The bee., 1897-08-19
The Coal Strike.

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are supplying all the coal the mar
kets requires, the leaders OF tn,
strike, aided and abetted by Comp
ers and Sovereign, urge their de-
luded followers to continue the
conflict and add to the hunger anc
nakcdncss cf the wives and chill
drcn.
Just consider the absurdity, the
wickedness of tins strike. Certain
operators in Pennsy lvania, who
have a grievance, either true or
fancied, against Dearmit, request
President Dolan 10 call strike to
"prevent the coal trade from be-
ing ruined" And Dolan and Ratch-
ford and their associates in Penn
sylvania, OHIO, Indiana, Illinois,
Virginia, West Virginia and Ken
lucky obey the orders of these few
disgruntled operators and the strike
is called-to save the coal trade,
and the bank accounts Of few
Pennsylvania operators.
OF course this is not the excuse
given the miners in Indiana, Hi
nois and Kentucky, for the miners
in these states are not foolish
enough TO take up the fight Of
Pennsylvania operators; but the
fact of low wages and cheap coal
is brought forward as the cause of
the strike in the Western States,
and at the most inopportune time.
July and August are dull months
for all miners in Indiana, Illinois
and Kentucky. The fact is that
one-fourth of the mines in these
three states can readily supply the
coal needed in these months. If
the striking miner has not known
this before he certainly will believe
it now. A strike is a declaration
of war. Prudent officials of the
Miners Union would not declare a
strike when twenty-five per cent Of
the mines can supply the demand.
1t is the dream of such men as
Ratchford, and Dolan, and Sover-
eign, and Gompers, and their asso-
ciates, to have such a complete or
ganization of labor in this big
country that the wheels of COM
merce can be stopped at their
behest, upon the slightest provoca-
ton. Ratchford, at the grievance
of miner or the greed of an opera
tor in Pennsylvania would then
stop the miners of Illinois, and
Arkansas-of the entire country
TO right the wrong of the Pennsyl-
vania miner or save the bank &C
count of the Pennsylvania operator.
All mills, factories, furnaces, rail-
roads, must stop; starvation and
ruin rule the land, till Ratchlord &C
complished his purpose. In this
dream OF power the miner who de-
clined to belong to the organiza-
ton must starve. He would not be
allowed to work.
When the representatives of Debs
az Co., in the persons of knight,
Llewellyn and Ferguson, came to
Hopkins county a few days ago to
stop the production of coal and ask
the miners here to1oin the big army
of starvation, they found that the
miners of the county were getting
the highest wages-the regular
wages of years past. No grievance
existed, harmony prevailed between
operator and workman, and there
was no reason why these people
should stop work. When 1t was
suggested to Knight & Co. that the
strike had been declared against
operators paying reduced wages,
and that the companies in this field
paying full prices should be let
alone, the reply was; "the shipping
of your coal initiates the striking
miners across the river and we shall
try to stop it," Stop the bread, for
sooth, from the mouths of honest
men and their families in Kentucky
because it irritates the miners oil
Indiana and Illinois who will not
work
When it was shown to Knight &
Co. that the 81. Bernard Coal
Company had an individual con-
tract with its employees that would
take thirty days to abrogate; that
interference with this contract
by outside parties would make
them liable for fine and damages;
it was positively announced by
Llewellyn, one of the party, with
no dissent from the others, that he
would violate the law to accom-
piish his purpose.
All this is the natural outcome