St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-03-02
THE COAL MINERS.
They Must Submit to the Terms
ofthe Lehigh Company.


PHILADELPHIA. March 1.-SOme of
the former employees of the Lehigh
Coal IL Navigation company, having re-
queSted from the officials a statement of
the terms upon which work will be re-
sumed at the mines, the following
reply, signed by President j. S. Harris,
was issued to-day and will be posted at
the cOmpany'S mines: THE Iehigh
Coal & Navigation company is asked
by certain men who desire employment
to state upon what conditions it will re-
sumo work at It's collerieS. 1t answers
that owing to the long suspension of
mining 1t cannot at once produce coal
on as large scale as heretofore. or en-
plOy as many men, but it is willing to
get its mines ready to resume work and
to give employment to men and boys as
fast as it can prOftably do so. 1t will
employ any persons who may be Sutfi-
GENTLY skilled in the various branches
of work to be done without regard to
whether they may heretofore have been
in its service or not, retaining, of
course, such persons as are now at
work, III their present positions, so long
as their services shall be satisfactory
to the company. 1t has no feelings in
regard to the great majority of men who
were formerly in its employ except
those of sorrow that they were misled
and OF sympathy for the sulferings of
themselves and their wives and chill
dren. and will be glad TO see them again
at work. But it will not promise en-
ployment TO persons who in the past
have abused the positions held by them,
to create diSSenSion between the com
pany and its WOrkmen, or who may
Ia, ~ 10, Il l. -.
lcnce, or Intimidation towards those
who desired to work. 1t realizes that
such diStur6erS have heretofore done
their utmost to injure it and its work
men, and that they will probably do so
again if opportunity shall be given
them. The company expects to con-
tinue its accustomed course of justice
and kindness, knowing that this is a
righteous thing to do. and trusting that
in due time its workmen will come to
see that they have no better friends
than their employers. 1t will, as in the
past, consider questions of compensa-
ton that may be presented to it by it's
employees, and will still make proper
allowances when exceptionally diff
ticult work shall call for tenn
pOrary special relief in contract
ID ties. But the experience of eleven
years SHOWS ludG IL cd1nOC possibly give
its WOrkmen larger share of the
money realized from sales of coal, for
after deducting from this sum the small
royalty of 10 cents per ton on all coal
larger than buckwheat coal, and the
actual depreciation in value of its i'm
provements from decay of the structures
and exhaustion of the mine openings, it
has not in the best year since it resumed
control of its mines in 1877 made profit
Of 2213 cents per ton, ana in the worst
year it paid all that remained for wages
and supplies and made no profit al all.
1t therefore cannot afford to, and it will
not, change the basis of wages nor the
rules by which the compensation of its
inside men is deducted from the price
at which Lehigh coal may sell from
time to time at Port Johnston and Eliz-
abethport. Although the return for its
large investment in coal lands and coal
Improvements is not such as it is fairly
entitled to receive, it is willing for the
present to continue its operations with
out insisting that the rates of payment
for labor shall be reduced, but finds it
entirely impossible to increase them.
j. S. HARRIS, President"