The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-01-01
MINERS WITHOUT WORK.
Thousands Of Men PennilesS
and Facing Starvation.
Owing to Mild Weather the De-
mand for Coal Limited.

The news having reached schuylkill Haven.
Penn, that the twenty-five thousand coal
miners and mine laborers throughout tho
Schuylkill coal regions had been ordered on
three quarter time, it cast gloom over the
entire region controlled by the Philadelphia
and Reading Railroad Company and other
companies. ~
All through the autumn and winter the
coal miner has had bad luck upon bad luck.
| Still suffering from the effects of the long.
strike, with debts contracted for the necess1-
ties Of life still unpaid, his wages were re-
duced to four per cent. below the regular
| basis Then came the heavy autumn floods,
| which drowned out the collieries: mild
| weather continued and the coal trade was
| worse than had been known for twenty years.
| Summer prices prevailed at tide water. with
| a sharp cutting and shading of circular
, prices: stocks at the markets increased and
| there were no sales. .... ... ..-..... III IA
The miles of sidings along the railroads
| from the mines to the sea were crowded with
! loaded coal cars. Colliery after colliery shut
down, repair work was suspended, thou
J sands Of men were thrown out or WORK ano
now all those who have been left at Work as
| long as was possible have been ordered on
! three-auarter time. This is regarded as only
| a precursor of what is to follow, and it Is
| foregone conclusion that the miners Will be-
| yery soon ordered on half time and there
! may be complete and total shutdown be-
fore long. '.-.s - 80. a.
In the Shamokin district thousands Of men
are out of employment and there IS no know
ing when they will be re-employed. fRose
| who had work during the summer were
obliged to labor at very low wages, owing to,
the sharp competition Of the Huns; Poles and
Italians. II miners and laborers averaged
$40 month they were doing well; the men
had large families it cost every penny to
/ live, many ran in debt, and now they are
| penniless, and without credit, because at many
stores the rule is spot cash or orders from
the mines.
| Between Traverton and Mount Carmelit Is
estimated that there are 1000 men and boys
| idle. Individual colleries are shutting down
! in all directions. and the operatives having
| no money ahead are in state Of mind yerg-
| ing on despair. The foreign element Is al
ready tramping about the regions begging
| for bread The miners and mine laborers
| who are citizens and tax payers are silent and
gloomy, unable to help themselves, With
| thousands upon thousands Of tons OF unmined
coal at their feet they have no work. -
They are in need Of the actual necess1tiee
of life and are strong and willing to laoor.
| but they are told there is no use to mine any
more coal, because there is no sale for it and
no room for it in the great storage wharves
| at tidewater. The only demand at all for
| coal is for manufacturing sizes. il.-I: IL.
The miners are also told that recent fail-
ures in New York city have had much to do
| with making coal producers careful and con-
servative. For weeks past men have been
sent through the regions predictinqh coal
panic. This to some extent has prep req the
! miners for the news despite the fSct that
| 5000. 600 tons of coal less have been shipped
| to tidewater this year than last Thai ieans
| So 600, 900 atleast out of pocket to theR 4ners
| Of the coal regions of Pennsylvania, =
Very many men in utter desperation are
| leaving the regions. 1t is reported that at
| Treverton at least thousand men have Left
| for other sections of the State to secure
| work. Many. have been driven away by ac1
| tual hunger, and having large store bills AL
ready they have no more credit. The same
story is told Of many another mining patch
| in the Schuyllrill coal regions - = ,.,"@it,
The mine owners prefer to keep the coal
| under ground rather than continue the men
| at work, because trade must not be democrat
| lied. The coal carrying companies say they
| had rather make less in tolls for carrying the
| coal to tide water than mine the coal which
thew cannot now sell. Between these two
| miIIstones the miner and mine laborer are
| being ground to pieces. O." '.'"''''t'