St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-05
THE WALKING DELEGATE.
How He Organized Real-Estate
and Mining Syndicate on Grape
Creek with Money Collected to
Support Idle Coal-Diggers.

HOW ne orSdniZeu Il heal-EStaCe
and Mining Syndicate on Grape
Creek with Money Collected to
support Idle Coal-Diggers.
Chicago Times
n very pathetic story of heroism and
self-sacritice has been nipped in the
bud, owing to the over inQuisitiveness
of some of the hard headed coal
miners of Illinois. About three years ago
the miners at the Grape Creek Coal COM
pany'S mines at VermiliOn county were
as happy and prosperous as the ordinary
run of mortals may hope to be. Wages
were good and promptly paid, French
kid gloves, pianos, and buStleS ceased to
be looked upon as luXurieS, but unfOrtu-
nately for the peace of mind of the inhab-
itantS of the little village a thirst for
novelty induced some of the more adj
venturOuS male spirits to import the
latest fraud in the world of labor-a
walking delegate" The usual cOnse-
quences in the shape of a strike, accom-
panied by Sheritf'S officers and militia,
followed in due course. In this instance
the imported delegate seems to have
been man who knew his business, for
not only did he succeed in provoking
the sturdy miners to throw down shovel
and pick, but his influence extended so
far that he managed to bleed from other
delivers in various parts of the state no
less a sum than $1,000 to support their
idle brethren at Grape Creek.
Meanwhile, however, many of the
latter, finding life of leisure not as
pleasant. after all, as they had fancied
1t, moved to other sections where honest
wages and honest work awaited them.
Every emigrant was given good send
off by his stubborn but thirty
ing brethren, and the moment
his house, built out of the afOre-
said S3l 900, was vacated new tenant
was found, whose want of sympathy for
the striking element was more than
compensated for by the fact of his abil-
lty and Willingness to pay rent for the
cottage owned by the committee of
strikers. In this manner, as the num-
Der OF the diSaffected dwindled their
circumstances improved, as cOntribu-
tions for their support still continued to
flow in as they did when there were 800
families to be maintained out of the
fund. Finally the long-looked-for mil
lennium promised by the smooth
tongued delegate appeared to be within
calculable distance. Less than thirty
lnVlncIble survivors of the once fOrmi-
bic body remained to maintain their
independence, collect rents for the va
Gated cottages, and divide inflowng sub
ScriptiOnS.
The revenue from the latter source
had now become prOpOrtionately so
much IN excess of the wants of the sur
vivorS that it was found practicable to
invest surplus in small coal mines, and
thus reach the first rung on the ladder
to opuience promised long ago. Three
little coal banks were purchased in this
way, and shaft was sunk to operate Oh
larger scale. Everything now looked
as rosy as could be desired, but alas for
the prosperity of the veterans, these
operations require capital, and the
sources of their donated capital began
to run dry. Miners who had enioyed a
foretaSte of the booming future in store
for those who could endure idleness be-
gan to kick when taxed each week to put
up margin of their hard earnings
toward the equipment of this miners Ell
Dorado. a general conference of walk
ing delegates was called, and a reSolu-
ton OF sympathy for the long-Suffering
miners in their heroic and self-sacrific-
ing struggle to establish scale rates"
was voted unanimously, and copies for
Warded to every labor tax collecting cen
ter. Still the hard-headed contributors
are not satisfied, and rumblings of the
distant storm are already heard. Unless
the eloquent Trainer of the sympathetic
resolution can bring evidence to show
that the "herOiSm and Self-Sacrifce" is
not another name for a scheme of Spe C.
ulatlon, something is likely to drop in
the labor camp.