The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-08-01
r. OF SUBSCRIPTION.
POSTAGE PREPAID.
FRIDAY. AUGUST 1, 1902.
WHO RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COAL
NINE STRIKE.

WnlIe the coal operators are cOnliHu-
ally announcing that there is nothing
to arbitrate they are as persistently
putting up the price of coal, and the
consumer finds the strike becoming
more burdensome to him day by day.
When the owners of the mines feel tina
the mines they will come to an agree
ment with the miners of a sufficiently
satisfactory nature to the latter as to
induce them to return to work. Yester-
days press dispatches from W~ilkesbarre
f~oreshadow this in the statement that
the officials of one colliery have an
nounced their intention to resume oper-
atoms on August End, and in the furth-
er announcement that opinion prevails
throughout that section that no attempt
to break the strike will be made before
September.
1t has been said that the main rea-
son for the strike was the determina-
ton of the big mine and railroad cor
poratioqs of that section of the country
to destroy the miners union. 1t will
be remembered that when the represent
tatives of the union called on the Oper-
atOrs to present their grievances they
were refused a hearing because their
organization was not recognized by the
employers of the miners; but they were
told that representatives of the strik-
ers as individuals would be given a
hearing. The miners believed this
statement to be made in good faith and
appointed committees. These called
upon the operators and were told that
they had no grievances and that there
vas nothing to arbitrate. Further
more they were told that hereafter no
communication would be had with any
striking employees.
When the civic federation attempted
to bring about a settlement of the
trouble between operators and miners
and simply asked the former to agree
i arbitrate the matter in dispute they
" re CURLY told that there was nothing
to arbitrate.
iAese facts point strongly to a DELHI
crate forcing Of the strike upon the
miners by the operators and a determi-
~ II ohlI4 N1IC 1cI((SI
had game some desired end-either to
advance the price of coal or to destroy
the Miners union, perhaps both. The
first object they have attained, and the
second will be likely to follow, unless
the miners at work in other fields and
the general public will continue for
some time to come to contribute about
"a half million dollars a week to the sup
port of the idle men and their families
in the anthracite region.
The orderlyneSs with which this
strike has been conducted and the alb
sence of the usual rioting and fighting
with peace officers and mine guards
on like occasions have worked greatly
in favor of the strikers, and it is to be
hoped that this state of affairs will con-
tinue. In most protracted strikes, no
matter to how great extent the men
nave the sympathy of the public at the
beginning, they generally lose it before
the strike is over by reason of their
lawless conduct, destruction of proper
ty and rioting. But it is to be feared
that this c~ommendable state of affairs
will not exist much longer and there is
danger of this strike following the eX-
ample of most others. We already
read OF manifestations of great unrest
among the strikers, which, in fact, has
already broken out into a series of out
RACES and deeds of violence covering
a large portion of the strike area In
an attack on a colliery by armed strik-
ers two mine superintendent are
wounded. Other acts OF violence of this
nature are reported. Such conduct as
this is just what the mine operators
most desire. 1t will turn public sympa-
thy from the strikers and give the other
side opportunity for imposing more OPP
pressive terms On the men when the
time comes to end the strike.
In the meantime the public have TO
go deeper down into their pockets every
time they buy a ton of coal.
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