The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1891-05-07
HOW PRoTRoT1oN PROTECTS La
pOH.

The New York World Of May 9Th
contains q full account Of the labor
troubles and strikes In the coke regions
Of Pennsylvania, from Its own cores
pondent, sent there on purpose to get
the real facts 1t is very interesting
reading. It shows how the Protected
lords Of highly protected Pennsylvania
take care of and protect American
labor. We print for the benefit Of all
true American Mechanics, and all
others who believe in protecting Amer
ican manhood. OF the $1,000 men now
on strike in the coke regions of Penn
sylvania 1900 are Slavonians, 1900 are
Germans, and the other 1900 are COM
posed of Irish, Scotch, negroes, and
native white Americans. Not over
1000 of the strikers. including the
negroes, were born on American soil,
and not over 1000 of them can speak
the English language. The great mass
of the strikers, and especially the Slavs,
are ignorant of our manners, customs
and language.
The World correspondent says:
years ago the mines aud coke ovens
were worked by native Americans,
most of whom were born in the vicinity
and many of whom owned their little
homes on the hillside and titled little
plot of ground and kept COW or two
in connection with their work about
the mines"
In 1880 these coke lords commenced
to import European paupers, and with
these laborers they drove out the native
American laborers. Here again we
quote from the World correspondent:
"The coke operators now declare that
during the present week no less than
1000 Italians and negroes are TO be inn
ported into this region to take the places
of the strikers. Nearly or quite 300 Ital-
ians are already here and at work In the
mines and about the coke ovens, which
are guarded by the Pinkerton forces.
And the Slav, brought to this country to
displace the native workman, is to be COM
His family is evicted from their home, his
scanty furniture is thrown into the street,
and there is nothing but the bounty OF the
labor organization between his family and
starvation. Between the evicted Slav
and the newly arrived italian,
just where does protection to the
American workman" come in?
rh... clou. o., I;no ooJ Ha,r;ah ~,
wages on which an American workman
would starve. The average earning Of all
the mine workers in this region for the
year 1890 is stated, as the result OF compu-
tations by the officials of the labor organ
izations, to have been SO cents day. Each
family has two rooms down stairs and
loft above. A stove, some tin dishes, a
table, few chairs, cradle and some
coarse bedding comprise the furnishings
of their home. Here they live, a dozen
sometimes in one family, and to this must
the native workman come, or the wealthy
and highly protected coal barons Of Penn
sylvania have no use for him. This is
"protection for the American laborer," as
exemplified in the Cornellsville coke re-
gion. And the Italians, who are to take
the places of the once beloved but now
despised and rejected Slavonians, what Of
them? Will they bring with them the
secret and dreaded Malta and replace the
passionate violence Of the Slav with the
silent thrust of the stilletto and
the terrors of midnight assassination?
When comes the next strike, as come it
will, and these Italians are thrown into
the street with their babies and their be-
longings, will the lives and the property
of these coal barons be more safe at their
hands than they are at present, or than
they were when farmers and farmers
sons came down from the hills and worked
these mines and tended the ovens2 It
needs not the eye of a prophet to perceive
that the end of all these troubles is not
close at hand. The end is not yet; but the
beginning was the displacement Of Amer
ican labor from these mines by the zig
norant pauper labor of Europe" brought
here by the operators themselves"
Laboring men of Canton, this is what
Protection $50 called) does for Ameri-
can labor. How do you like the pic
ture?