Workmen's advocate., 1889-06-29
STARVING RIGHT HERE.
Coal Miners in BraidwOOd Strike and
 Suffer.

The great strike of the coal miners in Germany, affecting, as it does, thous- .ands of families, as well as business in- terests in other countries. has led the workers, where organized, in all civil zed countries to send aid to the poor families of the strikers. But we can show that the miners of monarchcal Germany are only on par with some of our own Sovereign" citizens when they attempt to go contrary to the will of Capital. Thus we shall record a condition of affairs in Braidwood, Hi nois, which was written for and pub lished unblushingly by capitalist pa per in New York. Two months ago, before the strike, Braidwood had a pop. ulation of about 5000, all dependent di- rectly or indirectly upon the mines. To-day not an ounce of coal is being mined, and the awful blight of famine is upon the little city.
 Three weeks ago committee consist ing of two representatives of each na- tionality was appointed to take care of the distressed. This committee has had it's hands more than full ever since its appointment. The population of Braidwood is heterogeneous one, con- prising persons of all nationalties. Of the 1,242 heads of families employed in the mines there are 300 English, Scotch, Irish and Americans, the last named being few in proportion. There are about 100 colored men, 300 Italians and 150 Bohemians and Poles. As iS the case in most industrial communities, the families are large. Of thirty appli- oants for aid to-day the average num- Der in a family was six. The single men have pulled up stakes and quit, and the town is face to face with an economic problem far beyond its power to grapple with.
 Pitiful stories of the destitution there are told. In one house reporter found Scotch family of ten absolutely with out food of any kind. The father is a steady hard-working man. There was not in the little cottage scrap of stuff upon which dollar could be realized. rough cradle. Between her tears the mother with reluctance born of stub- born pride of her race, told her miser- able story. She had eight children, the youngest being the sick baby. A char itable doctor had attended the child, but the necessary medicine for the little one could not be obtained any longer. The druggists had shut down on any further credit
 In another house was found a family of ten, m which the conditions were similar, except that none were suffering from illness. The man of the house in this case was a German who formerly worked in the mines, but became inca pacitated by ill health and has since gained living by peddling. He rents a small cottage with a considerable gar den, and the latter furnishes the sole supply for his family Asked as to how they lived, he said: "We have potatoes and lettuce. In the morning the chil. dren have some bread and go to school They do not come home to dinner, and at night they have lettuce and bread. Soon the potatoes will be good, and then they will have plenty"
 Don't you have any meat ?"
 "We have not had any meat since New Years. We have no money. pay $5 month for this place, and it has a big garden. If the potatoes come out all right then we can live. l should like some four"
 At another home was found a Ger man woman with seven children. Her husband left two weeks ago to find work, and she has not heard from him since. She had not morsel of food of any kind in the house, and the bare footed children were crying with hun- ger. This woman got some flour and other articles from the relief store later in the day.
 In cottage near the Eureka Mines, there lives an Englishman named Case, who has three children, and wife who is dying of consumption. The husband is steady, hard-working man and first-class miner. He said that his aver age earnings from January to May had not been more than ST per month. payments of $500 per month, and he still owes $99 on this account. Besides that, he owes $14 for medicine, and he has not bit of food in the house. He was given a small order for groceries by the Town Supervisor, but when offered some potatoes by an agent of the Relief Committee he declined them, saying that the product of his own garden would soon be ready, and that there were others more needy than he.
 At the Relief Headquarters on Main street there stood in line for hours yes terday not less than 150 men, women and cnildren-white and black. Ger mans, Italians, French, Scotch, English and half dozen more nationalities were represented. From every one questioned the same reply was elicited "We have nothing in the house to eat. If we can only get some four the chil- dren will not starve" The situation is intensified by the fact that the families