Mrs. Grundy. (Tracy City, Tenn.) 1903-1930, 1904-09-29

new man, not at lower but at
higher wages; if he had done his
work well. The old miners were
offered 40 cents a ton to mine
coal. The new men were offered
45 to All cents a ton to do the
same work. Is it right? Can
the miners prevent striking I'M
der such circumstances?
"The operator can afford to pay
last years scale when he is al
lowed to choose his own men,
and he is able to pay it when he
re-employs his own old men with
out any picking or choosing ex-
cept for fitness, which is always
the employers right. That is
shown by the working of many
mines in the district on last
years scales.
REGARDING COLLECTIONS.
Now about collections: If it
is right to collect from the miners
for Il blacksmith, who puts in
three fourth of his time doing
company work, and if the collec-
tions amount to twice what is
paid the blacksmith; and if
it is right to collect from
the men for a physician,
and for numerous and sundry
other things at the will of the
operator, where is the wrong in
collecting dues for the miners
when the miners, through their,
organization, make contract
with the company to collect it.
In one case it is an authorized
collection, and in the other it is
q forced collection. You pay the
blacksmith, the physician and
any other charge the operator
likes and makes money out of, or
you quit. That is the way the
rule works on that side.
"The report of the special cor
respondent from Blue Creek dis
poses entirely of the idea that
the operators are endeavoring to
work their mines on the open
shop plan. No man is permitted
to work who does not sign an
"ironclad' contrast obhging him
self not to become u member of
any labor union of any kind.
This is certainly as great blow
at liberty as the demand of the
unions for a closed shop; but if
any of the newspapers have writ
ten any editorials on this phase
of the question, | have failed to
see them. This contract alone
, should settle for all the time the
J question as to whether or not the
miners could have avoided by any
sacrifice whatever, the fight the
operators were determined to
have But we do not expect help
from any papers. Our opponents
are big and strong and rich, while
our capital is only muscle
Even the law, which we all re-
spect, has one side for the strong
and one for the weak.
INJuNCTIoNs.
eff you doubt that, it is only
necessary to call attention to
facts which you and every one
else familiar with the present
situation knows to exist. An in
junction is readily and easily OBJ
tanned restraining the miners in
any manner with interfering
with the operators, their works or
employees. We may safely as
sumo that the non-union men
now at work in the mines where
q strike is on are friends of the
operators, and that the operators
who have signed tempory agree
ments with the miners are friends
of the miners. By due process
of the law the miners are forbid
den to call the non-union men
names or to congregate around
or near them or to entice them
away from their place of work.
The same law does not forbid the
furnace operators denouncing in
scathing terms of our friends,
the operators, who are giving the
work to their own men, nor does
it prevent the furnace operators
through their agents called labor
agents from congregating at
drinking places at near and
around the working places of
our friends, and by distributing