Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-04-18
How the Widows are Taken Caro- Of In
the Coal Regions.

wilkesbasre Letter to the New York Sun,
While no organized relief societies exist among
the c0iliefs, there 10 . general system Ia vogue
which does ito work well and promptly. Every
printing ONCE In this region ID visited weekly
by persons wanting rafne tickets. These tickets
cost o. 100, and are headed "Rafle for a Cook
ing Stove" or clock. bureau, quilt, table. or
some other article Of domestic use It 10
announced that the raf1e IL for the benelt of q
widow or an injured miner, and will be held
day" The price Of the tickets lie generally 50
cents. The rattle is In charge Of a committee
whose names appear on the ticket. Take the
case Of a woman, for instance, lately made q
WIDOW: she mas oeen ieit peEniless. as miners
this, and the 100 tickets are promptly
disposed Of among the miners. who nav for
them on pay day. On that day the widow gets
$50 cash. The night of the rattle comes, and,
possibly one-fifth ofthe ticket holders assemble
A fiddler. a keg Of beer and little .shard shtuff'
form the elements OF the entertainments. The
young lads join In a dance with the iasses the
old men sup and smoke their pipes, and the old
women recount the virtues Of the deceased
miner. About midnight the rattle begins. The
names of the ticket purchasers are put into
hat and we'll shaken. Whoever secures the
prize at once turns 1t over to the beneficiary The
company breaks up happy over the good time
they have had and the kind deed they have done.
That $50 goes a long way in keeping the
shadows from the little house. 1t will sometimes
pay a whole years rent, and it only REQUIRES
one or two more rallies to keep the widows
poor larder stocked. for it must be understood
that potatoes, cabbages and meal form the
staple articles of diet in these humble homes
year Is a long time for a comely and.thrifty
woman to remain a widow at the mines no
matter how many children she may have Jim
is killed to-day, and possibly before the summer
ends, Jack, who was Jim's best friend insists
upon marrying Jim's widow. Jim's babies be-
come his. And If you 20 below the surface YOU
will find the foundation Of Jacks action to be
pure charity. 1t is matter of record that
when the terrible Avondale disaster occurred
SO many widows and helpless ones were left that
the matter of caring for the former speedily
was discussed. 1t was quickly settled by
propositions of marriage, and within a
very short time after the calamity the house.
hold of every victim was protected The same
spirit exists in every mining community to-day
and is shield against much distress Attempts
have been made from time to time to organize
mutual benefit associations among the miners
but invariably the schemes have come to grief
usually through the cupidity OF the managers
The miners unions that have been formed to re-
lieve distressed miners and the widows and
orphans of miners, have all been wrecked In the
shoals of politics. An association of the kind
was organized by Charles Parrish at the time
president of the Lehigh and Wiikesbarre Coal
Company and large owner of the cOlIeries 1t
was i'll the flush times Of several years ago His
system involved the payment of fifty cents
month by each employe into a general fund
Every miner injured in his work drew out a
stated sum for his support during his Illness
Every widow got fixed sum. as did every
orphan up toa certain age. Thousands of miners
were enrolled in this organization. For only
were the men taxed, but the company itself
contributed something For long time things
went on swimmingly. The fund increased a
great deal more readily than demands were
made upon 1T until the sum of 100000 was in
the treasury. This accumulation worried the
men, who imagined that something would hap
pen to the money. Agitation famed the fears
of the doubling into blaze Of suspicion, until
finally, against the earnest petitions of Mr.
Parrish and hosts of well-informed miners. the
demand for distribution of the fund among
the contributors became so obstinate that the
trustees turned the money over to the claim
ants Since then no other effective system has
been adopted.
Efforts have been made from time to time to
induce the miners to abandon q custom that
prevails among them. Whenever man is killed
in mine while at work, every man in the
colliery where the accident occurs stops work
Frequently 1,5O0 employees turn out and remain
out for two days. There appears to be deep
superstition that prompts this peculiar exhibit
ton OF respect for the dead