The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-09-24

and from my own personal knowledge,
| have figured out that the average
net wage paid each miner is $3.50 per
day. and the average wage paid each
laborcr is Sl.67 n day. There are many
miners shown on the pay-rolls Of the
companies whose wages have reached
as much as S. u day. and lahorers
whose wages have reached SO day
THE work of the miner is danger.
Gus and hard. and they deserve good
pay. but when their alleged ground for
strike is that they have been re-
duced to penury and want. It is not
true. There are men working. I'll ad-
init, who only work five and ten days
month, but there are such in every
industry.
"In every walk " life there is ccr-
tain percentage Of shiftless. careless.
drinking fellows. who would never be
better off If they were paid $40 n day.
These are the men who never have a
home and who never know what it is
to have 800 i'm the hank. The money
burns in their pocket TIN they get rid
of it for drink.
"TVe been doing a. LITTLE nriNate
mathematical work the past few days
and find that If all the male members
of this church received the daily aver
age wage paid the miner and that if
they were obliged to pay part of this
over by the tithc system, as the Jews
used to do. we would receive twice
as much as we do now.
Then we must take into the discus
sion the question of the bighting,
blasting, corrupting saloon. The sa-
loonkeepers will feel the strike depres-
sion less than any other class of busi-
ness men. If they feel it at all they'll
be the last to feel it and the first to re-
cover from it's effects.
ut has been proven that there are
in this valley many miners who pay
more for beer every month than they
pay for food and clothing. Put the
saloon out of their lives and God in
and the transformation would be glori-
GUS and complete.
Arbitration with the great compa-
nies is, l think possible, if there is
anything reasonable, fair and honest
to arbitrate. / believe as a rule that
the operators are perfectly willing to
arbitrate. If arbitration comes, how
ever. 1t must come between the en-
ployes of each company and that COM
pany. The companies can't arbitrate
the grievances of the employees of 9TH
ers if they would.
THE EVIL OF IT.
THE present strike is. in my opin-
ion, too much in the hands of the btu
minous miners and it is to their ad-
vantage to keep the strike on as long
as possible. | say it is very unwise
for the anthracite miner to have men
other than some of themselves at their
head. They must remember that ev-
cry customer gained by the bituminous
operators during this strike means a
loss to them.
Let this strike but continue for q
month and ii will take the anthracite
region years to recover from its ef-
feCts. Let the bituminous operators
gain and keep some of the anthracite
operators customers and who will suf
fer for it? No one else but the an
thracite miner.
II think that this wholesale assault
on the life of the community, as this
strike is, is entirely uncalled for, un-
just and unwiSe. You know as well as
/ that there are thousands of miners
out of strike now who are idle not
because they want to be or because
they need to be, but because of intimi-
dation, orders and threats. They are
afraid to work. This is contrary to the
law of God.
when men do not like the conditions
under which they are working let them
appeal like men to their employers.
They have the liberty 10 leave their
work if they don't like it and have
nothing more to do with it. Let them
seek service where it is 'more to their
taste ana liking. The employer should
certainly help his employe and the EN-
ploye in return should certainly help
his employer"