Evening star., 1899-04-12
CONDITIONS OF MINERS
John Mitchell's Testimony Before the Indus
trial Commission.
Importation of COIored Labor Into
Ilifnois-Average Earning Of S1.03
Day-Right to Organize.

| Mr.. John Mitchell, president of the United
| Mine Workers of America, continued his
| testimony before the industrial commission
| IL the Bliss building, opposite the Capitol,
yesterday afternoon. He favored the entire
restriction of immigration for term of
years as a means for relieving the over
| stocked labor market. Speaking of colored
! labor in the mines of Illinois today, he
said:
"Colored labor has been and is being
used for the purpose of reducing wages of
workingmen. They are imported from the
south to the northern states and frequent
| ly are kept working under guards To pre-
vent this laws should be enacted, making
| it a criminal offense for employers to in
duce laborers to leave their homes under
misapprehensions. Colored laborers are used
to work in the mines of Illinois more than
in any other industry there
No Prejudice Against Blacks.
There was no prejudice among the white
miners against the black miners. In Ala
hama more than 80 per cent of the black
| miners are in the unions with white men,
and in some cases colored men are at the
head of unions in which white men are
members. In the southern AMI states west
Of Iowa he did not think the public school
facilities We're sufficient, and in mining cen-
lCTS ne InDuRnt tlSre should DE night
schools so that boys beyond the school age
and who work during the day time could
obtain an education.
MIR. Mitchell was not opposed to consoH-
dation, though it had been his observation
that wages were not increased because OF
such consultations He would limit the
possible profit that could be made in such
consultations to a certain percentage on
actual investments.
The mine operators of West Virginia had
shipped their coal from that state through
Ohio and sold 1t on the lake front at rate
less than the advertised freight rate of the
roads over which the coal was shipped
Effect of Machinery.
Machinery in mines had made conditions
so that one-half the men that formerly
We're required to do a certain amount of
work can do it today. In the future one
half the men now engaged as miners will
be able to do the work of the mines. A
machine will be able to do twice as much
work as a man. The miners are opposed
to the machine only because they look
upon it a means for displacing their
labor. Now men have to compete with
the machines in digging coal Machines
had reduced wages, though gas and OH
displacing coal in the markets to some
extent had had the same effect by reduc-
ing the consumption of coal.
Employers liability laws were desirable
to reduce the number of accidents in the
mines, and they had been adopted in Eng
land.
Deaths in the Mine.
For every 277, 900 tons of coal hofsted
from mine man is killed." he said, 'and
in addition to that a dozen men are Sc
riously injured in the production of that
quantity of coal. That is often the fault
of the mine owners. A dead man is brought
out OF the coal mines almost daily. The
mining laws of Great Britain are much
more strict than our laws, and there are
very few fatal accidents there, although
their mines are full of dangerous gases.
While the people l represent" Mr..
Mitchell said in closing, desire very much
the improvement of our laws for the pro-
lection of workingmen, l believe that II
laws We're enacted that would allow Ia
boring man to join trade unions without
intimidation could do much to change
conditions SO as to make them quite FAVOR
able. Laboring people believe there has
been so much legislation in favor of cor
porations they feel they should re-
ceive protection by the law. They are the
weak element now Men should not be
driven from place to place because they
join labor organizations.
Earnings of Miners.
In reply to a question he said miners in
this country earn s1.03 a day on an aver
age during the entire year. and of that
amount 10 cents a day is required to pay
their expenses in connection with their
work in the mine.
Surprise was expressed at this low figure,
but Mr.. Mitchell said that he had believed
the average was smaller than that before
the calculation had been made, and the Of
hcialS of the miners association had con-
graduated themselves that Ii was so high,
because a few years ago they estimated
that the daily average was but 81 cents,
from which expenses incurred in the mine
We're to be deducted. They had congratu-
lated themselves on the fact thai the
miners organization had done something to
increase wages.