The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-05-15
The Clay County Miners.

Nest of our readers will remember the
grand excursion of Clay county miners to
this city during the last campaign. They
came here under republican auspices to
see and hear Mr.. BENJAMIN HARRISON.
Their kind-hearted bosses generously
allowed them "a day off, with full pay,
and somebody paid the expenses of most
of them. When they arrived at Indian
apolis they were marched up TO University
park, where Gen. HARRISON talked sWeetly
to them. He told them that this was a
Gland OF promise" that they were well
fed, well clothed and well housed.
and had every reason to be contented
and happy; and he assured them that
their envidble condition was due to the
blessed Il per cent. tariff, and that if they
wanted TO continue in the enjoyment of
prosperity and luxury they would stand
by the tariff on election day. This was
in substance the argument of Ben HARRI-
SONS great speech" to the Clay county
miners.
The CLAY county boys returned home
duly impressed, we presume. with the
idea that all their blessing" p were
due to the republican protective tariff. A
few days later their employers gave them
an object lesson calculated to emphasize
the teachings of Ben HARRIsoN's great
speech One of the mines was closed
down, throwing several hundred miners
out of work; and, by way of explanation,
letters were printed from some of the
operators to the effect that the shut
down was necessary owing to the
depression of the iron trade; that this de-
preston was due to the tariff agitation
and that the demand for coal would only
revive when HARRISON was elected presi-
dent, and the blessed protective tariff
placed beyond peril.
The SENTINEL at the time insisted that
the tariff agitation had nothing whatever
to do with the slack demand for Clay
county coal; that it was solely due to the
substitution of natural gas and oil for the
coal by former large consumers. The
operators and the republican organs de-
nounced THE SENTINEL as a liar.
Since HARRISON was elected the CLAY
county miners have been having a hard
time. The Mills bill is dead; the ~ per
cent tariff is safe; but thousands of the
miners have been in total or partial idle
ness for months past, and the operators
are now trying to force them to accept a
reduced scale for the next six months.
The operators have nothing to say about
the tariff now. They explain that they
are compelled to pay lower wages or sus-
pend operations, because Of the COMPETE
ton of natural-gas, oil, and the coal mined
in Illinois and other states. That is to
say, they admit that THE SENTINEL told
the truth about this business during the
campaign.
The operators lied before election about
the causes of the dull market for coal !;
they are telling the truth now. But be-
fore the miners consent to accept reduc-
ton in wages they should demand that its
necessity be proved. The wages they
have been receiving are scandalouslv low.
While the companies have been paying
these low wages they have also been pay
ing their officers fancy salaries; they have
been declaring large dividends; the trans
portation companies (which are owned
and operated, to a great extent, by the
same persons who own the mines) have
been realizing generous profits from the
handling OF the coal. Decency and
humanity dictate that before asking these
underpaid and overworked miners to sub
NIT to a reduction in wages the mining
companies reduce the salaries of their
officials 30 per cent. that they suspend
their dividends, and that the transporta-
ton companies reduce their freight tariff
on coal to a rate which will barely pay the
expenses OF handling. When these things
have been done, and not before, the
operators can with reason ask the miners
TO accept a reduction in wages. The
operators can well afford to surrender
their profits for time; the m ners cannot
afford to work for less than will yield a
decent subsistence to themselves and
families, and should not be asked to do SO
except under stress OF actual necessity.