Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-09-20
Another Caiico Miner on Markham

EDITOR HERALD:-Recognizing your
valuable journal as q HERALD of true
Democracy, and the champion of the
rights Of the iaboring man, l hereby
take the liberty of addressing, through
your columns, few reasons why the
working men and more particularly the
miners Of this portion of the State
should not support Col. Ii. II. Mark
ham, the nominee Of the Republican
party TO represent the Sixth Congress.
sional District. The facts that shall
present for their consideration are in
disputable and can be substantiated by
many Of the miners, who are at present
working in this vicinity and are simply
these. That some four years ago the
said Markham. together with others Of
the like ilk. obtained control Of the
mines at Oro Grande in this county,
upon which they built a mill. Work
was progressing finely, when it occurred
to them (Mr. Markham being the head
centre and sack holder) that the miners
were receiving living and comfortable
wages and that they could force them to
work for less pay by threatening to re-
place them by hiring Chinese. The
company thinking they had the miners
under their thumb, that they would be
glad to take the pitiful sum of - so per
day and board themselves. In this they
found themselves mistaken. The miners
refused to work and in consequence
their places in the mines were filled by
the copper colored children of the
Orient, and white men were forced to
seek elsewhere for employment About
this time or shortly afterwards the rich
silver bearing lodges Of Calico began to
attract attention and the Oro Grande
Company, controlled by Mr.. Mark.
ham, succeeded at very high
rate in securing contract to reduce at
their mill large amount of ore there
being extracted from the King mine at
Calico. the owners and original discov-
erers being too poor TO erect q mill OF
their own. Here, now, the pretty work
commenced. Ore that was carefully as
sorted by experienced men would hardly
pay expenses, after being manipulated
by these honest mill-owners, who, not.
withstanding, were anxious to obtain
possession Of the mine, and succeeded in
doing SO; since which time the mines
have been the richest and most constant
paying silver mines on the coast. We
leave 1t to the public to draw their own
differences as to how this slight-of-hand
trick was performed. I. for one. am
very we'll convinced as to the manner of
1t. The next thing on the programme
Of this Milwaukee Republican Syndi-
cate, after getting control Of the mine,
was to try to bulldoze the miners Of Cal
ico and force them to work for So. so per
day. being at that time foreman in
charge Of the mine, demonstrated, and it
was Col. Markham himself that told me
to put on men at that ridiculously low
price, he saying that there were plenty
of broken, idle men in the camp who
would Jump at the chance to work at
any price, and that he had consulted
with the Superintendent of the Oriental
mines and mill and that they had agreed
to cut wages as he proposed doing, all
of which was pronounced false by said
Superintendents and was verified in
few days afterward by the Oriental Com
pany putting on large force Of men on
outside work, building wagon road, at
50 per day. Mr.. Markham, notwith.
standing my remonstrance, told me to
put on men If / could get them for
g. so; that he expected the men would
kick, but not to put them to work until
after he left town on the next day, no
doubt fearing that he would come in for
q good share of the kicking. Verify, the
gallant hero of so many battle fields
must have left his valor in some cast-off
pair of old army shoes.
These matters being brought to the
notice Of the original owners, who still
reserved portion Of the property, and
who, not wishing their good names be-
smirched by so foul an act of injustice.
orders were received from them to i'm
mediately put to work large force of
men at three and a-half dollars per day,
which l did. Now, Mr.. Editor, and
fellow miners, these are the reasons,
land they are facts that / defy Mr..
Markham to dispute, why the miners of
this portion of the country will not sup
port the nominee Of the great God and
morality party for Congress. The Dem
ocrats, and their name Is legion. are well
satisfied that in Mr.. Del Vale they have
q man who, If elected. will be a true and
staunch friend to labor. A man who
will stand up for the right of his fellow
citizens at home and abroad; n man who
will stoop to no low.down political de-
ceptions, one who will opposed corporate
monopoly and ever sustain unsullied the
principles of the Democratic party. If
the whole country were as well united as
are we of the Desert mining community
an unheard of Democratic majority
would be the grand result, and dishon-
esty, misrule and>the Republican party
be swept as If by a cylone from the face
of our glorious republic.
SAM'L JAMES.
San Bernardino, Sept. l6.
San Francisco Examisaer please copy.