Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-01-14

IL Is not pleasant position In which President
Corbin nnds himself at present. Thousands of
men, women and children are dependent for their
daily bread, clothing and shelter upon pittance
earned In the mines and breakers OF the Reading
company. That pitTance It rests with Mr.. Corbin
TO continue or withhold. All the arguments he
can frame To prove the justice OF his course and
the Injustice Of theirs does not and cannot alter
this central fact. II there shall be winter OF In
tense suffering In the Schuylkill valley, the suffer-
era at least. and all who sympcthize with them
Will hold the president OF tho Reading COMPANY
responsible; for it would have needed but word
from him 10 have set the machinery OF the mines
IN motion again, and he has assumed to say that
the establishment OF a precedent is OF more i'm
pOrtance than the lives and comfort OF An army of
working people
This Is the place 10 discuss the moral features
OF the strike. Perhaps both parties had grievance
Of equal magnitude, or perhaps one was alto
Sther In th3 night and the other altogether In the
wrong. In eithercase, II they had only themselves
10 consider Il might be desirable 70 let them fight
the matter out between them to a finish. There
arr, however. many others who deserve eonsidera-
ton The mill-haDds who cannot work. and there
fore cannot support themselves In comfort be-
cause their employers are unable to procure the
coal 10 keep their furnaces In blast are one class
Affected by the strike without taking any part In
IL The Inhabitants OF the great cities where Read
ing coal forIas part of the yearly supply are an
other class 50 affected They will, for several
months at least, have t0pty one or two dollars
ton, perhaps even more, above the prices for nuel
on which they had calculated their winters outlay
All the staples Of life in whose preparation coal is
consumed viii become temporarily dearer through
the stringehcy in the market. Every community
between Boston harbOr and Cape Charles, and
every individual In EACH viii feel the effect OF the
Reading strike 10 greater or less degree and with
more or less directness; and experience with past
affairs OF this kind indicates that public sentiment
viii generally side with the many as against the
one, without reference to the question which party
port
The most hopeful sign in the situation as now
developed Is the manifest diyOrcement OF the mi
ners from the railrOaders strike. As lang as they
appeared TO be indissOluble IL was plaiu that no
terms could be made with Mr. COrbin He Is a
stubborn man, and irrevOcably committed not to
compromise with the railroad strikers He has never
placed himself In such position with respect To
the miners. however and the way is open behind
him for retreat II neceSsary-nOt glOriox per
haps, but discreet, and In Difference to a widely
expressed wish on the part Of his fellow citizens.
The appeal which Is 10 be addressed to him by the
Reading Board OF Trade will afford him an oppor
UNITY for gracefully bending to the popular Will
IL he Will receive II In the right spirit and agree TO
meet the miners halfway, he will accomplish
more for his own reputation and the publics con-
fort than by holding out for a principle which
grows, 10 the eye OF the cOal-consuIning world
more and more microscopic With the advent OF
every cold wave