New-York tribune., 1897-07-11
THE COAL-MINING PROBLEM.

It Is not SO easy as 1t may seem to some 10
deerm;ne whether the striking coamners
ought to succeed or not Their effort has so far
baen entirely lawful and peaceful. and deserves
credit ON that account 1t has enlisted the sup
mort of some miners who have much to lose ana
nothing TO gain personally by a strike at this
time. and the sympathy which they thus snow
for others less fortunate than themselves is
manly and honorable, though In some instances
IL appears to have led TO a breaking OF COM
pacts. which is not honorable. But warm
hearted sympathy is not an unerring guide when
the question Is one Of practical economies
Senator whose heart often talks instead OF his
head has said that 1t was enough for MIN 10
know how the miners lived; he may not have
considered that the work which two men now
do each working half time, could be done by
one man fully employed, whose actual earn
.,nos would then be double those now received,
and that many of the miners have in fact been
employed only part time is well known
The business has not been profitable for many
of the mine operators. A large number OF them
have failed. and the history OF the trade IN re-
cent years has been gloomy record One hard
" finds words to fit the behavior Of demagogues
who rant about the intoerabe and graspng
gone through the bankruptcy court or stand
upon its threshold. Without doubt some OF them
have made money. enjoying advantages Of po-
stion or quality Of coal, and there are also
operators who pay good wages and have scrupu-
lously kept their agreements. But the root OF
the difficulty Is that there are too many mines
too many operators and too many miners
Where mines able 10 place ON the market two
hnch
consumed are operated In desperately fierce
competition 1t is not strange II prices are so de
pressed that profits are scanty, failures many
and wages poor. In considerable part OF the
central coal region this seems to be the real
situation. and the bankruptcy OF Ohio coal-carry-
ing railroads casts a food Of light upon the
matter.
Where there are more mines than can be
fully and proftably employed there are sure to
be more miners than can get good living by
mining. The Strike is in fact. a blessing TO
some o. the employers. because enforced stop
mage for a time will enable them to get better
pr,res Tor their stocks Of coal on hand, and for
tDrir product hereafter when they may be able
n rrn actively for some months. The remedy
which r,le strikers propose does not In the least
dccrsasa the difficulty In any permanent sense.
for ,sr 0fty thousand men are now engaged In
r,,r,rx the coal which twenty-five thousand
frily employed could mine, and therefore aver
ago not more than 30 cents day the year
t,ro,.sli. the smaller number could aversge ii
a daf. The case is not improved by raising
the rate Of wages a bushel. That only gives
a greater share Of the business to the more
forfunSte mines in locality or In quality. and
leaves for the rest narrower employment al
though Mt higher nominal wages.
A lSbor organization. possessing the wisdom
and capacity which should guide those who
make themselves responsible for the living and
the homes Of multtudes, should be able to per-