Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1902-12-13


eonld rs seven lles aM tsiii
and placed them Ia 8 cold amp en-
PITY house. This was last month,
when the atmosphere on the Hazleton
mountain was quite cold. His wife
became worse. Medical aid was kind
" furnished free by q Hazleton doc
tor, but it did not help her much. "
I'VE were greatly worried because
OF our having been turned out of our
house and one night,'' the witness
said, between sobs, s'she died.n
"She died ?" said Judge GRAY, who
was pacing to and fro across the
room as he quickly turned when he
heard the mans last words.
Yes, sir; she died and | buried her
All of the commissioners and many
| Of those in the courtroom were much
affected by the old miners story. The
witness went on to say that he did not
know whether the centenarian was
alive to day or not. She was in bad
condition when he left home last night.
No one cared to cross-examine and
Judge Gray said:
"That is all, Mr.. Coll, and that's
enough"
And every man in the country that
has grain of humanity in him ought
to echo that sentiment: "That is
enough
1t ought to be more than a enough
to awaken the people to the necessity
OF doing something to prevent the re-
currence of such outrages.
It is disgrace to America that the
thing could happen. 1t will be a far
worse disgrace if it is allowed to hap
pen again.
John Markle and his assistants in
this cruel deed are no anomalies. They
are the natural growth of the system
that prevails in the mining regions.
1t will be noticed that the So called
independent companies are the ones
guilty of the most of these outrages.
This is natural. Added to their greed
for gold they have to pay tribute to
the greed of the mine owners and to
their competitors, the coal mining
railroads.. Thus they naturally get
down to practicing the smallest kind
OF economics, and from that to treat
ing the labOrers as mere machines for
extracting gold for the company in
every possible way is short step. It
is q we'll known fact that man must
progress in the direction he has start
ed, unless he makes a complete turn.
lie cannot stop at any particular
point. If he begins to grind down his
laborers he will gradually get worse
and worse. Conscience hardens,
greed becomes more exacting and the
human feeling becomes more and more
dormant. We cannot cure this d.
sease without removing the cause.
The exposures now made nay for a
time check these outrages, but as time
passes on they will gradually recur.
Does anyone suppose that such a
story would ever have been told if the
mines had been public property and
been operated by the government
No, it could not have happened, be-
cause the greed that caused it would
not have been there. They might not
have been run as "econc micallt" as
they are now, but the economy that
grinds the life out OF men, women and
children and then turns them out to
die in the cold has no place in q civ
ilized and Christian community. The
mining of the coal would undoubted.
ly cost more under government own.
ership. We all want it to cost enough
to give a good living tothe miners, to
release their women from the mine
work and place them where they be.
! long-in the homes; to take their chill
dren out OF the mines and place them
where they belong theschocls. Blu,
the cost to the consumer would be
lessened, be- cause he would not have
to pay exorbitant tribute to the
owner of the mine, the operator and
the railroads.
Is it not time for nation that
boasts of it's enlightenment and de-
votion to the principles of Christianity
to forever end slavery in whatever
form it appears; to overthrow the
Moloch that is feasting on the chill.
dren of poverty in the mining re-
gions
l "We favor home rule for and the
early admission to statehood of ,h<
territories of New Mexico, Arizons
and Oklahoma ''-Republican Nation
al Platform. 1900.
And now Senator Knute Nelson O
Minnesota wants the republican party