The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-05-04
State Inspector Reveals True
Condition of Affairs.
Coal Diggers Earn as Low as 80
Cents.
THE YEARLY AVERAGE.
Receive From s1O9 to $3.50 Per
Annum.
Concise Report of the Situation
In Kansas.

The report to the governor which is :
now being prepared by Edward Keegan.
state mine inspector, is the most COM
plete and accurate document of the
kind which has been prepared and
printed with reference to this import
ant business and reveals sCme startling
conditions.
The research has been exhaustive; the
tables and detailed information are au-
thentic and the volume will contain the
most complete statistics published on
the subject of mines and mining in
Kansas.
Governor Stanley who was associated
with Mr.. Keegan in the inspection and
repairing of the state penitentiary mine
shafts says; Mr.. Keegan is one of the
most conscientious and painstaking OIL
Gals serving the state. POHt1cS, 1 am
very glad to say, makes no difference to
Mr.. Keegan- He is a faithful worker
and is thoroughly competent for the du-
ties to which he was elected by the
state association of miners.
During the years the Office of state
mine inspector has existed an annual
effort has been made by those officials
to collect statistics concerning the
wages of miners in Kansas. The reports
have been at wide variance and not un-
til this report which is now being pub
lished by Mr.. Keegan has anything like
a definite conclusion been reached. In
presenting the subject in the report Mr..
Keegan says:
There is no subject in which the
miners are more greatly interested than
that of wages or earnings and it has
been my earnest hope to be able to pre-
sent a correct and comprehensive state
ment of the earnings of this body of
wage workers of our state.
This, I find is very difficult to do.
First, because by the direction of the
law am compelled to rely on the flg-
ures furnihed by the coal companies
themselves; second. SO many persons
are. mining coal as an adjunct to their
other occupations that they can not be
fairly claSed as miners and to include
them in this calculation would be a
manifest injustice to those who are en-
gagged in coal mining as a sole means
of support have therefore selected the
principal shafts Of the four greatest
coal producing counties in the state
eliminating all but those employees act
ually engaged in mining. coal as their
sole means of subsistence.
THE inspector has reason to believe
that a few of the returns from Crawford
and Cherokee counties do not represent
the facts and that the actual earnings
of the miners at those shafts are mueh
| less than represented by the returns"
Some of the transactions of the miners
and the methods by which they follow
| mis- advocation are explained by the
fo1owing extract from the report:
THE powder used at each mine is di-
! vided equally among the miners en-
ployed and the amount is deducted
1
additional is deducted for other expen-
ses such as blacksmithing, squibs, oil.
| paper, soap and repairing tools This
| expense is incurred by every miner"
The earnings of the miners are tabu-
lated as follows. the name of the mine be-
ing omitted:
coal, working 70 days, making a daily
average for the year of 80 cents per day.
One hundred miners produced 1888
tons, working 66 days, earning an average
| of SL6S pei. Gay for the year
One hundred fifty-eight miners produced
| S5,65l tons in 65 days, all the time the
mine was worked. which is true in all
cases Where the tlne OF working Is specl-
/ fed herein, making an average of 67 cents
per day for the year
| The average per day earned by miners
| for the year follows:
275 miners average ............-..........$1- .$1-12
260 miners average ---------.-----.-.----- 1-S6
miners average .-...-.-.-.-...-...---. lz3
| 1S4 miners average ......-........-.--.-.. 81
! 100 miners average ..........-.---..-.---. LOS
These are representative cases. but the
| actual yearly earnings of the miners in
| the sum total, without doubt reveals in
| the cases of many families, stories of suf-
| fering and derivation about which the
ulated are as follows the first figures
being the number of miners employed,
/ the amount given being the net earnings
! for each individual:
30 miners. net earnings, each, per
66 miners. net earnings each. per
| year .-..---.---. .------ z45-lS
200 miners, net earnings, each, per
W year aai'e-.' .i -. .'-' - 1os.47
10y year iil'si' le. -, i.'i. -, 1888
year tssa.s. ne. e.-' i'..,'. - 44s.1
| As miners, net earnings, each, per
The The production Of coal in Kansas for
1899 was the grea test in the history Of the
| state BOYS and men to the number of
| 10.0iS produced 4.095. .S95 tons of coal, valued
at $5 124 24S. o.. This was an increase OF
263 1891 tons over last year
| During 1893 there were 10 IdIal accluenLS.
| being one accident for each 25G,056 tons Of
|