The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-08-11
CORPORATION GREED EXPOSED.
Men With Families Earning Four
Dollars a Week.
S AID DESTITUTION.
Fifty Of the Scranton Vigilants
Released on Bail.
KANAWHA CoLIIERIES lille.
PENNSYLVANIA.

PENNSYLVANIA.
THE MINERS OF THE SCRANTON REoIoN STATE
rHEIH GRIEVANCES TO THE HERALD-MININo
REDUCED TO sLAvERY-oREAT DANGERS AND
MISERABLE PAY-cAPrrAL CRUSHING THE La
BoREB--wHY THE COMPANIES HOLD CUT.
SCRANTON Pa, August TO- 1877
In nne, large lodge room, situated tho iourih
floor OF stone building hydo Park the great min
ing suburb OF this CITY, yonr correspondent this
ing with about ono hundred representative Of
the miners aborcrs aud engineers oil that ncighbor
hood who now out on strike. The meeting had
boon discussing some private matters. but won't into
Committee OF the " hole and permitted your corre-
spondent to enter. Tho mon nearly all Of
the best possible class OF workingnen. Most
of them English, Scotch Irish and
Welsh, with but fcw native born Americans. Well,
behaved, exceedingly we'll spoken and bearing them.
selves in debate in a manner most surprising, they
would have been taken for coal miners by those
who have ideal OF poor, worthless wretch whose
work Of taking out the black diamonds from the
bowels OF utterly unified him Tor civilization
above ground.
APPEALING TO THE HERALD JUSTICE.
They extremely anxious 10 be properly under
stood by the people NJ large, and had lew complaints
OF the manner in which certain newspapers had mis-
represented them, but they trusted that had
An opportunity, when, through the columns OF the
HERALD, they could make plain statement OF facts
md be better understood than they have becn With
she DESIRE therefore. to anord them this opportunity
have carefully taken down their statements and when,
opportunity has permitted have verified the
same by inquiries elsewhere and believe them 10 DO
correct
AN EXCESS OF POPULATION.
Ono OF the primary OF the present troubles in
the coal regions is tho of the mining population
beyond the legitimate demand for their In
the flush OF 1870 aud 1871 when wages good
and coal great demand every miner and laborer
the old country well as this encouraged
TO the coal regions The miners hero aided their
relatives and friends elsewhere to get here and the
excess OF the mining population soon began to be felt
But the wages were so good that the men scarcely
cared whether they worked three four days the
whole week, many Of them preierring to put
IN short time, having earned sufficient thereby
to pay their expenses aud have fair
over. But the shrnkage OF the coal demand and the
large supplies already stored at the coal depots
the market gradually began 10 be ieit among the
miners and those who before were enabled TO live well
four days. work out OF the SIX work
full time 30 that they might thus be compensated for
the reduction In The wages which had come them
three instruments Tnen II became plain there
many men TO do the work required. When that
discovered by the themselves but few OF them
had the funds TO take them back The old country
10 other places and there general dsncInat
10 go and other labor II II could lie
found Tor tncm. AS oil the men SAID day.
there arc enough men connected with the mines of
the valleys OF the Lackawanna anu the ykill
10 not only mine all the coal that the New York mar.
ket Demands but also to wheel 1t IN whccbarrows IRON
the mines 10 the docks opposite New York. TINS may
Seem prcposterous statement, but It's truth Is not
doubted here
REDUCTION IN WAGES
In January, 1875, the miners were reduced ten per
cent upon the sum before then paid 70 them for mining
OF coal TINS repeated year ago, and
last March third reduction Of fifteen per cent
that the miner nov receives but sxtysx cents for
each car load no mines. These cars contain about
two tons Of coal as u is mined, but after
IT has passed through the breakers there must
DO left least $500 lbs. Of clean mer-
chantaOle coal. In former days the breakers used
but roller 10 crush the COIL but to-day they have
three, ana there is consequently great loss coal
dust which mukt fall upou tie miner. Where they
used TO top their cars about SIX inches to makeup Tor
the loss, now they have to put from twelve 10 nf
teen Inches, when requires Just SO much more labor
OF powder, &c. The dockage question Is also a
grcvous and much complained OF AT the mouth
Df the mine stands foreman, known as the 'dock-
age bose whose sharp eye detects IN u moment
the OF slate among The coal Ifhe that
car is locked Just one half contents SO that the
finds when ne returns 10 the surface that he has
lost third To onehali the fruits OF his
cause there was slate IN his coal. Thus II ia 70
the interests OF the companies to squeeze by
this as they thereby bave much coal aken
out that costs them nothing Tue men do not person
aiiy blame the dockago bosses for tns they
that the competition amcug the companies TO get the
most clean coal out of the least number OF cars is
dockage dock which otherwise would not
be touched. These head men come the
Gockagc bosses and charge them win bsng careless
docking SO that large quantity OF slate has to be
pitcned out They then look the dockagc book and
II cannot show that he has docked pro-
portion OF he accused of partialty the
and looses his situation, is else told do
better Tor the interests OF his employers.
QUESTION
The public learns that the at half work,
and they suppose that 10 means balf time halt pay.
But TO the miner IL means very much worse than that,
Tor very often quarter work quarter pay.
al miners and laborers belong 10 certain mines aud
can work in none other. Wncn half work ordered
the told oil in pairs one to work thus week
and the other next. But when each mine works It's
only allowed three-guarter time; so that
reality, they only get the chance work two
weeks out of the four, and thrce-quartcrs
OF each day for tho two weeks allotted to
them. Then all losses, dctcntions and breakagcs
must out o. that Lime. that Tho
two weeks often dwindio down TO just SIX days
iui ssh the cou breaker needs repairs,
hump gives out somo other delay occurs the loss
Is ielt ny the miners and the forced 70 stay
Idle until all lie ready again
BiLL--pooR
As sample OF what the miner earns, after
Ing all these bindraDces. give fac-simile OF due
bill from of the Two large corporations here
miner. IL rs ono OF twenty chat shown me and is
rather better than the majority OF the others,
about a iair average
Yulyro mining 1o5s of coal ~ Sc Ss3 80
Deduct-
Three kegs powder at 81 JO................-x7 80
Two gallons oil ~ yUc. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. | 20
Snithing. 10
fick handles soap. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 50