The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-06-16
CONDITION IN CLAY COUNTY
What a Correspondent Observed on a
Trip Through the Mining Districts.
Reports of distress Exaggerated by the Prompt
ing Of PoliticjanS-Statements Strikers
Gave Mr.. McCulloch on His Visit to Them.

the situation of affairs in the block-coal
fields here are confined to Democratic and
free-trade papers, and are manufactured for
them on order. 1t is said nine thousand
miners, including women and children. are
on the point of starvation. all on account
Of a strike against an unjust reduction in
their wages. To obtain food with which to
sustain life it is said the miners sacrificed
their household furniture weeks ago. and
that now they are selling the children's
trinkets and the women their wedding
rings. Pictures of individual suffering are
grouped into chapters of horror. whose
widespread publication has startled the
world with an experience hitherto un.
known in Christian civilization. A
posse of reporters has been turned
loose upon our community by the leading
free-trade organs of the country, who have
swooped down like v~ultures on their prey,
and the result is not a green blade of grass
Is lett W Starving Ireland is no.
where. A small group of these ghouls
met on the street corner last night. ALI
were smoking and chatting.
by George" says one, amt we having
a picnic this week. I'll have the best
string this month that I've had for a
year"
Al ooOob Nv lCPOlbc ldkt Iuo III
cinnati Enquirer, for a single instance. No
such chapters of horror in civilized lands
ever before appeared In newspaper. Truef
Hear what the correspondent himself says,
as published in an afternoon paper here:
"Hesaid the situation here was badly over
estimated. He said he found the greater
portion of the miners in good condition,
possessing property of their own, good gar
dens, COWS and pigs enough to keep them
from starvation for many days"
Comment Is unnecessary.
Another correspondent, who has written
columns of misrepresentation, yesterday
Governor Hovey is subject to severe de-
nunciation over his proposed proclamation
for the relief of the miners. Strikers here
after would appeal to the Governor for aid.
and thus strikes would be encouraged.
thize with the operators, but they say the;
miners must surrender, and that every
move to aid but wrongs them"
OnMay l the block-coal miners, about two
thousandin number, struck against a reduc-
ton from eighty-five to seventy cents. Ten
relief stations have been established, at
which $3.50 dependents are reported. Aid
amounting to $46l % has been reported
This has been equally divided among those
mentioned. The miners have been deprived
of their ordinary means OF support, and
t the tS sse 11abe lack ogo many ANY. G 8e the =ianDTles of
have appealed to the public, for the miners,
the pubic %Ss is SAT their maffnstay. of Longer SHS
strikes, through winter months. have been
t the ne%sp anS rs rs It ies w as1 With MH the %s adVic csa that SX
strikes were wrong, and that the miners
should go to work One of the relief COM
mittees fell into the hands of Democrats 40
Indianapolis. who held a public meeting
tributi0ns. Prior to this Congressman
Brookshire, Democrat. who owes his cleo
tiOn to an extraordinary fight made here in
his behalf, had given $40. Senator ID. w.
contributed like amounts. A cry of starva-
ton was raised by State Senator Byrd,
Democrat. This was repeated and magni-
fled by the Democratic press until any
With AZ that has been said perhaps
not 5000 has been collected, not as much
as the Democratic newspapers have paid
out for telegraph tolls and to correspond
has been raised outside of Clay county,
and about 90 per cent. of that from Demo-
Gratis. Brazil should have first been asked
for help, and the appeal to the public
should have come from her. This would
have been the case if matters were as rep
resented.
A committeeman, who has nearly ], 900
dependents under him, says he has spent
two weeks in giving away two barrels of
has one-haif barrel of -four and twenty
eight pounds of meat left. In every case
he has had to look up parties to receive the
aid. and then carry it to their homes.
There is some call for charity. Where so
1t is also true that charity to sustain the
miner in his strike is a positive wrong to
the miner himself. He is idle to-day not
more on account of his strike than because
the price he has received for two years
past, and for which he is c~ontending, has
been so high that his coal has been driven
from the market before competition. Since
January, four days, then two days. and
make in the mines. During the month pre-
ceding the strike, one operating firm got
orders from customers that had previously
used all their coal, for only two cars, be-
cause other coal could be obtained cheaper.
Mr.. McCunoch's Account.
Rev. 0. G. McCulloch was in the Clay
county mining districts on Friday. A
Journal reporter met him yesterday after
noon and asked him what he saw there.
Il went" he said, Through Perth, Car
donia, Pontiac and Carbon. With regard
to wages there is absolutely DO question
that the wage average through the year of
miners is only S."
did you find nine thousand starving
people as published morning after morning
in the Sentinel Did you find six thou
sands"
The statement was made yesterday,
through committees at Brazil, that $500
persons needed relief, and the amount of
money on hand there yesterday, which was
divided among the committees representing
thesepeople, wasS204. Imet a committeeman
and he showed me the amount he had to
carry back to his community. 1t was Sll.3O
for 2s3 people"
How much money has been made by the
operators7 Have they made anything the
past year,"
81 have nothing to say about operators.
1t came to me from a mine superintendent
that it was an unjust reduction; that the
mine operators had made clear at least s
cents a ton. / am not going to talk against
the operators; that doesn't enter into the
case at all. / went over to see what suffer.
ing was there"
Did you find any starvationw
Zone may infer suffering from Va
rious things that are seen. There
was perhaps no actual starvation, Tor