Milford chronicle., 1888-02-03
(FOr the oHRoSIoLE)

did through the countTy-and how much
poetry Of motion there was in the graceful
galIop Of the leaders and the stately trot Of
the wheel horses, as the stage from Dover
rolled up to the Milford Hotel. There was
music in the crack of the drivers whip and
the blast of his bugle horn,as he drove up to
the postofice Of ''ye olden time" and care
lessly deposited the mail bags and proudly
exchanged salutations with the waiting
crowd. There was thrift and joyous life
then, and not half the noise Of the bluster-
ing trains Of to-day. Prescott, I believe,
truly says. ''nor wit nor wisdom, is to be
measured by the yard like brOadcloth.
The present generation can have no ade-
quate idea Of the real happiness that existed
in the rural districts and country towns forty
and fifty years ago. When boy, up in the
shadows Of the Green Mountains there was
no one thing that gave me more pleasure
than the mail coach rattling over the stony
street fthere was one man who completely
captivated my childish aspirations, and who
seemed to occupy the proudest summit at
taiuable in this life twas the man who was
to all the children dear, admired, and he
drove the stage from year to year.
THE distant wheels roll up the street,
A horn sounds on the hill:
Out springs the farmer from his wheat,
The miller from his mill.
The White.haired dame lays by her fax,
The blackumith'e ore grows pale,
The cohber leaves his bench and wax.
And John throws down his nail."
For twelvemouIn or more, have been
among the iron and coal miners in Pennsyl-
vania, many of whom are now on Strike"
and am often asked about the present and
prospective condition of those brave men
who spend one-half Of their lives down deep
in damp dark and noisome chambers of the
earth, which their own hands have wrought.
No one but a miner can enumerate one-half
of the real hardship, positive dangers and
hairbreadth escapes that he suffers and must
submit to, in order that he may feed and
clothe and house his family. It is not an
easy Job for a common laborer, at any busi-
ness, to support a family of Eve or tet-and
miners are usually blessed with large fami-
lies. Ifhe can work every day or night-shift,
and loses no time on account Of sickness or
accidents, "such as "cave ms" or other
mishaps, which are occurring almost every
day, he can make from $75.oo to $500 per
month, and sometimes more. An old miner
told me that he went down the slope every
morning with his shroud or, meaning that
he was not liable to come out alive. if at all.
For, said he, / went into the mines when
eight years old as a mule-driver, and have
never done any work but mining. have
seen scores of my fellow-workmen buried
deep in rubbish and coal. and have helped |
to dig out many of them, but very few were
rescued alive. While in Shenandoah last |
winter. quite an extensive ''cave in" hap |
pened there-the most destructive that has |
ever occurred in the Schuylkill region. Some
Eve or six acres on West Coal-st, on which |
were about seventy houses, suddenly sank
frsm two to six feet, wrecking most of them,
or rendering them unsafe for habitation.
Loud reports like distant thunder were
heard about midnight, followed by the swing
ing of doors, shattering Of windows, and
rocking motion of the houses. Almost every
house in that section was twisted out Of
shape or badly broken up. The people
rushed from their tottering homes stricken
with terror, fleeing with their half-clad chill
dren to places Of safety. An alarm was
sounded throughout the city, and although
the mercury was down to zero, hundreds
soon gathered. Houses and barns were de-
lected into every conceivable shape. The
buildings were mostly owned by poor peo-
pie, who had worked and saved and gone
without many comforts for the sake of hav-
ing home of their own; and grief for the
loss, and despair for the future, were de.
picted in their blanched aud terror-strieken
faces Ipassed over the wrecked neighbor-
hood, and examined the riffs in the ground
and houses rendered Yalueless by this arti-
fetal earthquake. and saw reign Of terror
and extreme wretchedness.
The 'cave in" was caused by the Iobbing
Of pillars in one Of the Pennsylvania and
Reading collieries. A good portion of the
earth under Shenandoah is honey-combed
by miners, shafts and drifts. While view
ing these ruined homes, that grand old hymn
came forcibiy to mind ,
"On Christ the solid Ro,k, STAND,
All other ground is sinking sand"
Yes give me the rock.
A few words to the Knights of Labor
among the striking miners and railroad en-
ployees, aud 1 am done No man of COM {
mon sense will deny that there is a real dig 1
iity in honest labor. All who earn their
bread by honorable industry deserve success.
FOO often the knights of Labor are con-
rolled by men who have nothing to lose and
everything to gain; whose iudiscreet actions
hinder instead of advancing even a good
;ause. They are not calculated to give wise
,ouncii, and much less lead labor against
,apital successfully. If those who are dis
rect, could manage without the outside and
inwise pressure Of hot-heads, then would be
yreateT hopes Of that success which they de-
erve. Old King Coal and capitalists gem
rally, are not only shrewd and cool-headed,
md hence not apt to run into extremes but
isuaily wait for their opponents to commit
ONE indiscretion, which they are sure to
void. Austin corbin never loses his mem
al balance, and is therefore well calculated
o lead the crusade Of the Black Diamonds
gainst even organized labor and the right
Gus demands Of men whose cause is just.
Some Of our grandsires fed their focks on
he Crampian hills two hundred years sgo,
Ghiie other sires fthe same time were dress
az their vineyards amid the vine covered
ills aud gay regions of I.a-Belle France; but
hey and their descendants have always be-
eved that in the battle Of lifa 'srhere is
ease in Truth, aud Charity itself fulflls the
w. DE VILE. ct
III
&C
Do you have dyspeptic troubiesl Take VI
Iood's Sarsaparilla, which has relieved thou IN