davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-09-10

&C. q Commercial utilization of TN
numbered billions of tons OF peat 'sixe Garth:
szvarnps and marshes in every part oi - .a+ar
creation, Of \ formidable rival to coal anu ~ -
- &c the favorife means of carrying on 'ii'
worlds industries: invaluable assistance u ma So.
fact,Irers in regions that have heretofore $50, :
from their sources of supply of coTlbu9. g
This the real beginning Of a long-herai"eu
s b,,,,ire NAV prove to have been accom-"
,,I,sbed al historic Lexington. on the verge -
swamp which Lord Percys troops SKIRT" "
eventful march and from concord ,1
rbe anproacb of the era has been maze We"
,.,,,,, before now, for Edward Atkinson ana JIM
writers have had something TO say aoou' ~ -
the fact that the Boston and Maine faiiro'u -
no y using briqUettcs of peat IN some Oh 10
on the shorter runs in and out Of BOSTON, an" -
tho experiments with the new fuel thus Tar 'f0
,oa, pronounced successful. encourages many peo-
,a N hclicve that the period Of commercial poSSi
h;lities is at hand Eagerly watching the opel
10, Of the railroad engines that use the peat
C the inventor of special apparatus Tor preparing
=, who holds as the enthusiastic inventor
Ia that he Is about TO revOlutionize the con-
5.,ons Of manufacturing in districts that are
not accessible to coal fields
not 49," the story of the possibilities of peat
VI new The fuel has been used for
- - On F,urope and America. In its vari-
,ier+,fo aspects ii has been studied Tor some
o al tie Massachusetts, Institute OF Technoi-
&, this city. Specimens OF peat ana other
osS ~ vegetable decomposition have been exam
Pa experimented with by Investigators and
1hen a.. in the department headed by professor
Charles s Norton in accordance with the IN
.it,ta,s nlan of keeping it's instruction always IN
su'"'e ,ba industrial procession. The matter
az S,,.tJe fuels has been made special study
OF a,,ri,p the last three years; last spring. for
e eHq students made elaborate examinations of
the methods employed at the %ofkS !" East Lex
,ngton and embodied theh conc ''"'""S III srAuuh'-
ing theses ... ..,,,., - 49,. 81.
IT,, manufacturing processes carried on at THIS
nv ernerfrnent station during the last two
l u@ars under the direction OF Dr. g D. Jenkins who
mas ii'"" IA America, mainly RESPONSE
paris Go 81 ren1yed public interest in the problem of
bic a 9be onl. question is as to h4r imne-
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-09-10
rs A STRIKE NECESSARILY

Amer the December convention committee Will
doubtIess he appointed to visit the coal operators
=, Network and lay the demands before them
District Presidents Nichols. Dettrey and Fancy
will probably he the men.
The operators are quietly ~ work building pubic
opinion throughout the district. Reprints OF
magazine article by DAVID Wilcox. on present
1ot,4i,lons in 1Anthraclrc Coal Industry nave
appeared and beng distributed in large guam
Ut.es. ,.-t,.. - =,
'.-rne operators are not unGUly apprehenSive OF
strike i'm Apru OF next year said one OF the Dig
operators of the Wyoming valley with whom the
corr -syoadent talked but TINS lack o. aPpfehen-
sion be taken as a sign OF weaknesS- ~
is generally understood that the operators Will
make no attempt reduce vases or increase t!e
hours. and with the majority OF the employees the
present arrangement does well enough Ene time
is not ripe for an eGht-hOur day, ana the men
know il The question of recognition = not or
SUFFICIENT Importance bring about strike There
may be some reimbursement OF the wage scale. bur
think that it can be arranged by the concilation
board IL may be fc7;rt that there are too many
men employed in some OF the mines and some ad-
iustment may be reached watch VIII tend 70 give
all OF the miners an opportunity for doing full
DAYS work This. 7 understand. il one % their
grey auces So far can see. however. there is
nothing in the situation which can make a strike
ssarv and from the miners point of view
such action would he most ineNpedient
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-09-10

became prosperous enough. They have hiied .l.e
cid company house as it never was hlled DeIoIe.
MANY of the married miners of this class become
boarding bosses They house themselves and their
ra ,iIies IN two or three rooms and rent the rest
of the house TO unmarried miners The houses l2
which they live rent from IS 10 SO n noun anu
the CORRESPONDENT saw several IN when nIteeH VI
tmantv hoarders were housed. The cellars. even
are fitted up with hunks ,. .,;.,, 1,,,
A. a grocery store In HaZeton, which mas
large trade with miners of both classes Inc lIIu-
5n,s CORRESPONDENT examined the accounts OF set-
Ill families An English-speakiuS family. irlsh
siy children had charged up $40 50 in the inontl VI
Amq1isf including groceries, vegeta oes trult any
49, o'rticies Of irvgoods from the small STOCK
1vI,ich rho grocer carried as a size line
Polish family of the same size whSn uiu No.
eeD hos rtiers up a bill OF 20 y IN III III
eoTo length of time. This represented
~ entire expenditures of the TWO ialiliiies. "a
ule nI est hlished credit there and bought noti
tney me- ,bat this dealer kept. Other accounts
Shaved about the same pr0portuilo ~ iy,rin
iiyes Of the Notwithstanding fanileS ~ -
fray1 S2S to $40 and of the newcomers Io'' . ~
S12 I'D month La,,. tho two classes live"
i. IL ~ emnerintendent of colllery near FoIis
TjIIa with whom the correspondent Liu 80 these
,Issino present conditions. take a LOOK li'o 'e
dinner paits the pail of Slav aborer 1t con
re bunk of black bread and a chunk OF HGlo
tali itos ,,ars Near il the pan OF an - Iaof
cookeu Ia held half dozen roast or poleu ntIa
sandwiches "A huge piece 81 IS =
OF conn Nights i'm the districts in Wicl 49,
49, i've are given over TO orgies VIZ, Ia he
pbii, sounds like poluki, though n Iiouian or
,nd Irbo could spell it. either III &c 1iI
found VINO ngiiare Fifteen or twenty miners Nv
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-09-10
SHOOTING BAsoONS.

