The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1884-07-26
THE MINER.
Individual and Personal.


natural birthright-the public lands Of the
co~untry-you manage the swindle by q Sing
Read the history of the California railroad
kings, Stanford, Broker, Huntington & Co,
and study carefully how, not content with
swindling the living and generations yet In
born: they swtndled their dead partner, whose
widow Is now vainly endeavoring to right his
memory and get her share Of the ''swag' or
plumber. Croker, whose palatial mansion on
Mob Hill. San Francisco. cost the snob millions,
was forced to swear he peddled apples, ORANGES
and newspapers for a living in his younger
days, yet to-day this railroad swindler is worth
oyer twenty millions. Now. I'd like to ask your
leaders can any one in this world make a
quarter of the money In a lifetime ? Well, I'm
incl ned to think that any one starting with
the capital of Checker, Jay Gould & Co, cannot
even honestly make one million in = lifetime In
any other pursuit save mining. If you want to
open a canal or irrigating ditch, you work 1t by
a ring" Start a political platform, you do it
by a ring" Elect Federal, Territorial. county
or city officials, the swlndle Is managed by a
ring"
Why should there be any objection to q
Miners Union more than to the Free Masons,
Odd Fellows, Hibernians, Knights of Pythias,
Al w.. Grand Army Of the Republic. or any
other friendly, patriotic, benevolent secret
society? There are some 80 men employed by
the Anaconda company. 1t is easy to Judge
that the other mining companies in and around
Butte have, t'ke1 as a whole, at least three
tmest that number on their pay rolls. Now, if
all these joined the Miners Union. it is needless
to add it would be the strongest society in
Montana. From the ank and file they coul6
nominate and elect all the county, Territorial
and city officials. The miners could ~lezislate
for the benefit Of Montana. Having Butte as
their headquarters, they could extend their
Iamifca ions and establish branches Of their
society iu every town and small mining camp
throughout Montana. Their strength in num-
bers would be greater than that of all the Other
secret societies in Montana combined. 1t IL,
then, the bounden duty of every working miner
TO join the Union. By so doing they will
strengthen their position, show their intelli
gence,h honor their manhood and add to their
power, health and wealth, instead OF subtract
ing from such.
Let us consider the case briefly. I wish to be
C early unde!sto I'd The editor or proprietor
VI AN ASi 0AAO Va oA0AAu u VIC ANAN
responsible for my views or opinions. write
ju t as l feel. I an liable to err, for perfection.
is not made for any of the children of humanity,
I do not wish to hurt the feelings of any one,
but l hate hypocrites and detest hypocrisy. l
told YOUR my last that it is over q score OF
years ago since l first worked on q gid field,
yet, strange as 1t my seem, from that day to
this l never worked in q mine for wages. l
was always "boss' of my own actions and owner
or part owner of the claims or mines In which l
was interested. AS the result of q varied
chequered career and my knowledge OF the
views and feelings of mining capitalists. specu-
Iators and trustees, l d say again and again to
the niue workers of Butte and elsewhere:
Boys, you: temporal salvation demands Of you
nat you all join the Miners Union, for as sure
as there is a God in Heaven, if you don't, you
will get left'-you will regret it VIII n it is too
late"
Do you believe, miners of Butte, in getting a
fair days wages for a fair days work Then
join the Union. Do you wish that all the
necessary securities for the protection of your
lines in the mines should be granted and
.uaranteed' many of which are not even
thought Of now oy a majority of the companies
or yourselves? If you do, join the Union as
SOON as you possibly can. Don't delay. Join at
once. In union you'll find your powers, your
strength, your influence.
Icou!d ask a hundred queries like the fore
going and my answers 10 all would be alike.
Join the Miners Union as soon as you can"
Aud why? Because, unquestionably, one OF he
most marked characteristics Of this age and
hour is the feeling that there is something radi
cally wrong with a state of society in which the
rich are getting richie and the poor poorer
every day. A few months ago Vanderbilt. the
stock swindler, rpent $50 600 on roses
f,r one ball, while hund eds of thousands of
people as good and as useful to society as he are
worse fed and housed than his horses, cows or
logs. Nor is it a fancy of poets and philoso- !
pliers. Intelligence and the ballot box are rem
dering those who work keen y and honestly
to what they suffer at the hands Ut
those who idle, and society will find out that
the cure Of human wretchedness does not con-
in county poor-houses and prisons as its
outlets for its inconvenient poor. The whole
system of our social fabric is out of order and
badly needs rebuilding. What does it mean? 1t
means the production of gigantic profits for q
of idlers, and the prevalence of bare
wages, or n0ne at all, for the pro
workers. If you do not wish to join
The Union" why do you not start q branch OF
the society called 1.-THE Knights Of q , or?
Their creed, as far as I can understand 1t. seems
to be al honest one. |
They hold that land-the raw material of all
Useful things-comes first; that labor, Which
evolves from it all useful things, comes next;
that as the M is the gift of God 1t carries with
no cost, either in price or rent; that, therefore,
Ill that is produced from it in minerals or 9TH
erwise b, longs to the man who has labOred to
produce it. "Give me the land" says Powderly
and l care not what laws you enact l will rem
ier them null aud void, and you and your
will be my slaves" These are words
IF great import. Shakespeare wrote Of appetites
hat grow BY what they f ed IN and of cumu-
atiye avarice which always asks for more. !
AVE travelled somewhat in Europe, Asia, Africa,
and America, in each Of the five great
of this globe, yet l confess I never OBJ
.erved anywhere poverty punished as a crime
1 struck" Montana. 1t is q disgrace to our
and legislation. In Helena I saw
men chained like oxen or dogs, compelled to
work on the streets and treated as criminals be-
.ause they were--poor. l went up to one OF
hese men, who was an honest mechanic | me,
in Oregon and afterwards in the Ceur
rAlenes, asking hin what milf 'rtune placed
him in the "chain gang" I'll never forget the
liter dependency and bitterness with which
honest, poor boi or maker, who could not
employment at his trade for over a year,
IVY My crime IS my poverty"
Great God of Heaven! is this free America?
)oes liberty exist? Has freedom fl d the land?
low dare you petty criminal ofic:a s Of Mon
aua violate thus The sacred laws of justice.
:oarity and humanity? By what authority do
,ou ares: as Migrants and confne and work as
for some thirty days houester, aye far
lonester men than your: elves; whose only
rime is that they tramp and beg for work, and
laving no money aud getting no work they
aust b 3 for .mething to eat or starve? What
.,rt OF life do Christians live In the country?
they not treat ChIist as q criminal and
i've him tnirty days for vagrancy and place
hains upon hi legs in ,ha streets of Helena if J
le were 10 appear in that city as he did when