Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-10-15

Il
miners. were present inside the picket
1 lines and were not discovered until the
1 train had departed.
From the State Arbitration Board, Gov.
Tanner and Manager Lul<ins.
Springfield, Ills, Oct. 15.-H. r. Calef.
chairman of the state board of arbitra-
tion, last night made a statement to the
Associated Press relative TO the mining
trouble at Virden. He said that there
had been no strike in the Chicago and
Alton sub-district, of which the Virden
mines are a part: the mines at Virden
had simply been shut down on April 1
by the operators because. they claimed
they could not pay the Springfield
scale In July the miners and operators
1oined in an application to the state
board OF arbitration and the board de-
cidsG that the oper ators should pay the
SpriEgf scale. The operators refused
to abide by the boards decision. In
August both sides submitted the matter
to President Ratchford and the national
executive board of the Mine Workers,
agreeing in writing to abide by their de-
cision. The committee sustained the
Springfield scale. and again the opera
tors refused to abide by the decision.
an interview to the Associated Press
regarding the situation at Virden and
his attitude on the Importation of min
ers into the state. He said: Certain
yellow journals industriously tried to
have my position misunderstood by
stating that 1 was opposed to the i'm
portation. as they put it. Of 'nig9ers.'
My position has been from the
beginning-and / am now more positive
in, AaN ,,avr1,.a ffrr,T
the importation of labor into Illinois.
not from the southern states alone but
from all other states. because such a
pernicious system necessarily brings to
our state and dumps upon society an
undesirable class Of citizens. and / do
not propose. if / can help it. that the
state of Illinois shall be used as a
dumping ground for the criminal and
idle classes OF other countries or other
states.
IF one. two or three or even a larger
number. come to our state in the proper
order and in the ordinary way. seeking
honest employment. and the mine own
ers see fit TO employ them I will give
them all the protection necessary to
peacefully operate their mines" He
further said that the Chicago Virden
company had been an intentional out
law; has sent an agent to Alabama and
by false pretenses induced negroes to
come here. feeding them like
stock. and procuring the services of
armed guards from a detective agency.
and invading the state in an Illegal
manner.
He charges the owners of the Chicago
Virden mine with firing on the miners
first. and with being law breakers and
criminally responsible for the bloodshed
of Wednesday, and their detectives and
guards as guilty of murder and should
be, and he believed will be, indicted by
the Macoupin county grand jury for
murder. las I said in the beginning.
1t is not my purpose. nor has it been
from the first, to discriminate against
the negro. The negro has the same
right under our laws and constitution
as all otner classes and nationalities.
What am opposed to is the pernicious
system of importing labor. Perhaps
in placing an embargo upon imported
labor am little in advance of statu-
tory enactment. However. sometimes in
the interest OF society ii becomes neces-
sary to enforce law in advance of its
statutory enactment.
MANY good people. perhaps. think
that should have sent troops to Virden |
before this difficulty occurred. Had I
done so 1 would have been using the
state as an agent to further the inter-
ment the troops had been landed they
would have dispersed the idle miners.
and of course che avaricious mine own
ers could have landed their imported |
labor without difficulty, thus accom- |
plishing their end"
Nirden, Ills. Oct. 15.-General Man |
ager Lukins stated to the Associated |
Press yesterday that he would like to !
present statement in regard to the !
hr~t
mands OF the strikers. as he believed il |
had never been clearly presented. He |
said: Under the old scale of wages, |
prior TO the summer OF 1897, the pay at |
our Auburn mines was % cents per ton |
mine run, and under that fairly good |
miners could and did earn S225 per
day of ten hours, free from all ex-
penses. I have figured up the nay rolls
and they show an average of 81 29 per
day net for every miner in the mine, |
with range OF S1.10 TO 1886 per day.
The price of powder has been re- |
duced 50 cents keg since then. which |
makes material increase in the min |
ers wages At the price miners are de- |
manding. 30 cents per ton. an average
miner can make from SS to 81 per day. and |
n good workman would have no difficulty
in earning s6 per day. We have had |
men in our Virden mine working at 55 |
cents per ton screened coal which
equals about % cents per ton at mine
run. make over IS per day.
However. this may be- il was stated
to the state arbitration board that the
annual earnings Of the miners at Virden
were less than $3.50 each.
Negroes Arrive at 81. Loui.-
St Louis. oct I5.-Fifty-seven ne
Croes from Alabama TO work in the
mines at Virden. Ills. are stranded in
this city. They arrived here last night
over the Chicago and Alton road from
Springfield. Ills. and as they have no
beyond St Louis the
men are unable TO get out of the city.
Ii YOU have catarrh, don't daily !
with local remedies, but purify and |