Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1889-08-29
Harmony and Cut Wages.

/ The Republican administration in
Illinois, with the assistance of Senator
Farwell and other prominent party
engineers, having made All ineffactuai
attempt to force a reduction in wages
of7s cents a ton On the StreatOr miners
are now charging the Democratic par
| ~ with defeating the compromise"
The reduction proposed by the Repub-
! lican managers is called .'comprom-
ise." because it is a cents ton. while
| the protected coal barons would prefer
reduction of ten cents q ton.
Under the stimulus of fear that the
| miners, taught the benefit OF Republi-
canism in the hard school lofstarvatioD,
would vote against Republication and
starvation in body, Governor Fifer
appointed commission To settle the
strike. This commission, with State
Commissioner Of Charities Wines ut
the head of It, favored % cents ton
reduction of wages as a basis OF settle-
ment. After examining the work of
the commission, the local assembly of
the X. of l.. resolved that It's report Is
partial and one-sided and based upon
the assumption of superiority of the
rights Of capital over those of labor.
anu that capital is to be first consid-
cred as entitled to full return of profit
whatever the exigencies of trade leav-
ing labor 10 bear the results Of loss or
failure"
In the meeting called by Commits
sioner Wines and his coadjutor, Judge
Gould, to compromise" on this theory
aud to convince the men that their
wages should be reduced In the inter-
ests of harmony, the men refused to
agree to the reduction, their ground
being that the old basis Of wages did
not exceed from 1920 to $3.50 a year.
and that they could not live on less.
AS the State Commissioners and the
mine owners insisted on reduction.
Congressman w. Il. Scott of Pennsyl-
vania, who owns mining property in
the district, wiehdrew from the Mine
Owners Association. declare d thathe
aOoutd not De bound by ats action and
that he a0oukd settle pith his osDn men
an his o,Dn aoay. The men voted down
the reduction proposed by the Repub-
licans and Governor Fifer's commission
was left free to report to him its fail
ure to secure the cut.
Hereupon the Chicago Tribune
charges that the defeat of tho reduc-
tion is the result of Democratic con-
spiracy engaged in by Messrs. Scott,
Campbell and John Mcbride
of Ohio, head of the Miners National
Union. "Whatever influence the Re-
publicans had" it says, twas cast on
the side of c0nciliation and harmony.
The Republican Governor, not as
of policy but OF duty. appointed
Judge Gould and DIR. Wines to inves-
tigate the subject and do what they
could to bring employers and men to-
but for this baleful intrusion of Scott
and his fellow Democrats. Had it not
been for the mistaken hope that Mr..
Scott and his fellow Democrats. Had
it not heen for the mistaken hope that
Mr.. Scott would drop politics and at
tend to business, an agreement could
have been reached at Joliet, for the
operators would have acted without
aim had they known what he was up
%. Mcbride was with them in Ohio,
md the miners. freed from his malign
influence, would have accepted the "a
,ent cut unhesitatingly."
If this were not very serious mat
er the Iribune's talk of Republican
'fforts to secure conciliation, harmony
md lower wages for labor would be
freed from the malign influence" OF
Democracy, and subjected only to the
'enign influence of Republicanism,
abor "would have accepted the "a cent
ut unhezitatingly''-tho b it means
read and water diet, with bread scarce.
And then it gravely intimates that
his malign Democratic influence will
e responsible for bloodshed III any en-
ues, We suppose that, having failed
D cut down wages by commission, the
ext step of the State Administration
;ill be to shoot them iown-in oppose
ion to the malign influence of Democ-
acy, and in the interests of concilia-
ion and harmony.-RepnblS