Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-07-17
The Woes Of Golfers
As Told by Witnesses at La
Sale, Illinois.
HARD WORK AND VERY POOR PAY

The Fate of the Workers In Illinois Pits
Synopsis of Grievances Complained of
Before the Committee Appointed by Gov.
Fffer-The Knights of Labor Executive
in Session at Chicago and Their Pur-
pose-Labor Notes.
LASALLE, Ills, July 1.-THE invsstiga-
ton into the labor troubles in the coal re-
gions was continued yesterday by the gen.
tleman appointed by the governor for that
purpose. The witnesses examined were
nearly all miners and the following is a syn
opsis of what they said of affairs at Braid
wood: The Chicago and Wilmington Coal
company was charged with violating the
law in failing to furnish timber for propping
purposes at the time when and place where
most wanted by the miners The reason as
signed is that the hosting of coal can not be
interrupted for the purpose of lowering
props till night This delay sometimes
causes the falling of rock and dirt from the
roof in quantities sufficient to occupy the
miner days ami even weeks in removing, for
all of which he gets no pay. This caving in
could all be saved by the timely use of
props.
Must Trade with the Company.
The employees of the company were told
that if they wished to keep their places they
must trade at the company's store. No goods
could be obtained unless wages were coming
to the miners So-called cash advances were
made when the miners could not wait for the
regular monthly pay day, but the advance
was made by means of checks on the local
ha trh .
During the last year sl4, 500 had thus been
received by needy miners on which the dis
counts aggregated 1920
Complaint About the Cars, Etc.
The coal cars are made small, with only
one end closed To get ton on such cars
it Is necessary to pile the coal far above the
top All that fal Is off on the way to the
hoist Is picked up by men employed for that
purpose, and becomes the property of the
company. Five men are thus engaged and
they sometimes pick up much as six or
seven tons each per day. Three men were
put into each room, and sometimes four,
where only two could earn fair wages 1t
appeared that the result of this was more
trade for the truck store
Italian Miuers-Arbitrary Rules
Italians were employed largely and put in
rooms where no white" man would work.
Abtsr Nouii give d EEuHt-tueY COutu not
talk English-and wade in. All miners were
compelled to sign a contract before entering
the mine They had not a sin lie word to say
in its formation and many OF the rules
printed on the back were most arbitrary and
in the interest of the company only Every
rule was Objectionable to the miners
Docksge and Dampness-
For example: if sulphur were sent up in a
car Of coal there was a dockage for the first
offense, increased for the second, while for
the third offense the entire car load of coal
would be required to pay the penalty Thir-
teen per cent. Of the coal sent up by the min
ers went through the screens, and for this
they got no pay whatever. The mines are
very wet Men have to work in water or
under drlppings from the root all day long
being constantly wet to the skin
The Average Wages.
The average wages was 1855 per month
gross, the deduction for blacksmithing
powder, gum boots, tools etc, making the
net earnings SIS. The miners all work from
two to five days each month in cutting and
maintaining road~sys and cleaning out
debris, for which they get no credits on the
books Of the company. Often one mans
name on the pay roll of the company stands
for two or even three and thus the average
earnings OF the men are made 10 appear
greater than they really ara
A Specimen Case.
The case Of Frank Floyd is given as an ex.
ample. He was cre,liteL with $40 for the
month at October last He had two sons
working with him, and about one-half the
time had the assistance of a third boy, all
over Ii years of age Floyd's actual earn
ings were less than So Each miner was
taxed - cents per month for sharpening
picks. The too men employed in this way
contributed $50 The blacksmith who did
the work got So Per month, leaving 500
for the company.
The only operator examined was L. II.
Plumb, of Streatcr, and his testimony re-
lated mostly to the railway tariff for coal
which, he held, was too high