The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-02-22

THE OTHER SIDE
OF sCoFIELD STRIKE


To the Editor of The Herald:
A great deal has been printed of late
concerning the striking miners at ScotlelG,
and the public Is invited 10 extend ITS
sympathy 70 them and also requested 70
coTa.rlDute to the support OF the needy
famil.es of the men who claim 10 be
striking for living wages As the Peasant
Nditty Coal company, TOT some reason
has Deen aVerse to giving out any matter
for publication, I took advantage OF an
opportunity to investigate the situation
While in ScOfield recently, and find that
tbs miners there were earning. before the
strike, better wages than skilled me-
Cbanics in Salt LAKE City and far higher
wages than miners in Eureka, Blngnarn
or other camps IN the state. me aver
age earnings of all employees IN Winter
Quarters and Clear Greek is s. per day,
This includes the drivers labOTeTs. etc,
who are paid S2.53 per day. The price paid
for mining the coal is sufficient to allow a
skilful mirer 20 earn from $3.50 TO 80 per
day of eight hours and few earn less than
the smaller sum
The fact that within thirty days from
the Inception Of the strike committees
were appointed TO solicit aid may be ac-
counted for by the fact that in ScO--eld,
a town OF about 1,5G9 inhabitants. there
are ten saloons, each paying 1890 per
annum license; now man has right TO
spend his money for whisky if he wants
to, but the fact that he does 50 should
bar him from asking others to support
him.
In illustration of the starvation
wages paid the miners. [ will instance
the Deem er pay roll, when $4,000 cash
was paid the Winter Quarters miners
alone, after deducting all store bills and
board bills. The committee which is So
letting aid mere earned as follows for that
month: Lewis George, SSG.C5. and after de-
Quoting bills, as above, he had S64 left
J. G. Bell received Sl25.64 net Hoy earned
! $3.50 for December. and am informed
Tor the first tWeuty-fOuT days of JanU-
airy drew over $1C) net. Pat Rooney had
So net after his bills were all paid.
Few people are aware of the fact that
D H.aanN nana~ H.
purses IN wages alone approximately
$l,0C3,tC9 here in Utah, and Incidentally
gives employment to an army of railroad
men, Many of the miners told me that
they were earning more money in eight
hours here than they could earn in ten
hours anywhere else in the United States.
Yet in the face of these facts, some of
the miners who are the first and lOudeSt
to howl about 'claSS legislation, are ap-
pealing to the legislature to enact special
legislation in their favor and wax indig-
nant over the action of the company in
enforcing an iron clad (Which they have
found absolutely necessary in self-prO-
tectiOn), denOUncing ii as un-American.
and subVersiVe of the liberty of the in
dividaul while they themselves respect
the rights of individuals so little as to
threaten violence on men who choose to
continue at work and apply such eplthets
/ as Scsp and black leg to men whose
crime consists in earning a living for their
family rather than posing as beggars.
Se +. V. Coal company has lost.
through this strike, contract for coal
! en- the Southern Pacific which brought
INTO the. State over $4,000 per annum.
nearly all of which was disbursed as
! wages as the company shaved the price
very low to get 1t. This may be regained.
but in the meantime that sum is lost TO
the state. and its loss viii be felt The
general public. always ready to heed an
appeal from the distressed and needy.
should discriminate between the genuine
needy and the sturdy begsars who are
attempting to impose uDon them.
I 4