The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1894-09-07
MINERS
MEETING.
Addressed by Organizer Fahy at a
Meeting Last Night.
THE BITUMIN0US FIELD {!
Miners Of This Place Urged to Disregard
the Inducements Offered for Men to
Take Strikers Places.
THE BITUMINOUS FIELD

About two hundred English speaking
miners and laborers stood in Franey
hall last evening to listen to an address
by Organizer Fahy on the advisability of
joining the local lodge of the United
Mine Workers Organization.
Mr.. Fahy spoke for half hour in his
clear, easy manner, interesting the men
from the start and holding their attention
to the end. He explained the issues be.
tween the operators and the miners in the
bituminous region; told how the recent
strike had been forced upon the men and
how they had won it of what powerful
backing the anthracite men would have
by Joining the great organization of the
bituminous field and how they might i'm
prove their present condition, and much
else that he had said in an address here
about a month ago.
OF an agent advertising at Ashland for
miners to go West, he made the following
warm remarks
miners, for your own welfare, as we'll
as for the entire country pay no attention
to William +. Barr and all other company
agents from Western Pennsylvania, who
are now in this region trying to get miners
to 90 to Western Pennsylvania to scab.
There is a strike there that has been going
on since last February. The operators
whom Barr represents want to
pay only 80 cents per ton, when
all operators, except three companies
there, are now paying scale rates
of 60 cents per ton. Last year the
miners there did not average more than
IS cents per day, and now the company
wishes to cut them IA cents per ton. Barr
says: Good wages and steady work.
He lies, and he knows il. If there were
good wages and steady work, there are
thousands of idle miners in that field who
would take advantage of it and Barr
would not now be going around the coun-
try trying to dupe innocent, poor men by
fairy tales He says he will pay two dol
lars per day for 30 days, evidently expect
ing the strike to be broken by that time
but he and the company mislead them
selves. 1t will last until these companies
do as all Others are willing and satisfied
to dO-pay scale rates These companies
together with others in the same field,
were the cause of the great miners strike
Just ended in the West by taking advan-
tage of their miners, who were not then
organized and forcing them to accept re-
ductions of from q to 80 cents per ton,
thus expecting to undersell their brother
operators and do good business during
the depression at the expense of the miner;
but other operators were forced to come
to competitive basis, or shut up their
mines, and they had to reduce their men,
The big strike forced wages up to that
point where the reduction was only ten
cents and settled the strike, all operators
but these few agreeing % pay it, and now
they wish TO renew the light and throw
the entire country into trouble and tur-
mOil again; and, if they should succeed
and defeat the miners there depend upon
it, the miners i'm the anthracite field will
get another fourteen per cent or more, of
q reduction. We are competitors in the
strctest sense when it suits the purpose
Of the evil.minded operator. He uses the
miners of one part of the country
as whip to defeat the other
part and then we all sink to
the level of the defeated ones.
SO, say. pay, no attention to Barr, HeI
is paid for duping men. The more he
dupes, the greater the amount of his
blOOd-money for so doing. l have no
doubt but that if the anthracite miners
were on strike you would find him trying
to get soft coal miners to take their
places, 1t is dollars and cents with him
He can have no love for strange miners
that would prompt him to look aftor their
interests He was very near mobbed at
Shamokin yesterday by indignent citizens
and at Ashland he got a cold reception
which is perfect in keeping with the water
that flows through his veins.h
The organizers speech received warm
applause. Those of the audience who
were not already members were then in
vited to enroll their names in the organi-
zation's support and a large number did
so. A secret session followed, which was
concluded at about ten o'clock
Mr.. Fahy has been organizing in Schuyl-
kill, Luzerne and Northumberland couus
ties for a month and is enthusiastic over
his success. He was told that the men
of Shenandoah would be hard to organize,
but he says he has not found them So
Such encouragement has he received
here that he expects TO hold the next
meeting in a larger room, probably Fer
guson's theatre, or Robbins hall. He de-
parted to-day for Pottsville.