The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1876-06-10
FROM CLEVELAND.
CLEVELAND. O.. May %. 1875.

men are digging coal at lower rates, and
are nearer the condition Of abject serfdom
than almost any other place in the United
States that old fallacious, and ten thOus-
and times exploded argument Of ''let us
have labor at 1--WE cents less ton, and we
will give men better work, has charm
to gull the miner. You remember the
hard fought contest there was there last
year. For eight full months the wor.men
held out against proposition to reduce
prices, and at last yielded to the pressure
Of want and the introduction Of outside
labor. From the time OF the surrender
till last April no change was sought on the
part Of the operators. The miners it seems
10 all faith in combination, and have act
ed on the principle ''of every man for him
self and all for the operation" since. They,
like too many others thought ''well we are
beaten, and the prices are as low as the
most heartless labor employer can ask us
to go, we may as well let the Union 90 by
the board and take our chances. The low
est notch has surely been touched" Thus
it seems they reasoned, or if they did not so
reason, this is the basis on which they act
ed. But, as it ever has been, and ever
will be, when men depend on others, and
not upon themselves for all their labor is
worth, they are sadly disappointed at the
results, as the following extract from
correspondence will show in this case -
Work around here (Neshannock, Mercer
Co.. is more plenty than when last wrote,
but there is less money paid for it.
Messrs. Filler & Kimberly, came to their
men, about the last of April and said to
them IF you will submit to a reduc-
ton of five cents ON the ton we will be able
to give you steady work for few months
at least; if that does not suit, however,
you may continue to work as you are do
ing and we will do the best we can for
you :" This was a very fair proposition,
the workmen thought, and they acceded to
it at once, but that was only the entering
wedge for at the first Of the month there
was sweeping reduction reduction in
earnest-all were reduced, some five cents
ton, some ten, some fifteen and some as
high as twenty-five cents, and now the talk
OF the steady work is already over, for
Scott, of Erie, who is the great coal pur-
chaser of this section, says ''he cannot sell
the coal at present prices. None of
the other banks got notice for tho reduc-
ton unless Spearman's but it was subse-
quently withdrawn for the term of a
month. How it will turn out at that
time we can only conjecture" This is
the story told the miner at every point.
''Coal cannot be sold at present prices and
to make sales we must reduce" Thus il
has been for three years and is now, and
yet after all the reductions is effected coal
cannot yet be sold. This story which the
operators tell the men is falsehood how
ever. Many times when the wages Of the
workman is bounced on, and cut down by
this plausible tale, there is no intention
on the part of their selling it to reduce in
proportion to the workingmen At Buffa-
10, the very next port to Mr. Scott, Of
Erie, the difference in the cost of coal to
the retail dealer is only ten cents ton
less this year. against the ruling rates of
last year. Last year the miners we're cut
down in wages from ten to fifteen cents a
ton to meet this. Now comes the same
old argument for a further slice. The
competition comes from the coal operators
sending coal to that market; and until the
miners turn their attention to uniting all
those points, and resisting all attempts
to lower rates at any one of them, one sec
ton will be made to cut the throat of the
other by such men as Scott Of Erie, and
neither the operators nor the miners can
help themselves. Their only remedy lies
in good substantial protective Union, for
the purpose of regulating the supply to the
demand. let the men there make one at
once if they want to save themselves.
In the Massillon region the situation is
unchanged since last advised. There, the
military have established themselves and
usurped the functions Of the civil govern
ment Of that region. The shooting Of Abe
Williams a miner there, on his own premi-
SEES, because he refused to be arrested was
high handed outrage, which, let Us hope
will be properly punished. Here is the
return of the Deputy Sheriff stating the
circumstances of the shooting as published
in the Cincinnati Gazette, which shows he
and the men who did the shooting, 10 be-
men of the mesnest type. Murder is their
proper vocation, and the Office of hangman
or assassin would be well filed BY such az
they
'Ohio VS.. Abram Williams, ct al.-Rs-
ceived this writ May 8, and calling to nv
aid forty eight men of the Mansfield Blues.
a part of the Militia of Ohio, duly called
into service on the premises to aid the
civil authorities, proceeded on May 10th,
to the house of said Williams to make his
arrest. In the effort to make such arrest.
the said Williams, resisting my authority,
was shot by one of the said Militia, assist
ing strictly under my orders, and so
wounded as to render it impracticable to
remove him from his house. By the d.
rection Of the Attorney of the State, he
was, therefore left at his house in charge
of his friends
j. P. ROACH, Sheriff,
BY W. r. BREEsE, Deputy"
Forty-eight men, and unable to make
the arrest of one man. What noble set
they must be All armed too they were,
but Williams seemed to scare them Ali.
and they must must needs shoot him. But
this 10 the statement of the Sheriff, against
which there Is another, to the effect that
Williams was approaching his own house