The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-03-09
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.


80 the Editor of the Indianapolis Journal:
Would you permit a few words from one
now personally interested in the welfare Of
the miners of Clay county. Itwould be well
for the people of Indiana to understand the
conditions under which the miners here la
Dor and the difficulties with which they have
to contend in their efforts to earn bread and
butter enough to keep soul and body to-
gether.
Digging coal is about the hardest labor per-
formed in this section Of the country, and by
far the most dangerous work The Brazil
block coal is very difficult to get out, the
veins in this district ranging from three feet
TO four feet ten inches. Our pay for digging
has been 81 per ton, there being no difference
made to correspond with the height of the
coal. The miner who has to work in the
three-foot vein works at a much greater dis
advantage than does he who operates in a
vein four feet thick or upward. Does any
body think that is fair? There are many
pay for mining it. while at the same
time those who say so may never have seen
a coal mine, and could not tell what coal
looked like unless they saw it on top of
ground Go down in the mine if YOU want
to see how and where we have to toll in total
darkness from morning till night for the
sake of making a livelihood for ourselves and
our families. Take view of the roadway
(the entries) and you will be surprised to see
what miner is compelled to lose from his
days labor. One dollar per ton would be
enough if we got pay for all we dig and send
out of our "rooms." But 1, for one, will say
emphatically that we do not get credit for all
the coal we dig. Why is it? Simply this:
On loading pit-car we may load all right
but there is almost sure to be a bad place in
the road where it jerks the car around and
causes you to lose from 100 to 500 pounds
from one small car which you load and
expect to get to the top with 1000 pounds
Besides this loss, when the car is dumping on
top into the flat standing on the scales, if
the flat is nearly full. some of your coal
is bound to jump over the side and fall to
the ground, where, of course, it lies, nobody
being present who is interested in putting it
back to be weighed and credited. When the
hosting is finished, this coal, as well as that
along the roadways down in the mine, is
cleaned up and credited to the company 1t
seems therefore, that even a child must see
how we are daily defrauded of our just dues,
Nothing has been accomplished to reform
this abuse though we have tried repeatedly
From this it will be seen why the reduce
ton OF fifteen cents per ton for mining COAL
after March l, is particularly severe. Nearly
every miner was expecting a small reduction
this spring, but we did not think that the
operators would ask as much as fifteen cents
ON the ton. At the same time the coal com
panies do not promise us work any steadier
than before. They simply say: I'VE will
pay eighty-five cents per ton-nO more-and
don't care whether you go to work or not"
Let me ask if there is a coal operator in Clay
county with from $1,000 to $25, 600 invested
who wants to see that money lying idle?
There is not one Nor is there a miner
among us who wants to work simply that his
employer may thrive on his labor. The
operators live, and so must the miners and
their families. I venture to say that not an
operator can be found who would be willing
to undertake to support his family in the
meanest manner on the highest average pay
of the miners His earnings will not exceed
from $33 to $50. This must support man,
wife and four or five children.
VIII conclude by asking the people of
Indiana to bestew their sympathy where it
belongs OF the 2, 100 miners in Clay county
1850 are willing to compromise and go back
10 work at reduction of ten cents per ton
The operators insist that the reduction must
be not less than fifteen cents per ton. Who
has the sympathy of the public-the operator
or the miner? A MINER.
BRAZIL, March 7.