The San Francisco call., 1897-09-19
RIGHTS OF THE COAL STRIKERS.

great coal strike covering nearly Eastern COAL
producing State which has proceeded with constantly in
creasng carnage and tragedy, had its origin the failure
certain proper remedial legislation in the State of Pennsy
vania.
The great coal companies of that State have long prac
ced the Company stoe system maintaining at their works
general merchandise which the women made ather
of their wages payday. Finally to make this system more
binding and its profits secure the companies introduced
the practice of making contract with their wokmen in which
the bound themselves to trade at the company store and
no other, as condition precedent to employment
The Pennsylvania Legislature passed voiding and
forbddng these contracts and the wormen feeling that SUB
santa justice had been done to them content But the
coal corporations dissatisfied and took the antoontrat
law into the COURTS finally the Supreme Court of the State
decided the law be invalid obnoxious to the constitution
and illegal interference with the contractua relation This
threw the wormen back to their former ntoerabe condition
of a credit bondage to a company store.
The mere statement of the is sufficient vndcaton
the strike which resulted and has spread to such formidable
proportions threaten the of transportation and the
whing wheels of every powerpant east of the Missouri
that depends on While the spread beyond its original
has been largely sympathetic yet everywhere there has
been in the claims of the sympathetic strikers griev
ance their own justified by the conditions under which
they worked.
To go back to the cause the company store and the
tract rebuke of such system can be too severe The
wages earned by the aborer much his are his
employers the profits made in his business The essence
of liberty the right expend for the neoessaes and com
forts of life where he peases and to his best advantage the
money earned by mans toll. dollar in the hand of coal
miner is his to he pease just dollar in the hand
of his employer be used To compel the aboer to sign
contract spend that dollar at certain store is to force him
to make contract that is against good conscience and
public policy alike The issue is far beyond the rate of
This may be properly covered by contract The aboer may
contract to mine coal at certain price per ton he
may contract for the payment of this price in gold coin its
equivalent and when such contracts have expired by mita
ton all aboers who make them may discuss better terms
contracts and may out of the ground and refuse to
return until their terms acceded to- In all this method of
the aborer and the mineowner only doing like
all in possible business relation and exactly
equal But witness the wide difference between contracts
fixing the rate of wages and contracts in which the Garner is
shorn of his natural right spend his earnings he peases
1t is easy say that if laborers don't like such
pusion they need not sign the contracts But that
answer Coatmnes by the nature of the business gather
the pits with their families They have the experience
qualifying them for other lines of employment these
within easy reach the miners had the to travel
and seek them The physical necessities wait briefly for
and in effect the aboer has the choice between
famine around his hearth contract which makes him
peon by deprvng him of of his principal natural rights
that of expendng the price of his labor freely his
poyer spends his profits.
AS in the of every deprivation of natural rights this
carries with it train of evils The of labor is the
TEN of purchase credit II is the enemy of economy in
the wokingmans house When the dollars in hand to
pay not only do they buy than credit dollar but they
not parted with freely Each purchase scaled down
to actual need of it, in quality and amount and there is
vagance at the expense of income which is small at the
best But credit buying is always the parent of extravaganza
in laboers house, and in majority of it ends in
hausng the whole income that the labore handles
the duty of every czen since its operation destroys that
quality which necessary in under Government like
ours.
Why strike begun grounds justfable, de-
serving of public sympathy and appealing directly to
and humanity, has been unduy prolonged, with such
Incidents of misery and bloodshed will be considered here
after