Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-01-06

| tuc very oest treatment. Wnen the mines
were under the management of p. l..
Cable and Ben r Cable we received the
best possible treatment. Il coal wen,
up our wages were increased according
ly, but were never reduced below a GER
tain limit, and in addition to this we re-
ceived pay for laying plank snd looking
after props, something that is never paid
for by other operators. But of late
things have been different. and we do not
think we are now asking anything I'M
just"
L e above are the sentiments of
nearly miner met by the reporter. All
agreed that they had always been treated
hetetofore in q very considera,e manner,
and all who have worked in other mines
say without Hesitation that Cable is one
Of the best places in which they ever
worked. As regards the price paid for
powder and sharpening tools, the men
acknowledge that they have been saved
! considerable money, but SUI insist that
the company is making too much on
them. Ii WAS also learned that the same
question came up about years ago in
gard to the amount paid for sharpening
tools. aud that the company instead of
| entering into a controversy With the men,
told them to take charge of the shop,
hire their own men to sharpen the tools,
and that the company would charge them
nothing for the use of the shop To
| this proposition the men gladly assented
but in short the they sent a commit
tee to the company asking them to re-
turn to the former method, giving ass
their reason that hey could not co il q
cheapiy rs they had paid the company
for doing the same work. and the latter
then gave them the old system back
again. The representatives of the COM
| pany 8 50 state that a short time ago they
gave the men voluntary raise of 10
cents per ton on medium low coal which
had never been asked by the miners, and
was in every respect voluntary on the
part of the company. Another commits
tee visited the company's representatives
yesterday to ascertsin if they would rec
/ ogniZe committee from the miners of
Cable, but resulted in nothing nearer a
| settlement. A meeting of The miners
was held in the opera house at Cable
yesterday.
! The report has become current that one
ot the main causes OF the strike is that
the men GesiIe the enforcement Of the
weekly pay law, which is misleading, the
| primary cause being the discharge OF the
men. as nearly every miner met by
the reporter was OF the opinion that ali
the other grievances could have &een am
icsbly ad justed as they had the promise
Of the company to do so.
Peter Owens and John Henley, who
compose committee of the miners at
Brisr Bluff, were in Cable yesterday FOR
The purpose of soliciting funds for de-
fraying the expense of suit which is be-
ing instituted at Aledo against j. NJ. Gill
christ, of Gilchrist, H., to compel him
to adOp; the new gross weight and week
ly pay systems. Mr.. Owens when asked
by the reporter as to his opinion of the
treatment the Cable miners were receiving
at the hands of the company said that in
his judgement they certainly had DO reae
son TO complain, as he understood, they
had received on an average of $50 per
month, which was certainly high aver.
age as compared with the pay at other
mines in the state. In regard to the dis
charging of the four men he did not
think it vas proper for the company to
discharge them if they compos d a miners
committee.