The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-10-11
Relief System of Miners.

MANY contradictory statements have
| lV appeared in the newspapers re-
lating to the distribution of the
relief fund among the striking anthra-
cite mine workers. Very few attempts
nave been made, however to ascertain
just what system of accounting is en-
ployed in this distribution. The clear
| est statement of the matter that has
come to our notice is contributed by
Sept. 6.
As DR.. Weyl points out, the relief
! system of the miners differs from that
of charitable organizations in that it's
central idea is militant rather than
charitable" That is to say, the OBJ
ject in view is the winning of the
| strike, rather than the prevention of
suffering. The principle of absolute
equality in the distribution of the fund
has been discarded for the principle
of distribution in accordance with the
/ needs of the applicants.
1.-The funds received by the national
organization were divided among the
three districts of the anthracite regions
in proportion to the number of mine
workers in each, but each of these dis
tricts redistributed its quota according
to the requirements of the various
locals composing it. Even here a rough
| approximation seems to have been
! made to the number of mine workers in
the various locals, although some of
the locals demanded less than their
share, while others, it is claimed, have
hitherto refused all aid whatsoever. In
the distribution of relief no discrimiha
ton has been made against non-union
miners, who receive the same amount
of aid as the union miners.
The system of accounting appears to
be both simple and effective The dis
trict officers have printed order books
in the shape of check books, with de-
tachable orders and stubs. A local
makes a requisition for one or more of
these books, and when relief is granted
the name of the recipient and the
amount granted are written upon the
order and upon the remaining stub. The
order which the miner receives is not
convertible into cash, but is accepted
by the local grocer in payment for
flour, potatoes, meat, canned goods, etc.
The grocer fills out the amounts and
prices of the goods received upon the
diverse of the order, and both grocer
and miner sign this statement, thus
minimizing the danger of allowing the
grocer and miner in collision to con-
vert the order into cash and subse-
quently into whiskey. The grocer or
other small local merchant surrenders
the filled out order and receives his pay
ment in the form of check. The local
union thus retains the original stub, the
order accepted by the miner, the
miners receipt for the groceries pur-
chased, and the stub of the check paid
to the grocer. The local auditing com
mittee reviews the workings of the sys-
tenn, and the district officials have
equally the right to inquire into the dis |
tribution of the funds.
1.-THE reduction of the expense OF re- |
lief is carried to a fine point, and relief |
is granted in a manner family suggest |
ing Becky Sharp's famous plan of iiv- I
ing on nothing year. There are many |
men in the district who will not accept |
relief, and many others to whom it is /
not granted. The great army of those
who have left do not, of course, receive
relief, and men who have obtained work
in the region also go without assist
ance. A corresponding reduction is
made for miners or other mine workers
who receive aid FROM relatives or