3 cents, to be equal with other coal digging
| districts III the west | trust they are.
They viii not, hope, lay idlng on their
oars and allow the efforts the men of Bell
Vile are putting forth 70 prove aboruve.
Fan i creeping "a rapidly, and their labor
wiIl ~ i'll demand Is 1t worth while to
make some rN-rtion % ever man and every
/ colhery IN It. CLAIR and Madison counties,
that they may advance their wages 33s
per cent. or shall the one portion sleep
and thus defeat their more energetic and
earnest fellOw-worAers. and themselves
Would they rather dig for cents when
they can get These are questions for
those men themselves u answer If they
want three cents FOR every bushel Of coal
they dig during tins fall They can get it If
they viii, for the next months work. and
every man join hands with the men u
Bellevllle IN getting themselves organized,
and when the moment q opportunity
comes, which with them will be IN
month from ..ow, they Will get 1t and no
power can Keep II from them Ii they
will hang back, ana every man uaIt on
his neighb1r and one cl.lery on another.
then cents viii surely Ne the price. and
1t Is the miners themselves that hxes the
price. The BeIlevIile traca. YOU see, Is stu
ated some different from most other
places IL furnishes 81 LOUIS with coal,
and there J. nv competition that can IN
terfere much with them from outside coal
fields. II the miners themselves, only
keep united and act WIth anything ike
ordinary foresight, and prudence. they can
and ought TO be the best paid men IN the
west Last spring, or fall rather. they let
their Union fall through uu account Of
petty troubles. which ary uor uncommon,
but lneAcusabie IL other districts, and no
body Of men has paid more dearly for their
folly than they Many excellent men then
did the best they could t. avert the ca
lamity, but they we're unable t. stem the
tide. and the question nuw Is, have they,
the mass, fully realized that they are 10
blame for allowing their union to "a down,
and the low wages they have been com
PEELED 20 dig for Is but the natural pun
Ishment for their faults Iftley have done
this they will at once see the Importance
Ot getting % work at once, and as a body
place themselves ia the position they wcre
wont To occnpy There is no lack Of tai
ent there TO both organize and manage,
but they must not be allowed to dash
themselves on the rocks that are plainly
visible. Every man u any experience
knows that f.r x taw leaders u move open
IN ana try tu drag An unwilling host u al
their, duty only offer themselves a sacrl-
nee to the vengeance Of the malicious
among the employers, and they are dis
charged and made to suffer As warning to
the others This often has the effect Of
killing such a movement ID its inception.
In this case | hope it IS not the operators
who are to blame They prosecute for
their own interest, but they could not, il
the rank and tile did their duty. lis they
by their culpable neglect that thus leave
their more noble comrades open to the at
tack Let All il this section at as a unit.
and 3 cents bushel is theirs before an
other SIX weeks pass over
The same thing can be said of the Peoria
district. The men there are digging for
81 cents, and making no preparations for
the fall. They ought now to be working.
and by the end Of next month with good
management they can get Al cents Der
bushel. Is this worth trying for let
them say to yours truly,
john JAMES
FROM ILLINOIS.