The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-06-13
OPERATORS AND STRIKERS
Both Claim They Have Made No Money
in Working in Clay County Coal.
Wages That Some Miners Earn Put Them Be-
yond All Danger Of Want-The Disturbing
Politician and His Selfish Motives.
from a STAFF Correspondent of the Journal.

From a STAFF Correspondent of the Journal.
BRAZIL, June 12.-Both miners and oper-
ators in the Clay county block-coal region
say that neither has been making money.
This does not mean that the operators adj
NIT the miners claim that the latter nave
been unable to save anything on the wages
paid. nor must it be accepted as a miners
Endorsement of the operators statement
that there is no money in Clay county coal.
The miners, of course, say there is no profit
able return in it for them, and the oper-
ators assert that investments after invest
ments have been lost in the coal. about
two years ago." said a citizen of Brazil,
"the syndicate, as we call it, or the Brazil
Block-coal Company, as is its business
title, began to see a profit In
its property. That has passed, how
ever, and the company is to be
rated along with the others as a non-divi-
dend bearing investment All in all, there
has been more money lost in the mines here
han has been made. The cost of mining IS
no little thing when you get down to the
details of the list of expenditures. Here
are some of them, beginning with the pay
of miners. After that come the day labor
ers. who get a wage equal to the price OF
mining two and one-half tons of coal. Thus
if a miner is paid 80 cents a ton, the laborer
gets $2.25 a day, or, at IS cents, 81. Then
come the clericalforce, mine timbers, T-iron,
royalty, wages of engineers, bank bosses.
mules and the cost of keeping them.
along with many other expenses, until
A. tho
market is not less than $1.35 or S1.4O.
competition. before natural gas and crude
oil ran it out of a first-class Market
That is the way the operator talks, and
the miner, questioning the accuracy OF the
statement, In return says that he cannot
make money at 80 cents. That. assertion
the operator meets with disbelief, and in
proof claims that with 80 cents a ton, or at
50, or even at the price now offered, 40 and
20 cents, summer and winter rates, he can
live well and save money if he is so in
clined. But the walking delegate who: in
this case, the political pettifOgger has
s~upplanted, wants the world to look at the
novels miners occupy, even when they get
80 cents. Driving into BenwOOd, the district
in which it is claimed the suffering
exists. one sees a row of cottages which
would command a rent in this city OF S12 to
S15 a month. Each cottage has four rooms
and a gOod-siZe yard. This cottage costs the
ullutT DO IL IUOltu Wutu ut Is ytttiuY Ufutly
cents and S. when he has the e~ighty-ive.
cents rate. But there is the second class of
houses, not so good, but comfortable. for
which the miner pays. only 81 a month.
One of the third class of houses costs him
for rent s. a month. 1t is the i~mprOvident
miners content TO earn enough to buy good
food, comfortable clothing. and a
shelter in one of the three-d0llar ihOuses.
There are others who work longer and get
,,o,, ~ ~, flo onrrarafa hrrf vat do mot
care to keep pace with those who utilize
every hour they can in the mines. 1t IS the
latter who own their homes, or are able to
pay the So rent, and put In those houses
does not work steadily. cannot get. The
work is there if he is willing to make use
of it, and some do so only to the extent of
obtaining money for the barest needs.
1t is upon the complaints of this class
that senator Byrd bases his statement that
many miners have not, at 30 cents, made
more than S. per week. He would have
the world believe that all miners in
the block-cOal region are reduced to such
meager pay. But the payroll of one of the
the Senator's statement. When last years
prices for mining prevailed this payroll
shows that the average earned by each
miner was $40, at IS cents a ton. In run
ming down the list of names one can find
where many earned SIS per week. and as
many more $40, while Others. working only
a short time, and laying off much longer,
got from S1.50 upward to s.. Sc and 81 per
were content to see Others getting ex-
cellent wages turned over to them
every two weeks. For instance, a
cOlOred miner with the Jackson
company, at 50 cents a ton, earned IN two
weeks $500, OF $3.50 a week. After No
vember /. last year, when the 90 cents or
winter rate took effect, he drew for his
work during the first two weeks $65.49; the
next two weeks he got S5S.51, and for the
two weeks ending December 10, was paid
S69.7 70, or at the rate of S34.S5 a week. But
there is a white miner who did better.
During the last two weeks for the summer
rate. SIS cents, he was so industrious that he
got ST. for his labor. When he was paid
the first, Sss.a7 for the second, and
$3.50 for the last two weeks of the
time from which these figures are
taken. That brought him up to Dec. 10.
and the 80 cents was in force until May /,
this year. 1t was on this last date that. a
number of miners outvOting the more con-
sentative, struck, because the operators
offered only 20 and. 20 as the summer and
winter rates. The mel who made the high
est wages went into the mines at z O'Clock
in the morning, and remained there until
6 o'clock in the evening. Those who are
content with less work, but want more
wages, began work at 9 o'clock in the
morning and quit at 3 o'clock in the
afternoon. Their is another class who,
after digging their two carloads q day.
will do no more. At seventy cents a ton
the industrious can average about S2.25 per
day and the others SITS.
Out of this come those conditions that
prompt politicians to falsely represent that
the whole block-coal region is one of
wretchedness. The woe and starvation are
only to be found in the imaginations of re-
porters supplied with false statements by
those who wish to use the
strike to promote their political ends.
AS an example of what such infiu-
ences do, a correspondent of the
Cincinnati Enquirer told to-day in his
paper a narrowing tale. 1t was a chapter
on want and suffering wholly without
parallel in modern times. An evening
paper here says: HE 1.-THE Enquirer CORE
spondent) said privately to a gentleman of
this place that he believes the situation to
be badly oy~erestimated. He said he found
the greater portion of the miners in good
condition. possessing property of their own,
good gardens, and COWS, and pigs enough
to keep them from starvation for many
days"
1t is not probable that the men will be
out of work much longer. as there is a dis
position on the part of the operators to
cOncede the one point upon which there Is
any particular difference. When negOtia-
tiOns were broken off. the operators retiring
with the ultimatum that they could not
pay more than 20 and 70 cents, the miners
asked. if thew accented that rate they