Wilmington daily commercial., 1875-04-21
FIRST EDITION.
The Coal QuestiOn-The Incertain-
ties of Mining PrOfiIs-KelatlOns
with the Union.

| 10 TIE EditOr Of tie Commercial:
| l beg leave to say in answer to comments il
the COMMERCIAL of the 18th inst -
| First You cannot gain reliable knowledg,
of the doings of the operators except by the ac
| ton officially announced by them. As asserted
| i'll my previous communication, the offer of til,
operators for the season of 1875 recognizes th,
Workmen's Union. Herewith / enclose a cop,
of the circular. committee of the operators
met u committee of the miners on the End o
January last, and presented the offer. The lat
ter rejected the conditions and wages offered
and no official action has been taken since.
do not doubt that individual operators have uBet
strong expressions against the Miners Union,
for they have received many provocatons, but
as body their action has been deliberate. In
Justice to the workmen themselves, the opera
tors may be compelled to ignore the Union, foI
1t ID becoming more evident that its strength il
maintained by threats of violence, and that the
leaders dare not leave the question of accept
ance or rejection OF the operators offer to a SO
cret ballot of the workIAen.
Secondly; In my former communication,
nothing said of the profits of the operators,
for the reason that it has nothing to do with
the workmens claim to management OF the
mines, nor with the question of wages. There
are many vessel owners in Wilmington who in
good seasons have received large returns from
fortunate voyages, and have in short time
"turned over" their original Investment and
merchants have duplicated their Investments
within years time, and no one could question
its being legitimate transaction. Large
profits from ventures make commerce
possible, for without such inducement capital
would not take the risks. 1t requires the same
promise of large returns to induce capital to
take part in coal mining. Ii is and has been ex-
tremely hazardous. The vessel or cargo owner
can insure against loss bst who is there to in
sure that 800 to 1900 feet under ground there
will be found coal of good quality Fortunes
have been spent and lost in fruitless effort to
find coal. A few years working exhausts the
supply, and then another venture of several
hundred feet more into the earth has to be made
for new supply. The coliery from the pay
roll of which the averages in my former letter
were made never paid the operator but one 8
per cent dividend The original investment was
sunk some years ago and large debt
has since been incurred. Disaster has succeed
with show of pluck rarely equalled.
The abandoned oollores throughout the Anthra-
cite region tell Of the uncertainty of the coal
seams.
1t would be as impracticable to undertake to
adjust the wages paid the workmen by tho prof
it's from the mines, as it would be to fix the wa
ges Of sailors, the world over, by the returns Of
commerce.
The labor troubles and over production add to
the risk. Many succumbed to the pressure in
the years 1871 2 and others were glad to sell out
to the large companies.
Finally; If fully understood it will be safe to
leave this subject to the Judgment of any intel
ligent community both employers and employed
and your correspondent thanks you for the OPP
given TO FACTS AND FIGURES.