The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-01-03
FOREIGNERS NO
LONGER WANTED
Utah Men viii Hereafter Be En-.
plOyed by Coal Company.
&
UNION ALSO UNDER TIE BAN
TALK WITH SUPERINTENDENT
SHARP OF sUNNYsIDE.
UNION ALSO UNDER TIE Ban
Special to The HeraId.)


work our properties the Utah men sill
be given every preference. and we viii
hire no more foreigners" says J. :.
Sharp. superintendent of the sunny
side mines Of the Utah Fuel company.
This company has had enough of the
foreign element which has caused us
SO much trouble. and we will hire no
more foreigners unless We are forced
10"
Mr. Sharp made this statement to the
Herald in the course Of a general dis
cussion OF the Carbon county strike
and its probable results Continuing,
ne said: The company was, in the
first place forced TO hire foreigners be-
cause no other class Of miners could be
secured. We would get plenty Of ap
plications from the farmers in the val
leys during the fall and winter. bat In
the spring these men would go away
again and We would be up against il for
help. The foreigners came anu wanted
work They were, as rule, good
miners, and we had to have miners.
SO we filed up our mines with them-to
-0ur sorrow, as the outcome has proved,
end We are through with them Il we
can get along without them.
Their Jobs Secure.
We have had a hard fight to get
men here during the past two months.
bat We are beginning to sec daylight
ahead now. In times past the farmers
have come here looking for work in
the fan. Sometimes we could give it
10 them. but sometimes we could not.
This condition worked against US when
we sent out among the farmers in the
valleys after the strike was declared.
Some OF the men who had been disap-
pointed when they applied fol work be
fore would say something like this to
our agents: How do 1 know that I
am going % be able TO hold job theTe2
p How do I know You viii not get some
foreigner to take my place GS soon as
you can find one2 We needed these
farmer boys-needed them badly. So
we had 10 guarantee them employment
for as long a period as we had work
Tor them and they could do the work.
Accordingly. we told them what I have
just told YOU, that Utah men would be
given every preference in these mines
from now on, and that if We could pre-
vent il the foreign element would never
again be conspicuous in the mines Of
the Utah Fuel company
But can Utah furnish us enough
menu We Will do our part if the working
men of Utah viii turn out IN numbers
SUFFICIENT 10 operate our mines Some
of the men we have heee now viii no
doubt stay with US. Others viii likely
return TO their farms in the spring. We
must operate the year round. and e we
cannot get enough EngIIsh-spea king men
TO keep the plants running We may have
TO fill I'D Sith foreigners again. Ne have
viii do It only as a last resort. We have
suffered enough through these foreign
ers.
Mostly Mormons.
Il do not believe there is any danger of
organizing the men now in our mines
against us Mr.. Sharp continued in an
swer TO a question The Mormon church
took a hand In this trouble and these
young fellows now in our mines are most
" MOrmons- Al their teachings through
al their lives hive been against secret
organizations and even should organizers
manage to reach them 1 do not believe
they could be organized 1t is against
all the principles that have been inn
pressed upon these Young men from their
infancy and they are not going TO forget
al their teachings readily. These men
came here knowing there was q strike IN
progress Many Of them felt that their
might entail risk OF personal injury. They
have been bitterly assailed by the strik-
ers. publicly and privately, and they have
no love for the men who have thus at
tackled them I do not believe there is
any likelihood of the strikers making
enough converts among the men now at
work for US to cause Us any trouble.
Men Must Be Taught
The Utah Fuel company mas a cam
paigu OF education ahead We must edu-
I
you that all the men now working are
capable miners because they are not and
you know they axe not. Bat IN the main
they are men who will make good miners
II they stick with US and If others viii
act with them. It will cost the company
something to educate these boys IN coai
mining but we figure that the benefits
resulting from eliminating the foreign ete-
ment VIII more than compensate for the
cost. It is costing Us a good bit to Oper-
ate these mines right now. We stiu have
q great number of company guards tn
pay, We nave 70 pay oVerseers 10 super
wise the work of the inexperienced miners
and We are suffering financially in many
ways through the lack OF experienced
miners. but we are determined TO make
our policy win II we can We are getting
strong support from the people in the
valleys about here, especially the prom
inent MormoHs. These people realized
that a market for their produce and for
their labor was IN peril and they rallied
TO our support. l know, personally. that
many farmers now st work in our mines
came here not only because they wanted
work, but because they realized that it
the company lost this strike their farms
would become practically worthless.
We have been blamed for filling our
mines with foreigners. / have explained
TO you how this came about We are as
sick Of the foreigners as the public pos
stblN can be and We are only too willing
10 become party 20 an agreement TO Keep
them out forever"
Mr.. Sharp's views. as expressed above,
county strikers are hopelessly beaten, a
belief unanimously expressed as wei BY
other high officials Of the company. So
far as surface indications in the camps
show the belief is correct. Yet the strike
leaders and the strikers in general still
maintain that the strike has only begun,
. They are submitting peaceabiy to eyic-
tfoD. except in few cases. where they
believe they have good legal grounds for
resistance in courts. Many of them are
moving off the cOmpanv-s ground TO tents
pitched adjacent TO the mines and are
subslsting partially on supplies furnished
by the unions 4 few-Very few-have
returned 10 work in the mines and re-
Dudiated the union. Large numbers are
awaiting themselves OF the one per cent
mile rate offered by the Rio Grande
Western and are leaving for other states.
Condition Of Strikers.
The strike leaders announce no pian of
campaign and the future OF the people
now living On tents n. therefor. mat
ter OF pure speculation. The tents are
new. are doored with wood. straw, etc
and equipped with stoves They are fair
Is comfortable. bzff IL IS gseless to con-
tend that any tent. however well fur
nished. is SO desirable for residence pur-
poses as the poorest house during the
cold winter DAYS and nights in che Utah
mountains. II naturally follows that the
strikers, their wives and children will
suffer as a result of the movement Ga
the tents The next question IS What
viii they gain2 Their leaders. SO far,
have not given a definite answer TO the
question. Speculation Is easy and pur-
puseless-
The number of the strikers I'm Carbon
county has diminished perceptibly dur
ing the past two weeks IL IS idle to
argue 20 The contrary with one who has
been on the ground during that period.
The fact Is everywhere apparent Exact
figures are not Obtainatle. but a loss OF
30 from the strength during the early
days of the strike might not be excessive
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