Frostburg mining journal., 1880-07-03
"COMPANY STORES" AND THE
"CURRENT MONEY ACT"

| Cumberland last week, ana a IlaBerS-
town lawyer made great impression
on the Court by ending up with per-
oration, or something like that. He
said that the law allowed medicine,
fuel, rent, and smithingto to be paid for,
but not for coffin or other burial ex-
penses. Now that's all CANNON, for
people have died and been success
fully buried under a worse system
than the law proposes to establish.
Suppose the man who had the hand
ling of $2.40 of his own money in 10
months had died while he was hand
ling it, who would have buried him
The company store? Not bit of it,
unless he happened to be so far ahead
of his account that the store Wou2d
hare to disgorge the cash balance due
to him. But that would be rare
case, except with few who have
enough to meet funeral opportunities.
Mr.. Syester is smart man and
knows how to put his case in the best
Light; he missed it big though when
he argued that the law was no bene-
fit to the miner NOT much either, for
that was what he was hired to argue
by men who have no more sympathy
for miners than they have for horses
by men who feel badly hurt when
their business is hurt by strike--by
men who think miners should take
what the companies offer, SO business
can 60 on / Now, if miners had hired
Mr.. Syester to say that, then there
would be something in it, but they
didn't hire him and not a single min
er's volce was represented in his elo-
qifent sophistry. Who, then, were
represented? Mr.. Syester's clients.
Who are his clients2 Miners ? No.
Who then2 Company store people.
What right have they to plead for
miners? Who gave them dominion
over our wants ? What interest have
they in US at this time that they
should become so tender? What
woes Of ours have just now touched
their bleeding hearts? Have they at
length set about to be philanthropists
to make the mining world happy ?
And did it require the passage of a
law, Objectionable only to Themselves, to
bring them to sense of their duty to
their oppressed fellow-men
0, happy they who happy make
Who, blessing others, themselves are
most blest
Who always spare for others sake,
Because such sparing pays the best /"
Sterne, an English author, once
wrote
So quickly sometimes has the wheel of
fortune turned round that many Il man
has himself enjoyed the full benefit of
charities and sympathlzing beneyolences
which his Oocn piety projected.
If he had had our tenants and land
lords in full view he could not have
struck these worthless finer. That
men, to gain big bonus. should plead
their case on the score Of suffering
miners, is only equal to the landlords
who wanted no plea to make. This
shrewd job, this willy conspiracy be-
tween tenant and landlord, is one of
the smartegt things ever put up; now
add to it the plea that it is the inter
est of the miners, and you have the
coolest piece of benevolence ever en-
acted. If it was horse they were
after under such false pretenses many
folks would think it was larceny.
But as it is only Judgment of the
court against the law that they are
trying to steal, it does not appear so
outrageous.
Now for a Cumberland lawyer. A
learned young man made the powerful
assertion that "the Legislature had no
right to pass a law at the behest Of a
foreign-born Irishman and an apostate
jew" Who he referred to does not
matter, but he thinks great mistake
was made in not getting an Irishman
born in America, and an out-and-out
Jew to attend the bill at Annapolis.
1t is supposed that this young man
requires Irishmen to be born in Amer
lea to make law constitutional, but
a Jew may be born in Ireland with
impunity, SO he don't fall from grace.
The validity of the law is hereby put
to a test which has not been seen in
the books The Irishman has no dis.
| cretion about being born, and the Jew
none about changing his faith. What