The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-07-26
LIFE OF A MINER In
THE ANTHRACITE
COAL REGION
Continued from page H.

Continued from page L.
him scratching for his own family
1t is nonsense TO say l was not com
PEELED to keep him. that | could have
sent him to a hospital or the aims
house. We are American citizens and
We don't go to hospitals and poor
houses.
Let us look at things as they are to-
day or as they were before this strike
commenced.
Ny last pay envelope shows wages
after my labOTer. power. oil and other
expenses were taken off. were S29.47
that was my earnings for two weeks.
and that extra good. The laborer for
the same time got some S21. His wages
are trife over so a week Tor six full
days. Before the strike of 1900 he was
paid in this region S1.70 per day. or
5000 a week. If the 10 per cent raise
had been given, as we expected his
wages would be $1.S1 per day, or $11. 20
per week. or an increase of S1.02 per
week. But we all know that under the
present system he doesn't get any $11
Well, as / said, my wages were $29. AZ
for the two weeks. or at the rate of
$5S.94 per month. My rent is S1O.5O per
month. My coal costs me almost 81
per month. We burn a little over a
ton a month on an average and it
costs US over So per ton. Light does
not cost so much; we use coal oil al
together.
Wnen it comes down TO groceries is
where you get hit the hardest. Every
body knows the cost of living has been
extremely high all winter Butter has
been 32 36 and 3S cents a pound: eggs
as high as 81 cents a dozen; ham u
and is cents a pound: potatoes away
up to a dollar ald cabbage not less
than cent a pound. Fresh meat need
not be counted. Flour and sugar did
not advance, but they were about the
only staples that didn't Anyhow. nv
store bill for those two weeks was s11.
That makes S22 per month. The butch
er gets $6 per month Add them all,
and ii costs me, just to i've. $42.50
That leaves 81 per month to keep my
famlly in clothes, to pay my church
dues and to keep the. Industrial insur-
anee going. My insurance alone costs
me % cents week, or 1920 a month.
The coal president never allows his
stable boss to cut the amount of fod-
DER allotted TO his mules He insists
on so many quarts of oats and corn
TO the meal and so much hay in the
evening. The mule must be fed; the |
miner may be, If he works hard enough !
and earns money to buy the grub.
company stores are of the time that |
has been. Their existence ended two /
years ago. But we've got a system
growing up that threatens to be lust
as bad. Let me explain. Over a year
ago ! was given a breast to drive at
one of our mines and was glad To get
ii. My wife took her cash and went
around the different places to buy.
When L went TO the office for nv first
Pay the super" met me and asked me
II 1 didn't know his wifes brother
George kept store. l. answered 4
Yes and wanted to know what that
had to do with it.
Nothing. only 1 thought I'd call
your attention to it," he answered.
No more was said then. But the !
next day ! got a quiet tip that nv J
breast was TO be abandoned This set
me thinking. / went to the boss and.
liter few words, told him nv wife
iad found brother-in-laW Georges ! I
'lore and that she liked it much bet c
er man where she had bought before.
told him the other store didn't sell
ne right kind of silk waists, and their {
,atent leather shoes were away back. !
3rother-in-law George had the right
ind of stuff and. of course. we were :
'liling TO pay few cents more to get
ust what We wanted
That was sarcastic, but it's the cash
nat has the influence | have had =
'ork at that colliery ever since.
now my living costs me from 10 to I
. per cent extra. But l kept nv lob u
'hich meant a. good deal.
Now you must take into considera-
on that l am contract miner and
nat my earnings are more than the l,
ages of three-fourths of the other u
'llows at the same coIlierv. If is not n
lat am a favorite with the boss. I s.
lst struck good breast. Maybe next N
lonth my wages would be from 81 to p
or s. less. 81
We miners do not participate in the tc
lgh prices of coal. The operators tr.v re
prove otherwise by juggling with II
cures but their proving has struck p'
IauII and the drill shows no covs1 W
that section. One-half of the price al
llq Tor ton Of coal in New York or Vi
nlladelphia goes into the profit pocket 81
the mine owner either as carrier us
miner ~
we al know that the price of coal OF
IS advanced in the past twenty years. H
e also know that wages are less. that pr
e cost of living is higher l remem- he
y the ume. when 1 wSs a lad. NV wi
ther used 10 get his coal for 81 DER wi
n. Now l pay 50. In those davs We tn
US used to go to the dirt banks and pr
tx load of coal. and it cost our po
me olig vOc 10 get II hauled home di
! ID u" nol 90 that now. Then we de
any such things as that. and for
OF them we must now pay out of nm
tgeS that have been reduced an
)ur condition can be no worse. if in
ght and must be better The luxrr- br
OF the rich we do not ask: We do | co
INT butter for our bread and meal br
our soup We do not want siIlr soi
q iaces for our wives and daughters ,,o We
y we want TO earn enough to buv II
I'm a clean calico once in a while i'm,
&c sr5 ,,,a,,.i.e.-,e - A'SttiIlg automo- an
e,-e,.,- it. - mp cdros IN clubs He
RS to earn enough to keep them at - -
lool until they have a reasonsbIy poS
r education. gel