The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-06-19
THEY GO HUNGRY TO BED.
MINERS CHILDREN CRYING FOR FOOD
a Pitiful Picture of Destitution in the Coal
Districts - Dependency Depicted on
Every Countenance-AImost En-
tire Town Dependent on Charity.

BRAZIL, June 1l.-LSpecial. The sun came
ont this morning and, if nothing else, il has
succeeded materially in dispensing the mac
tiyity apparent all day yesterday in this little
city. In the mining tows, however. it has
probably produced little change, but even
there it enabled some of the men TO 60 10 work
in the garden, and has given the children q
chance to get out of doors. In company with
a gentleman who is thoroughly acquainted
with the district took ride through Knights
vile, Benwood and Cardonia-three of the
mining towns nearest here-stopping long
enough in each to wander about little and
question some of the men. The majority of the
latter were to be found sitting in front OF the
stores, looking as forlornly idle is possible,
probably, for men TO be. Six weeks OF this
kind of employment has evidently exhausted
every story in the miners catalogue, and
they have probably wearied even OF talk
ing about the wrongs Of the working classes
at the hands of the employers for when I
watched a group of them, even at a distance,
there did not seem to be a remark passed be
tween them in the course Of five minutes. They
sat looking stolidly at the ground. or perhaps
whiting away.at chip-an exercise. by the
bye, that seems peculiarly popular with men
who have nothing TO do They all wore thin,
and clean. Some of the younger men had
their boots blacked They are all miners"
explained my companion; they are nearly
every one foreign born, but have been in this
country long time, and speak our language"
Ny companion nodded TO them. for he knew
them all and they returned the salute in rather
an Indifferent way in most instances. although
some of them came forward and talked freely.
A walk around town showed & great many sc
work in their gardens. which seemed to be IN
splendid condition, Notwithstanding the con-
tinued rains. When the miner is at
work in the mines his wife, or,
perhaps, his children keep the garden
in condition. As soon as the latter begin to
yield their ha-vest-a few weeks hence-the
condition OF some who are now being sup
ported will be far better. As a rule, however.
the very ones who have gardens are the ones
who are the least dependent They almost in-
varlably own the property on which they live,
while those who live in the company houses"
have no gardens. and will remain wholly de-
pendent as long as the strike lasts.
The appearance OF fOrlornness observed
around the stores uptown was also to be seen
out among the homes of the miners, especially
the humber ones. Women were standing out
in front of the houses. leaning upon the fence
and looking in a desOlate sort of way at some
thing of in space. They did not seem 20 b
paying any attention to one another, and did
not hear gOod-natured remark while [
was in the town. The children and
young people were about the only ones
who seemed 10 be finding any amuse-
ment ! observed a number OF games
OF base ball in progress. They were not quite
so scientific as those put up by the lndianapo-
lis club, but eminently more productive
of runs. Even here, however, the evidences of
hard times" were apparent, for the balls In
use were all back numbers whose identity had
been preserved only by numerous applications
OF darnlng needle and cord thread. They had
suffered from the strike.
The miners homes, of course, nearly all
of the humblest kind and by the furnishing
only may the comparative prosperity OF the
occupants be judged. Some look coy and
comfortable, but many have never known the
touch of a carpet and other comforts 70 ba
found ordinarily in the homes OF even the
poorest. The reports of suffering for want OF
food satisfied myself were true. While it
may be possible that there are some among the
miners who would like to e1sggerate these
stories IN order to enlist public sympathy, il is
equally certain that there are personal IN.
stances of hardship difficult 10 get at on ae-
count of the fact that the sufferers are too
proud TO let the fact be known. Men, whoss
manner convinced me they were telling the
truth, said that many children at Knightsvills
were put TO bed on Saturday night without hav-
ing had any supper, and that the instances of
hunger among the older ones were innumers-
bic. In many cases heads of families had been
compelled TO 60 to their neighbors who were
probably but a little better off and ask for
something for the children"
At Benwood and CardOnia the condition OF
the strikers is probably worse, If anything.
than at Knightsville. Out of a population OF
500 at Benwood 694 are dependent. Friday.
when the c0mmssary was opened, which was
between 9 and 10 o'clock, numbers Of those who
came to get their allotment OF food for the en-
suing half week had not yet had any breakfast,
the supply of provisions IN their families have
ing been exhausted the night before. Secy.
Russell of the distributing committee at that
town said thatfOr the 100 applcants-that is, Loo
families-there were but forty pieces of bacon,
and no coffee or sugar. MANY II us" said he,
"have nothing whatever but fOur or corn meal
and water. NIush and water, therefore, is the
most common food in the town. We have no
coffee at all. Yet the men here are the most
determined to stand it out of any In the dis
trict." The gentleman who was with me said
that Benwood was about the most Industrious
community in the county, and the inhabitants
there certainly did seem little more cheerful,
notwithstanding the meager board they srs
getting.
At Cardonis the condition was much the
same, and the majority Of the strikers were
sitting around the stores in the center of the
town. One of the men declared they hadn'tso
much as a bar of soap to wash with. Many
of the miners" said he, 'went away to get
work but they haven't sent 'ome a bloody cent
to their families. Hits because they 'sven't
got it."
Along the road, between towns we came
across some of the company blocks" that ara
rented out 10 the miners. One of these, the
watson block" was illustrated in THE SENTT-
MEL last fall, and see the illustration and 40.
companying description were not overdrawn.
They are the cheapest kind of structures, but
are rented at all the way from 81 TO s. per
month. The jackson block" and the Wat
son block" are near together, between Knights
vile and Benwood, and another is located on
Vinegar hill, F." between Cardonia and Brazil.
Near Vinegar hill I girl, about fifteen
years of age, and little boy coming across a
field bearing a sack Of -four or meal. They
were poorly clad and were undoubtedly child
ren of a miner, and had been away at a farm
house, begging. They had to wade through a
small stream near the road, but evidently did
not mind the muddy water, armed they
were with rations for the hungry ones at home.
The custom of soliciting assistance from the
farmers in the way OF contributions OF corn.
wheat or flour is extensively practiced by the
miners. They 60 as far as twenty miles from
home, and meet with tOlerable success as
rule. They do it Systematically however, ap-
pointing a regular committee, which rs given
credentials to be shown 10 the farmers. Then
a wagon is borrowed from some sympathiZer,
and the committee starts out. Some of the
farmers it encounters angrily refuse to con-
tribute saving the men ought to 60 TO work,
others profess sympathy, bat plead poor crops
and loss resulting from the weather; but there