Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-09-22
BLAINEs PAUPER LABOR.
He is a Stakeholder in the Hooking
Valley Mines.

Information from the Hooking Valley
mining regions that the locked-out union
miners arc being eyicted by the coal
operators syndicate, says a Columbus
(Ohio) special to the New York World. is
significant reminder that the loud pro-
fessions that James G. Blaine represents
protection and fair-pIay to workingmen
is not borne out by his practices. Some
time ago it was charged that Mr.. Blaine
was not consistent exponent of the Re-
publlcan platform, lnasmuch as he was
an employer of imported pauper contract
labOrers, and that such labor was
used in coal mines in PennsyI-
vania, West Virginia and Ohio, of
which he was and is now a part owner.
1t was further charged that Blaine & Co.
replaced American wOrkingmen with i'm
ported cheap pauper laborers because the
former would not work for so cents per
day in order to swell Mr.. Blaine's pockets
with additional profits and prostitute
themselves to the base level Of ignorant
paupers who are willing to work and live
as no decent American can or will. About
the time the above charge was made the
great lockout of union miners by the coal
mining syndicate of the Hooking coal
region was lncubating, and the result
easily fOreseen.
A sOlicitOus Ohio Republican, anxious
to conceal Mr.. Blane's completely and
interest in a movement having for its OBJ
ject the reduction of the price of miners
wages to starvation point, wrote to Mr..
Blaine in relation to the statement circu-
lated against him, and presumably in
forming him that 1t was of the utmost i'm
portance that he deny the charge for the
sake of consistency and the party, Mr.
Blaine made what has been termed an
''eXplicit denial" Meantime the lockout
came to focus, and Capital, in the form
of great monopoly. said to labor: "Aban-
don the union, and renounce all claim to
right to organize to protect yourself and
maintain your rights, or else step out. We
can hire men who are willing to work at.
starvation wages"
The miners Of the Hooking region knew
that it was a contest for existence. and
refused the ultimatum of the coal syndi-
cate. ThereupOn their places were filled
by SclaVs, Polish and Italian pauper emf
grants, imported under contract, and es-
corted into the mining regions by squads
of Pinkerton's detectives and guarded by
them while at their work. The MAIN
tenance of this armed force proved too
costly, and the monopoly tried to induce
Gov. HOadly to furnish State troops to
escort and guard their serfs, This the
are going to suspend mining and render
houseless and homeless $4,000 people.
A careful investigation disclOses the
sequel of Mr.. Blaine's 'explicit'' denial.
He has been and is now interested in Ohio
coal mines-located in the Hooking vaE-
ley. He is at this time directly or indi-
rectly interested in mines whose managers
have locked out union miners and put in
their places pauper ''scabs" at starvation
wages. He is a st0ckhOlder in one of the
largest coal companies in this State.
This company controls thousands of acres
of the best coal lands in Ohio, and by Vir-
tue of the terms of the option contracts
through which it has acquired control of
the said lands, it controls the mining right
after coal has been developed for ninety
nine years, unless it fails to take out
the coal. The company has still a big
margin of time to develop all the
coal land that has not been
opened by mines. Mr.. Blaine was one of
the original movers in the enterprise, was
one Of the three men who furnished the
money required to perfect an organiza-
ton of the company and secure its mining
properties. His name is on the stock
books of the corporation at the present
time and will also be found recorded as a
st0ckhOlder, past and present, on the
records in charge of a loan and trust COM
pany in the city of New York. He has
been in OHIO several times to attend meet
ings of the board of directors and to look
after other business interests connected
with the company. His ''eXplicit' denial
was deliberate misstatement, made by
him to cover his real character as a sor-
did, grasping and sOulless enemy of work
ingmen.