Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-06-13

MCCORMACK delivered MS address,, WHICH
was as follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the
y. Butte Miners Union, Members of Or
j ganized Labor, Fellow Citizens All:
1t is with a great lea of pleasure and
pride that I welcome you today, and
thank you for assisting in making this,
the twenty-second annual parade of the
Butte Miners union, one of the %grandest
in it's history. AS you all know, June Is,
1878, was the birthday of our union.
Many elements in the history of Butte
have received more attention at the
hands of the historian, but never has
anything happened since the discovery
of minerals in our midst that Ia been
fraught with equal blessings to that por-
ton of humanity within it's jurisdiction.
(Applause).
TIL heroic founders of our organiza-
ton, % years ago today, declared in an
unmistakable manner to the representa-
tives of corporate oppression that the
men who go down into the bowels of
the earth, in constant danger to life and
limb and lung, while c%ontending with
the forces of nature in wrestling our
treasures from Mother Earth to enrich
the commercial world, were not towards.
They knew their rights, and knowing,
dared to maintain them. (Applause).
; That no man in Butte shall work for
a less compensation than $3.50 per day.
(Applause).
Every promise has been fulfilled. The
past speaks for itself. The organization
of the Miners union and it's declaration
of % years ago today has been a source
from which surrounding camps in the
hour of oppression have drawn nspira-
ton. The founders of our organization
builded better than they knew. The seed
sown by them has yielded an abundant
harvest. They have reason to be proud
of their work. Ever since the date Of
it's birth the supporters of it's principles
have never been buried in a pauper's
rave, nor has the child or widow of a
deceased brother ever felt hat they were
alone in the world. (Aplause).
Ladies and gentlemen. the Butte
Miners union felt that it's work was not
yet accomplished; that the mines were
growing deeper; that the air of the
mines was growing foul, and that on the
tw~enty-second anniversary they found
it necessary, while not raising the
miners wage, to shorten the hours of
labor. Great Applause.) For that rea-
son the Miners union appointed a COM
mittee to wait upon the operators of the
mines in Silver Bow county TO ask if the
men that worked in the bowels Of the
earth to produce food for themselves and
families ought not to have a stated day
of eight hours. (Applause.) 1t IL with
great pleasure that I submit as the re-
suits of the committees work the fol-
lowing communications:
Butte, Mont, June II, 1900.
Michael Mccormick, Esq, President
! Butte Miners Union.
Dear Sir: In esponse to the official
communication received by me relative
to the committee of the Miners Union
which has been appointed to confer with
me, 1 have to say that I had a pleasant
and satisfactory conference with them
concerning a subject which has been
uppermost in my mind for some time
!, past, and which has engaged my serious
thought and consideration.
Il A discussion of the question of what
should constitute a days work for the
underground miner in Montana involves
. a consideration of the peculiar nature of
his employment. 1t is undoubtedly a
fact that no occupation is more hazard
Gus or rduou than his. He assumes
J more risks than any other laborer and
the accidents to which he is subjected
are more disastrous. Shut out from the
sunlight, he works in the dark recesses
will ever again see the light of day.. His
/ work is most Wearisome, and the close
Of his days labor ind him exhausted
in body and in no condition for tha
healthful recreation which he needs tc
keep up his spirits. and with no time q,
opportunity to better his condition So
cially or morally. The character of his
citizenship, the welfare of his family
the community and the state, the qual-
ity of his labor and consequently the in
terests of his employer are all impaired
by too many hours of work.
That labor which does not take hone
and courage from a man is best for all
concerned. The legislation of some OF
our sister states, and the measures now
pending in congress show conclusively
that there Is a growing tendency te
{ shorten the hours of work all over thu
l 11nifa6 States and 7 fola - ~ H.
form which annot be retarded by the
selfish interests of great combinations
of capital which simply regard the
: laborer as a tool to~be made use of 70,
l their own end
There is another consideration which
4 should not be lost sight of. The profits
, of those engaged in mining in Silver
l Bow county have greatly increased ir
} the last few years through the rise in
i, the price of copper. but the underground
{ miner has had no share In the prosperity
His work is as hard n as Ions wifi
l cupper at Is and Is cents a pound a,
: when copper was II and - cents q
pound.
5 I believe that this favorable condition
Of the metal market which has broueh,
great wealth to the ~ortunate owners nj
copper properties in Butte ought to hen
eft in some degree those who in tn
slopes and levels are rendering an in.
dispensable service in this great indus.
: try. 1t is possible that eastern stock.
which are operating here have little Der.
sonal knowledge of and possibly les.
e concern for the interests of the under
ground miners, but a personal Obserya.
ton of and association with such miner.
has led me to believe. and it is my sin,
cere conviction that the request on thei
t part for shorter hours Of labor withou