West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1902-06-19
THE rUNSELroS TROUBLE
As Written up by an OnleIaI Of the
Ainers' Onion.
lrsxslros. W. Va ,.ne - no,

The trouble with the Merchats Coal
Company. towards their employees remains
much the same. The companys represcn.
tatives and their subor dinaies asc a sorry
looking lot. Their schemes OF dirt and
unfairness will not take among as intell,.
gent lot OF people as are In the employ OF
the Merchants Coal Company and OF those
who reside in aud around the neighboring
community.
There are a few .soft-hca1ed noodles
who may also be upon the Company's list
OF b:ood-paid. or black legs, who think
that we should accept without entering our
plea for mercy and that justice be did us.
no matter how oppressive or rotten that
their measure may be. which they are en-
deavoring to enforce upon US. You who
have never mined coal and know little
about mines and mining. know. of course,
thai coal is great blessing to mankind
No doubt you have often thought, OF the
many uses 10 which coal is put TO serve
man. how II keeps you from suffering. how
IL keeps in motion the wheels of our many
industries which. of couse. would be com.
PEELED to stop without il. how IL feeds the
engines and enables the commerce of our
country to spread from ocean to ocean and
also enables the steamships to help in car.
rying on the commercial traffic ofthc entire
world and how IL aids in making electricity
cheap and abundant and tina II is mankind $
slave in general
Possibly you have wondered how we
would get along without coal, but have you
ever thought OF the poor miners who delye
in the bowels of the earth. toiIing and
risking their lives that this useful com
modify may be brought from its dark and
dismal hiding place to The outside world
where il can be put 10 the many usages to
which the Creator intended7
| IL is said that the pen Is mightier than
the sword. So II is; IL can be truthfuly
said that the men who risk life and limb
at mining coal are greater heroes than the
victors OF great battles or the worlds
greatest conquerer.
VIII you think of these things and learn
| TO appreciate the miner as well as the coal
which he mines5 When a coal miner bids
his loved ones adieu in the morning and
goes TO his work. he knows not whether he
will return home living man or
mangled corpse.
There are few occupations so hazard
Gus as that OF the coal miner Besides
the danger from falling coal or rock he
must breathe the poisonous air offensive
powder smoke aud gas which accumulate
| from their lamps. In many cases they
must work in water. chilling them to the
bone day in and day out thus injuring
their health shortening their lives and to
be broken down men when they should be
in their prime. Look about you and see
the many examples for yourselves.
Al iair-minded people know that this is
dangerous occupation and should be well
paid for. But arc they9 No. Carroll d.
Wright, u. S. Labor Commissioner. saws
that we only receive r8 cents out of every
sroo which we produce. Who will offer TO
deny this fact3 Instances are numerous
where we were not allowed to earn so much
as county allowance would be towards
the maintenance OF panper at a county
almshouse.
Such arc the conditions that powerful
| company or corporation of Baltimore. Md
through their representative and hireling
endeavor TO enforce upon us and TO cause
| want, dcsolation and starvation to
| essentially gain their rotten measures. And
still they expect Us to look upon and to
respect them as just. honest and honorable
men There was peace prosperity and
happy homes among the miners here until
after Robert II. Johnston. General Store
Manager and w. II. Morris. General
Superintendent, another appropriate man
to help TO bring on their desired and long
plotted schemes TO reduce the miners
wages TO mere pittancc. degrade labor
and thereby more rapidly enrich said coal
company, came To- Function. | infer this
from measures which said Johnson rcsorted
to through preparing payroll and to cause
the miners to dispense with their check
weighman. whom they had placed at The
scales to see that justice was did them
| by ignoring the right that the State Mining
Law provided that the check weiglman
shall exercise. aud in persisting that he
was honest just and accurate in his deal.
ings towards the miners until forced to
compare weigh sheets to ascertain who was
in the wrong when his work was found to
be short from that which the daily record
showed, proving that the miners poor
d spisablc represcntivc. the check-weigh
man was honest and just in his dealings
with both men and company
Under the conditions viii II are being
forced upon us no miner would be enabled
to pay his debts and to make as comfortable
living as we'll fed dog enjoys.
| a miner might possibly be able TO feed
and clothe himself and family under such
conditions IL he had a cast-iron consti.
tuition never get sick or hurt and have all
the work that he would be able to do every
day, have no doctor bills. house rent fuel,
oil. powder tools and other necessary
miners supplies to pay for. etc. but such
is not the case The company is obliged
not TO compromise or to treat with us and
have sworn to drive out Ameican labor and
supplant same with foreigners--a kind of
scmi-brute irash-somc Of which they have
already dumped into our community. The
name is very appropriate one. appearing
as soabs upon the face Of dccency and as
warts upon the face OF humanity.
Some Of the men would have been allowed
to remain at their work had they complied
with the demands Of The company by
placing man at the scales whom the
company could have bought and who would
enter no plea for his fellow brothers when
he could plainly see that they were being
robbed Of their hard earned labors BAT
/ by rejecting such measures they we're
denied work, discharged and paid of and
! ordered to take their tools out of tbe
mines. which they did as all other manly
men would have done.
10 seems that some Of the men who have
been brought here have been deceived and
when they learned Of tho trouble existing
they proved themselves to be far
more manly than the men who brought
them here.