The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1884-08-07

THE STORY OF ONE s'HENRY RICHARDS
SHOWN TO HAVE no FOUNDATION.

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SHOWN TO HAVE NO FOUNDATION.
The Neac York World on Tuesday printed
cOnspicu0uSly Il long interview with one
Henry Richards. in which a number of
falseh0ods We're told about the treatment
of workmen in coal and iron mines and on
railroads in Pennsylvania and West Vir-
ginia in which that Mr.. Richards and
Mr.. Blaine was largely interested.
E. w. S. Moore. the manager OF the
Baltimore office of the West Virginia Cen
found at the Rossmore Hotel yesterday by
Tribune reporter. He was asked if he
knew Mr.. Richards, the so-called miner
and laboring man whose talk was published
by The World. His reply was that he had
never heard of him till he read his re-
markable statements in The World. 'sIn
the first place. said Mr.. Moore, 1.-The coal
mines of our railroad company, located at
Elk Garden. West Virginia, have an out
put of about 1000 tons a day. There is
not a Hungarian, a Scandinavian or an
Italian employed in them. The company
pays fifty cents a ton for mining its coal
in the drifts and sixty cents a ton for
driving headings. | have recently made
up the statistics of the miners wages for
the president of the company, ex-senator
the miners average over 800 month and
not unfrequently some of the miners make
over $500 month. At Elk Garden the
miners have better cottages than any other
miners in the world. They have school
houses and churches and are intelligent,
sober and thrifty people. The company
pays cash and runs no stores.
Moreover the president, the majority
of the directors. and the manager of the
mines are prominent Democrats. Henry
G. Davis is president the directors are
Senators J. N. Camden, Arthur P. Cor
man, ex-Senators W. II. Barnum and HI.
G.. Davis, Thomas B. Davis, Alexander
Shaw, and John A. HambletOn, all Demo-
Gratis; and James G.. Blaine and S. b.
Elkins, Republicans. The managing d.
rector is Arthur p German. Mr.. German
is chairman of the Democratic Congress
sional Committee and Mr.. Barnum is chair
man of the Democratic National Com
mittee.o
Mr.. Blaine owns coal lands in Western
Pennsylvania, but no mines are operated
on this property The surface and coal
were purchased by Mr.. Blaine twenty
years ago, and he showed his business fore
sight in making the purchases. The value
of the coal has more than quadrupled.
The surface is mostly good farming land
and for agricultural purposes pays reason
able interest on the investment. In his
individual capacity Mr.. Blaine employs no
miners, and his only connection with the
mines is his interest in those of the West
Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railroad
Company-a concern managed by some OF
the most prominent Democrats in the
country.
Mr.. Hendricks, Judge Thurm an and the
Democrats generally, still insist that the
issue in the present campaign shall be re-
form. Mr.. Hendricks uncovers the mo-
tive and purposes of his party by explain
ing what reform means. 1t is to turn
out 200, 900 experienced ofice-holders who
vote the Republican ticket, and turn in
100000 hungry Democrats, who. have never
been tested, and whose qualifications are
unknown. Mr.. Hendricks takes up sin
gle case of misfeasance in Office and bases
his demand on that. as though it were ex-
pected, so long as humanity is as it is, NOR
al perfection should prevail in the Office
holding class. If case, now and then. of
criminal abuse of trust and confidence
occurs with an experienced corps Of Off
GERS. how much more would the trust be
abused with similar number of raw. I'M
skilled and untried officers Until the
millennium dawns we may expect occasion
al defalcations in the administration of
government 1t has been so ever since
government was instituted, whether in
this or any other country, and it willecon-
tinue to be so until the crack of DOOM
Certainly, however, this country will never
look to the Democratic party to better
that condition. Its past history in
State and Nation presents no proof to JUS
tify the claim that it is party Of Re
form,n except in Mr.. Hendricks under
standing, to put its own partizanism in place
regardless of fitness. The Reform" cry
is convenient deception to call attention
from the utter want of principle in the
Democratic party-its treachery to the
rights of the people, the sanctities of law
and the guarantees of the Constitution
the absence of any defined administrative
policy looking to the welfare of the peo-
pie or the progress and prosperity of the
country.