The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1875-07-17

AN APPEAL.
OgTIcK MINERS NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,
rs CENTRAL PLACE,
Cleveland, Ohio, July LIST, 1875

BROTHERS The conviction of the Clear
field Miners for conspiracy under the law Of
Penns ylvanIa, AID tile coming trial Of Messrs.
Siney and Parks, place us in that position
which compel us to appeal to you for assist
ance and support There is no doubt strong |
determination on the part Of q portion Of the |
coal capital Of that State to prosecute Presi- |
dent Siney and Mr. Parks to a conviction,
and if possible have the full penalty Of the
law awarded as the penalty for their-crime,
we were going to write. But it is not true
they committed no crime. The poor men
now in prison by the finding Of a Jury and
the sentence Of Judge Orvis, did that only
which every trade unionist in his meeting
room is doing, whether ~ officer or member,
every day Of his life, peaceably counseling
with each other the best way lawfully and
legitimately to advance his own and fellow
mans condition. For this they have been
q. aQ0ed from their homes and tried under a
law which the wOrklngmen of Pennsylvania
should blush to think has stood on the stat
ute books for more than ten years Their
wives and children are helpless and unpro-
vided for, and ought not TO be allowed to sui
fer while the husbands and fathers are suffer
ing in a dungeon for the criminal neglect OF
the workingnen voters of this powerful com
monwealth. To-day their Imprisonment Is
sacrifice upon the altar Of labors Indltfer-
ence, and will be an acceptable one If 1t only
arouse them that they may rise In their
might and have it swept from OH the books
Men Of Pennsylvania, their fate to-day is
your fate tomorrow If these men are crimi-
nally guilty, so are yOu-so is every trade
unionist in the land, and they are the few
from the flock who are chosen as an expIatlon
for the sins Of the whole.
John Siney and Xingo Parks what have
they done They, to- are under bail, charged
th the anne offense for which the law con
demns their fellOwmen. Their trial comes
Oft in the beginning Of September. The
ablest talent Is engaged to hound them down
to a similar worse fate than those who
have Just been sent to prison Those are the
smaller, these the larger fish. Siney and
Parks are really the men the coal companies
are after They are the representatives Of
great and growing organization Of labor that
has for its object the advancement and i'm
provement of the coal miners Of this CONT
nent, and this is the crime those men IN fact
have committed, and Tor which they must he
placed in durahce vile, and their names tarn-
ished before the world. In ancient times and
under the rule of aristocratIc governments, 1t
was the custom to burn, torture and ImpTIsOn
men for their belief and adherence 10 the
/ principles we, III tins age, cherish, As the
| foundation Of our dearest rights, and won for
/ us by the blood Of thousand martyrs, Ia
I those days the law was interpreted to Justify
the Judges and make such deeds a. pleasing
ia the sight Of God. In those days men were
/ found to do the work Of persecution by per
1 Jury and misrepresentation as they are nov,
and, curious enough, money was used To in
I tiuence talent and prostitute office. Truth
and virtue ever have been traduced, and the
men who stand up for 1t as representing the
A.. ~.
PEELED to suffer But such are the men
whose memories we all revere, and who's
names appear among .he long array of hi1-
tory's noblest gems. The greater the trials
the more dear are they TO US what they sui
Tered only Intenslties our love for the objects
for which they were butfeted. Thus II u that
all acts Of oppression only tend t. nurture
what they intended to destroy. PuucI
pies never be annihIlated. For a time
they be buried in the dust, but like the pur
est ems, when dug up, they shine forth IN al
their pristine beauty. This Is what thes,
men are arraIgned for, and fur tins, If con
victed at all, they will be punished
Our Constitution makes no provisions fo
the use Of the funds Of the Association % b,
applied for the purposes Of Law expenses. A
the best legal talent is engaged 70 prescott,
50 must We have ability equal to It, else
conviction is sure to result from the trial
We cannot afford to let tins be the case an,
We would consider ourselves derehct If ",
did not provide as good defense th'
country can furnish. In consequence II IA
authority being vested IN your Executive u
draw upon the funds for such an object. ",
must appeal to the members Of our Organiza
ton and all others whose sense Of Justice vii
inspire them TO provide the means to pay
counsel. SO far Mr. SIney has been to con
siderable personal expense, and Mr.. Park
has been giving his whole time IN connection
with the case. This they cannot at Jrd t. do
and it would be unfair for them to DO 50
they could. Hence, we now ask every lodg
and such other friends as feel like II, whethe
Of our trade or not, 20 assist US IN this emer
gency by whatever they can afford we a
not stipulate any sum We know it is a har,
time and many cannot afford to pay. Bu
4 our poverty and not our will consents
Should there he any surplus left. We sinai
properly apply 1t to some worthy purpos
that will meet the appreciation Of the donors
Hoping for an early response, We remain,
Respectfully Yours,
VIM. THOMPSON, ID. MCLAUGHLIN,
JOHN BETz, ROBERT LINN.
IHoS. LAIRD, john POLLOCK,
LOUIS JOHNSON, JoHN JAMES,
ID. II. DAVIS.
Over 80 minesr are idle at Catlin, Ill.
The men in Shenango Valley, Ohio, an,
Clay Co., Ind, still hold out.
THERE'S talk of still further reduction
Of wages in Fallbrook, Tioga, Co., Pa.
Blacklegs and negroes are swarming il
the neighborhood of Usage City, Kansas.
The miners Of Amy, Wyoming Terri
tory, are still on strike. SO are the mel
Of St. Johns, Ill.
At Shelburn, Indiana, the men ar
working two days per week. Many Of tn
bosses are behind two months pay.
Most Of the miners in the neighbOr
hood Of Shawnee, Perry Co., Ohio, ar
working, but there is no money to be oh
tanned. Store orders are all the rage.
Great excitement prevails in Cayugi
county, n. ", over the reported discover
of vein Of hard coal in the town Of Vie
tory, and additional excavations and ex
ploratiOns are to be made
The average price of SchuyIklll coal. a
Port Carbon, for June, was e. SO wage,
based on this average for June and July
1915, viii be three (3) per cent. above basi,
of 1875.
We learn with pleasure, that at large
meeting of the operators and representa-
tive men of the Mineral Ridge District,
(Mahoning Valley held on the 9TH inst.
an agreement was entered into for the reg
ulation of wages in the future The ar
rsngements are scale Of prices by which
the price per ton will rise or fall with the
selling price of coal The men feel as