The evening times., 1900-09-17
CAUSES OF THE STRIKE.
The Many Wrongs of the Pennsyi-
yania Miners.
To the Editor of The Times:

fanfa
To the Editor of The Times:
I am well acquainted in the anthracite
coal fields of Pennsylvania. For the last
ten years the miners Of those regions have
worked only from one and one-half to four
days per week until last July and August,
since when they have been making fun
time, averaging from $270 to Sc per week
They live in company houses, most of
which are totally unfit for human beings
to inhabit, the companies charging 81 to
Sc per month for rent
/ wish the people of this country could
know how the miners are treated by the
Coal Trust, In the hrst place, each COM
pany has 81 company store in which is sold
i dry goods rough clothing. groceries. etc,
at from 10 to 80 per cent higher prices
than Independent stores charge. For in
stance, picks costing SO per dozen are sold
to the miners at rs cents each; keg OF
powder costing ST is sold for from $3.50
to S2.75: steel fer drills is sold at 200 per
cent above cost; tampering iron bought for
! Is cents is sold for 30 cents, and 100 per
! cent is reaped on the sale OF lamps and
! oils
/ After mining from thirty five to forty
| hundred pounds of coal the miner is al
/ lowed for one ton. Should chunk tall
/ from the car in coming out of the mine
! the miner is docksd 400 or $50 pounds.
! Should car break down in going from
the mine to the breaker. distance. III
some cases of four miles, it is the mi
neI s loss. / stood last summer at the
mouth OF a drift called the Last Caance
mine. in Carbondale. Pa. talking to the
decker. l asked him what a miner was
! allowed for one of their ears. He told
me one ton. / am sure there was al
I least thirty-fiye to forty hundredweight
| on one car.
The miners work IS lab9rious, to say
| nothing of the danger of working under
! ground frem 200 to $50 feet. liable to
I be crushed at any moment or killed 10y
| foul air l wish you could go through
I the miners hospital at Fountain
Springs, Schuylknl county. Pa. and see
the miners who get manned and cI ippled
for life. You can scarcely find mi
ner who has followed the trade foI
! twenty years. Forty five is the aVeFSge
| lease of life among them. c n inueo
working in the wet places gives tnen
! what is known as miners consunpt on
Specimens of the lungs OF deceased mi
| ners NAV be seen here in the AaCona
| Medical Museum.
The Reading Pennsylvania. Delaware
land Hudson, Delaware and Lackawanna
Iekigh Valley. New Jersey Central, unta
rio and Western. and Erie railroad compa
MES all own mines. and are mining them
BY giving the individual operators too few
cars they have frozen them out. compelling
them TO sell TO The companies. The latter
bv hauling their own output at cheape
rates have frozen still more out, until a
present they control about s. per cent o
the coal and the baaHce through transpoT
tation. The few individual operators ief
are only on the outs'lirts of the coal fields.
| Note how the combined companies hay
| treated the people during the past tW
wears. The price of coal has been raised
The hfty-four millions of tons mined b
them last year gave them SS6.teo.oto on IN
rise alone to be divided between eight com
panies The Reading Railroad Compan
controls about 30 per cent OF all the an
thracite coal. making their share $4,000.
0G0
| What has the Coal Trust done for III
public2 a family using three tons per yea
is paying $3.50 more, a family using 81
! tons 81 so more, and family using lively
! tons $In % more. The miners meanWhil
are getting the. same wages but payin
more than before for rawder and tools
Mckinley prosperity" has not struc
the Pennsylvania coal miners the last thre
years / think the Coal Trust has had
however. plenty OF prosperity at the ex
panse OF the miners and consumers an
should give very literally TO the Mckinle
campaign fund. Z. B. HUGHES.
| Washington Sept. Il 1900