The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-12-31

condition OF mere wsgeworkers "a the miners Of
the state, and Il Is Q question which concerns the
whole state, as we'll as the employers OF these
men and the people who live in their immediate
communities, whether this condition cannot be
much improved in the near future. The najorl.
ty OF our mining population is OF foreign birth
or parentage, and, AS rule, the sons OF miners
follow the employment of their fathers. The &C
tual facilities which the great majority OF our
mining communities offer are not OF the best
grade, owing To the low state OF general intelli-
gence Of the mass, and q lack Of knowledge how
to develope schools which are OF the better class
on the parts Of the parents themselves, and the
disinclination on the part of property own.
Is absolutely necessary TO 90 through the
form Of complying with the school law. There
is general desire on the part Of the larger por.
ton to give their children better education
than they possessed and corresponding effort
on the part Of that portion TO deprive themselves
Of many bodily comforts that their children 5
minds may be disciplined, trained and educated
for the higher spheres of life; but the conditions
under which they have been born and bred, the
manner in which they earn their existence, the
habits and lack OF economic training to which
they have all their lives been accustomed, dwarf
and cripple their efforts to accomplish any very
rapid progress upward to other spheres OF life
and action. These facts are worthy Of the intel.
liycnt, consiierate attention Of all who have any
interest in the progressive development of our
state, and wherever it can be done legislation
should be shaped so as 10 remedy these evils. A
rigid enforcement OF that provision of our min
ing law which prevents the employment OF chill
dren in mines together with a compulsory edu.
cation law, would have most beneflcent effect,
although it would take time to realize its ntlu.
ence and effects. Added to these, the co opera.
ton of employers in the matter Of the establish.
ment of libraries, cooperative enterprises, the
doing away with drunkenness and the abuse OF
liquor and the generation Of a more healthful
l.tl tts.i' both atI
soon produce n marked change in the lives and
homes of this growing body of our people. The
coal mining industry is rapidly becoming a very
important one in the state; it has developed from
product of about eight hundred thousand tons
in 1860, to over six millions in 1880, and its in.
crease will he nearly doable in the next ten
wears. II behooves us, then, to study this Ques-
ton with seriousness, and build our industrial
foundations so deep and strong that we shall see
no repetition Of the scenes OF 1877 in our mining
communities. "An ounce Of prevention is
worth a pound OF cure" in industrial as we'll as
in physical disease.
This is question which is one of the most
moOted Of any which has come before us. Dur.
ing the fall and winter seasons good workman
can earn, in the Innjori'y Of mires OF the state,
from $50 to 800 per month The average earn.
iugs, however, will hardly exceed $400 the year
round; and, taken one year with another, will
not average that amount for the past ten years.
The prices paid per ton for mining vary with dif
fcrent localities from Is cents to 81 per ton. The
output during the summer months Is small, and,
excepting in manufacturing districts, or where
mine owners have contracts for supplying rail
roads with coal the product falls OFF on an aver
age about thrce-tfhs. There is general disn-
clination on the rarl OF the operators to furnish
information on these questions, and IN the alb.
sence OF any authority to compel the return Of
information, ref be statistics cannot be furnish
ed, but what have been prepared are the result
Of careful and impartial study and q desire 70
treat the question "a it deserves.