The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1897-12-15
MINERS STARVING
American Children Reduced to HiI.
doc EmaciatiOn.
lIcn Supporting Wives anh Families
on So Cents Day.

ber and women gathering thelr tatteroc
garments across their knees to hide
nakedness, was recited yesterday before
the Federation Of Labor by Rev. Will
liam NJ. Brown, Of Spring Valley. He
is in Chicago to beg food and cast-oH
clothing for the families of the striking
miners. The minister came to this city
to secure cooperation from his breth-
rem Of the Methodist Episcopal church.
He was introduced to the labor men yes
terday by letter from Rev. Mr.. Car
wardine of Pullman strike fame.
Mr.. Browns address was revelation
to members of the labor council, al
though that body has been interested
enough in previous appeals to make lib
eral distributions of food and clothing
among their starving fellow-laborers.
Il can hardly picture to you the eX-
tent and acuteness Of the suffering in
the region where my church has recent
ly asked me to make my home," Mr..
Brown said. Il had no conception of
it before going there One would hard
~ believe that in our land such things
could be possible.
But is it to be wondered at where
men can earn only an average of S5
cents day? That is the wage under
'he present coal mining schedule, and
not something like 81 day as adver
tised.
bo,r INT 1.yln
mothers, with children tugging at them
In hunger, had to draw the remnants
of their dresses across their knees to
hide their nakedness. One mother paced
the floor with her babe and, after con-
cealing her plight for few minutes,
she laid the little one on the bed des-
pairngly. Then, as she viewed the
emaciated form, she cried out, striking
her own breast despairingly:
"'There it is-that is the Gods fact
my baby is dying of starvation because
/ cannot give it nourshment-how can
/ when l have nothing to eat myself?"
children have come in the rain, with
out coats or shoes, to those doing out
relief and, because there were no pro-
visions made for the little ones, they
have had to go away in misery.
"As the men were going 20 work one
morning a poor fellow fell on the side
walk near my little church from sheer
exhaustion. His dinner pail flew open.
What do you think it contained to sup
port his life that day while nc toiled
300 feet below the sunlight? crust OF
dry bread and plain water. His COM
rades had tasted much the same exper-
1ence
Then it was they decided it was as
well to starve in idleness as while do
ing exhausting labor; that they might
as we'll die in the sunlight as below
ground, standing for their liberty in
preference to bending beneath oppres-
sion, and they struck on July 1, time
when the nation was singing Of liberty.
IL cannot tell you of the oppression
and tyranny of the four great compan-
les making this iniquitous stand for cor
porate greed. The Braidwood, White
Breast, La Sale and Spring Valley COM
panies stayed away from the meeting
called at Springfield to adjust the scale.
They have refused to pay the scale up
to this date. They have used every
threat to drive men back to work at
the old scale. These four companies
we'll know that if they can break the
scale they can crush the smaller COM
panies, and with them the poor labor
ers. They know full we'll the price Of
the fight to the poor women and chill
dren. They are willing human beings
should die to further their monopoly.
Manager Daltzell has boasted:
After these fellows freeze and
starve while longer 1 guess they will
come to my terms
Mr.. Brown said rents had been de-
manded, and it looks like evictions
were to follow.
well, why don't they hang them?"
called out an aged delegate.
Because truer hearts beat in the
breasts of those miners down there,
cold and hungry as they are, than in
the breasts of the corporation mana
gers replied the minister.
"These are not lawless," he continued.
'They are not violating property rights.
They are fighting their just battle on
high moral plane and against distress
ing odds. That is why they deserve
sympathy and succor. Theirs is fight
of humanity against an immoral force,
Hgever there was such a conflict"
The minister said CASTOR clothing
would be the greatest help people could
give, next to food, and that he would
be glad to receive donations or inform
alton where calls could be made, at 297
Francisco street.
Chairman James Brenock, Of the re-
lief committee, reported that the Fed
sration OF Labor had distributed 22,6OO