Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-02-05

|
tiers mentioned from business point
OF view. In the first | differ from
those who criticize Mr.. Reese for what
they deem his treason to the cause of
labor and from those who weep SO CO.
plously over their great loss The for
mer class aver that he had no right to
sell his services to the operators at SO
hlge price or for any price. The latter
class insist that the miners officers
should be paid salary sufficiently
nigh to wall him in, as it were, from the
temptation to leave it's control. The
Iowa miners always knew me as
PLAIN, blunt man, and | must be plain
enough now to brand both PROPOSE
lions as simply idiotic. Hundreds of
oticers have left the service of the
nine workers to take service on the
| other side, as mine foremen and SUI
lperintendents, among whom were Ma
| tiCnal President Rhea and National
Treasurer Mclaughlin together with
eX-state presidents and local officers
| galore. Why shouldn't they? They
We're either out of a job by reason of
the expirtion of the term for which
they We're elected or starved out of
their job by the neglect of the miners
whom they served to pay them the
salary agreed upon. When John p
Reese entered politics his usefulness
as miners advocate was ended
When he resigned his position as min
ers' president, he was wise and did
| the very thing common sense demand
ed of him. AS, of course, stranger is
a holy name" but when comparative
stranger tries to dislodge man like
the major who is known to the peo-
pie of Iowa for a lifetime as jurist,
statesman, soldier and as the staunch-
est friend of labor the people of Iowa
ever sent to the capital, his action can
only be called unwise. Then he was
out of job. Now some say the min
ers ought to pay him $4,000 year or
trifie over to stay with them. What
nonsense! There is not man in thu
united States whose services are
worth to his state organization any
such sum- A miners state president
is worth trife more than the best
plcksman in the state can make at the
face of an entry, but he is not worth
as much as the two best picksmen,
and only demagogue will demand it.
The truest friend the miner will ever
have is he who will serve them faith
fully for fair wage, and that friend
can always be relied on to guard their
interests.
1t is true the Iowa men have had
some very Indifferent state presidents
In the past, but these We're not paid
even what was agreed on and you lost
them. But because former presidents
were poorly paid or not paid at all is
no reason why the presidents of today
should be put in a glass case
"a wv T..
same question of right or wrong that
it was twenty years ago, when we
first tried to settle it by joint conven-
ton and afterwards by legislation.
There is no half way between right
and wrong. No system of computing
wages which is not absolutely certain
and definite can possibly be right. The
screen system was adopted in the first
place and has been constantly used
since for the sole purpose of defraud-
ing the miner out of large part of
his earnings and the land owner out
of his royalty. 1t is like the darkey's
coon trap: 1T catches 'em a-comin'
and a-gwine." Preparing the product
for the market is mere incident. The
product may be separated into a thou
sand different forms to meet the de-
mands of the market and still pay the
miner for his labor. And now that
the miners organization is strong
enough, it should force, square deal
and cover the screens forever
The question of advance of wages is
very. easily answered. The national
convention acted wisely and pustly
recently when it decided to demand
121a cents ton of an advance for run
of mine COAL and | earnestly hope the
delegates will also demand that all
coal shall be run of mine. secured
the passage of resolution through
the national convention of 1885. pro.
viding for gross weight, but our organ
ization was too weak then to enforce
it. Now the organization is strong in
numbers, finance and wisdom 1t can
demand justice, instead of begging for
charity. The miners have not receiv-
ed their fair share of the present
prosperity. The cost of his living has
increased out of all proportion to the
increase of his wages
/ cannot close without congratulate
ing the miners of the state on the
splendid condition of their organiza-
ton nor resist the temptation of ex-
claiming, "You are doing just what |
advised you to do twenty years ago.
j. j. Sullivan.