Frostburg mining journal., 1880-08-14

the laws that govern the price OF MS
labor, and has learned by experience
that working long hours will never
improve his condition. On the con-
trary the more coal he mines per day
the less he will get for his labor in
the end, for the inevitable law OF
supply and demand will regulate the
price. If the coal operators and
miners of this county would strictly
adhere to the principles of this law
it would put an end to strikes; the one
would get a fair price for his labor,
and the other the just dividends he is
entitled to. But as long as we mine
one hundred millions tons of coal and
consume only fifty millions there will
be neither a living for the one or
profits for the other. 1t is just so
much brain, bone and muscle thrown
away by the one party, and the same
of property of the other. In other
words, both parties get only the same
amount for the one hundred millions
of tons that they could have got for
fifty millions, and the consumer re-
ceiVe the benefit of that amount of
capital belonging to both parties
the miners and operators. Whenever
this is done there will be an end to
strikes.
In this connection, 1 was sorry to
see the resolutions of the Pittsburg
convention ignored, regarding the
eight-hour law. They were a step in
the right direction and ought to have
been carried out in every mining dis
trict in the country. Miners, as a
class, are too timid in carrying out
resolutions passed in conventions by
their chosen representatives for the
purpose of ameliorating their condi-
ton. The ought to act upon Horace
Greeley's advice on resumption-"ths
way to resume is just to resume"
Now, the way TO adopt the eight
hour system is just to adopt it, as you
have nothing to lose by it but every
thing to gain. Look at your brother
miner in the hard coal region at the
present day working his three days a
week, scarcely earning enough to
keep his family's souls and hodies to-
gether-starving on the promise Of
more work next month. lie ought
to know that the consumer under
stands the situation as well as either
he or the operator does. He knows
the mines are open and the miners
working only half time. and when
the promised time arrives for the
miner to work, like slave, full time,
the production will be greater than
the consumption, and he will be able
to lay in his supplies at much less
cost. But let him understand that
the miners are all working full time
and only producing so much coal and
that he can be supplied now as cheap
ly as he can be at any future time,
and he will just accept the situation
and buy what he wants, paying the
price demanded.
Let me relate a circumstance that
will explain the whole matter in a
nutshell. A friend of mine LAS been
over-working himself in a aheading for
three months. At last he lost his ap-
petite, and, Of course, his physical
powers gave way. He was advised to
call upon a celebrated German doctor
to see if he could let him know what
was his ailment. After the worthy
doctor had examined him and learn
ed that he was coal digger, he pro-
nounced his ailment to be "too much
coal digging" Now, this is the same
disease that troubles our miners both
physically and financially, and the
remedy is in their own hands without
resorting to strikes, and the sooner it
is put into practice in our soft coal
trade the better for all concerned.
The operators would soon find out
that it was more to their stockholders
interest than the one now commonly
put in use for the purpose of declar-
ing dividends, namely, purchasing
Italian liniment, Swedish ointment,
or Hungarian pills, for the purpose
of crushing down the price of labor
to enable them to declare dividends.
The price of this medicine is too ex-
pensive, as the bankrupt coal corpo-
rations of this country show. Starry