Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1900-06-02
What Does the Situation Suggest d?


Lastly-the empire
What Does the Situation Suggest?
The older miners of this region re-
member Hughes, 1.-THE hero of 50, as
he was later known.
He is the man, more than all others,
who gave the Pocahontas region its
boost at the expense of Georges Creek
a region whose development since has
grown SO great that i'll area and extent
of production Georges Creek is now COM
paratively pigmy.
Added to some tricks of rugged speech
Hughes was endowed with "a gift of
weeping over the woes of his fellow
workmen. He had swimming eyes, of
red complexion, which he could fill to
overlooking at Il moments notice from
Il reservoir apparently big as barrel
and perennially full.
When his mission here had ended he
Went home and, i'll reporting his achieve
ments, said, among other things
| shed GALLONS of eye-water.
Whether he was working on il COM
employment has never appeared, but he
quickly obtained a big, paying position
with Il coal company and was thus
endowed with life tenure carrying
with it nothing to make him afraid of
further drain upon his stock of eye
water except now and then death in
the family.
Hughes type of exploit is one Of the
features or incidents of organized labor
administration which have given rise at
intervals to the question-whether
movements from one coal region to get
advantage of a competing region, such
as was achieved by Pocahontas III 1882,
can be engineered under the auspices of
Il labor order without the connivance or
order?
Whether just OF not, the knights of
Labor, for instance, have suffered Sc
riOuSly i'll m0rHIr and reputc from i'm
putations of completely III several such
destructive schemes.
And it has not been many days since
ii report came to this vicinity that All
Illinois coal community was recently
we'll nigh ruined by just such propo-
gnnd0 as we have on hand in this region
to-day. Business was wrecked, property
In,lrnni tn6 in I-n1nn .x-i1,1
their homes-those remaining reducedt to
beggary, and, worse than all, t,udc gone
cIsc"hcrT for an indefinite period!
When one whose reason is not carried
away by sentiment, or prejudice or what
may be the clap-trap of 'your man
hood, studies things as they are, and
lays not too much stress ON what things
o"gM 10 be- he is very likely to inquire
-"hm are IRE oct"oHy doing! Are we
really saving ourselves by the sacrifices
we are making, or are we committing
suicide:
Now, if there is one thing certain i'll
this whole unfortunate business it is that
the companies should have gratitied
their employees by meeting them.
They could have done so i'll August
and several times later-without hurt
to their convenience or derOgation of
their dignity. In failing so to do they
placed club i'll Warmers hands and
under United Mine Workers auspices
which has been welded with an effect
that is yet to be accounted morally good
or bad.
But us things are as they areas the
companies did not do what they should
have done-in the light Of suspension
history III this region is it not pertinent
for each miner to ask himself
|, Am | booming some other region at
the expense of my own, as was undoubt-
eddy done here i'll 1882?
,, Does our failure to obtain IL confer
ence warrant us i'll longer throwing
away our work for the benefit of COM
peting regions:
3, Does our failure to get 60 cents
ton warrant us i'll throwing away 30
4, Does one wrong justify another?
>, If it does, and neither party 10 ii is
proft"g by II, ~ho is Interesting a crap
that bcIongS p"ri'y 10 both my employers
and 10 me-
&, If it be competing regions who are
getting the rewards of our idlencSs-
and fITrT ar, name ,IN,, T., ant fLghu-hoW
can it profit Mr.. Warnerand the organi-
zation for us to follow them III policy
which so far has led only to our I'M
poverishment?
:, But should it turn ont that compet-
ing coal fields are not the only stock
holders in the trust whose mission seems
to aim at the devastation of this region,
Who are Ht othrrS, and Whm is the dmoUEt
= 81 III. H.,