The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-29
He Also shows that the Miners Pro-
duced More CoaI Per Capita I'm 1901
than I'm Any Previous Year.
STRIKERS GROWING STRENGTH
IMPORTED MEN SAID TO BE JOINING
THE RANKS FREELY.
Demands Of the Miners Again Set
Forth-An Answer to Mr.. Hewitt
Other Features Of the Letter.


Mitchell. of the United Mine Workers. to-
night gave out the following statement:
"The recent utterances of Mr.. Baer.
spokesman of the anthracite coal trust, Mr..
Hewitt and other interested persons dis
close a well-dehned purpose to confuse and
cloud the real oluses which resulted in the
coal strike and an attempt to divert atter-
ton from the actual issues involved. How
ever. misleading as are their utterances. IL
is relief to know that they now admit
that the public has rights and interests
which cannot be ignored with impunity;
and inasmuch as the public must be the
final arbiter of the coal strike II is impera-
tive that il shall not be deceived by state
ments which are at variance with the facts
With the purpose OF correcting some OF the
false impressions and Misrepresentation
contained in the statements of the gentle
men referred TO / issue this letter.
.'It is not my intention to point out the
innumerable instances in which Mr.. Baer
has erred in statement and allegation. His
unsupported assertions that certain things
are true cannot be accepted as final or con-
clusively. particularly in view of the fact
that unquestioned authorities can be cited
to prove him 10 be in error. Mr.. Baer
states: That the wages paid in the anthra-
wages paid elsewhere in like employment.
fair and just BY like employment Mr..
Baer must refer to bitumnous coal mining.
/ am willing and prepared to denenstrale
that wages In the bituminous coal fields
are from 20 to 40 per cent higher than
those paid for similar classes of work in
the anthracite fields. The fact is that
the minimum wage received by any class
of adult mine workers in the soft-coal
mines is 26A cents per hour, while the
minimum wage paid TO boys is 121t cents
per hour; in the anthracite coal mines men
performing precisely the same labor re-
ceive from Is to 20 cents per hour, while
boys are paid as low as cents per hour,
and rarely receive to exceed cents per
hour. The bituminous miner works
maximum of eight hours per day. which Is
two hours less than men In the anthracite
field required to work; moreover. the
anthracite mine worker labors under the
further disadvantage of being more liable
to be killed or injured, the casualties being
so per cent. greater IN the anthracite than
in the bituminous mines.
LOWER THAN STATED.
There are other statements of Mr.. Baer
which are equally incorrect: among these
is his assertion that the miners only
worked from four TO six hours per day
and his further assertion that the lowest
scale of wages was IS cents for boy slate
pickers.' II Mr.. Baer desires I shall gladly
furnish him with the names and addresses
of thousands of slate pickers each of whom
receive much less than IS cents per day.
and shall be willing to have the returns
verified by the companies pay rolls.
1.-The next misstatement OF Mr.. Baer to
which / shall give notice is that which
claims that for some mysterious reason
the miners restricted the output of the
mines. Mr.. Baer claims that In this man
ner the product of the collieries has been
reduced 121k per cent. and that in the
case of the Reading Company IL amount
ed to more than one million tons This
is vitality important, IL true; but IL is not
true. The fact is, that instead OF a loss
of 1000 900 tons there was an increase in
the year 1901, from the mines operated by
a total increase from all the anthracite
mines of nine million tons (see the report
of Pennsylvania State Bureau of Mines).
The output of coal In 1901 was far in ex-
cess of that OF any year I'm the history OF
coal mining, and even paper so avowed-
ly and bitterly hostile TO the mine work
er's union as the Engineering and Mining
Journal admits that virtually the only re-
striction on Output was a shortage OF
cars This shortage, the Journal con-
tinues, soon became marked and by the
end of November the Reading collieries
and those of some other companies were
mining on short time tissue OF Jan 4.
1902
although this statement does not admit
of any such construction. IL is still possible
that Mr.. Baer refers to the per capita out
put, but even here he errs. careful eau
culation Of per capita output from the
Pennsylvania State Bureau OF Mines shows
that despite Mr.. Baer's assertion that the
miners worked only from four TO six hours
per day, despite the assertion that the men
restricted the output. the per capita pro-
duction I'm 1901, the year complained OF. was
greater than the per capita output for any
single one of the thirty-one years OF which
we have record, from 1870 10 1900 In AT
tempting TO account for the increased ton
mage, the operators point To the installation
of labor saving machinery which reduces
the proportion OF men and boys employed
workers whose labor might be saved by
such appliances and take simply the OUTPUT
per certificated and employed miner. We
lind that the production per miner was 1. .21l
tons i'm 1897 1888 tons In lS9S. 1883 tons In
1899. 1891 tons In 1900. while in the year 1901
IL was l.5S5 tons. refer Mr. Baer TO the
annual reports OF the PENNSYLVANIA Stafs
Bureau of Mines. and ask IL these nel,res
do not refute the statement that organfza-
ton in the coal mines is inimical to good
workmanship.
MINERS DEMANDS
Since the very inception OF this strike
the aims. objects and ideals Of the United
Mine Workers of America have been will
fully distorted by small army OF critics.
We have been unjustly maligned and our
motives and purposes maliciously irnpugned,
We therefore take this opportunity to re-
peat specifically that we do not seek "a
interfere with the MANAGEMENT OF the coal
properties or with the proper discipline OF
the working force. but We do demand. nrs.