\ traveller writing from South Africa describes
a baboon hunt follows: Very slowly We spread
cut round about the base of the kopje and began
q crawling ascent through the thick scrub kafFrs
and farmers together. formed something of a
loose circle round the kopje. Daylight found lis
drawing near the higher spurs Of the kopje and
the Kaffirs were busy beating Then the sport
began and pretty uncanny il was. good many
baboons broke through circle. for only
mustered guns hut We neared the top
,f the kopie could tell by the noises ali about
that some execution was being done. My first kill
gave me most uncomfortable thrill. II was hor
rfhv like picking off a man The balloons were
great big human looking brutes. quite capable
of picking up n lamb in their hands and running
off with it. tAs a fact. they generally content
themselves with ripping the beast open TO get ut
the curdled milk Within But their cries were the
most horribly human thing about them and the
gestures of their waving arms. When We all met
a careful count made. Thirty Ia boons had been
Ragged Seven had fallen to my gun. Chicago
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-09-10
Satisfactory Progress Made with Process OF ''
Bog Soil Fuel Briquettes.

add to the number of the country a'""'N
lakes e,
The work in tho mean time II 1t IS as S'l a4e
ne g expected will build UP industries Oh '
Of this swamp and other sWaihpS ''''' 1,,o
s,ebtIv enoueh as manufacturing plants GO ins
ta+ion at Fast Lexington shows as chiel lea'Ni
briouetting house equipped with Speei"' ~
cbfoerv into which the wet peat Is thl'" "a
from, which it energies in the snap " -
c,.1rdors with = hole running through uie cen
r,' a,,oct and almost as hard as coal after
.ho,, have heen properly dried under conditions oi
intense heat capaciNus kiln for carpo"'@i"N =
in process of construction
The motive power department OF the hoS'''i an
Maine has now for several years heeh u1HlS '
fuel on shifting engines and for short iocdi runs
1t has been found that the peat briquet'eS mar
an exceptionally hot fire and that the cost Is ieSS
than that of coal while hardly any smoke COMES
from the smokestacks. The only " 'Sau a,'19
that has appeared Is one that VIII nor ''aNE "i91t
near If the use of the hriquette ever
upIversaI-peat fuel cannot be used in connection"
,,,itb oa1 in the same locomotive; either the one
kind of fuel must he employed or the otlei' ~
neat briauettes have not been tired az Fet i'
long railroad runs. for the reason that uef'tS
supply would have to be estapiisneu a7
route since all the through trains nave lref"7"'
" To coal up. If, however success co'''i''"e' Nv
Doubt the use In long hnuls will come
1,b. universal prevalence of vegetable compost
,ions that NAV be commercials available Is wha'
makes the Industrial possibilities "i pea -
nressiva All mud does not look ailke' p'i ms
=, 30 b,ack muds have calorifc value. Professor
Norton of the Massachusetts, Institute OF leeh'io-
opv has examined specimens from s"di"Ps "a
,,artous parts of the country and while theie a. .
differences. of course. due 10 Iooai CON- -,
as there are differences among sia"
.ooticarv all have combustible qualities
NJ, oorounon characteristics OF the peat fuels is
that they burn with hot FIRE. leaving only sh''ii
e,,aee of soft extraordinarily from to l. per
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-09-10

lily, and did not seem to be counting the pennies
Not good enough remark the coile-
spondent heard several times in few minutes. III
each case . miners wife was pushing PACK d
niece of goods or article of tinery which ala not
como nm 10 ter standard standard that Is rising
CONTINUALLY and one that may have something, "
do with her husbands thoughts OF Striking "iiei
things are going easily enough. ,.x
In a haberdasher's young miners We're 1isIS ~
ishing their stock of hnery Scoring coliaIs "a
awning but four-ply linen necktes tndt
Of chea mess shoes that lacked suf1lcent
onS ca an through the list, they were speiiqlus
thai. money with the extravaganza tnal Is clLat
acfcristic of the old time irish or Wesh miner anu
ms Here Was big we'll muscled fellow looking over
an assert nent OF hose. He finally selected ttIfGe
nairs of openwork design, paying quartz a POI
for them Then he picked out a dozen pairs ol
four cent cotton socks. ,.,. osb
Nv woman's got enough to do without Was ~.
ing the socks I to the mine, he expialIeu "
ttbss cierl II buy these and throw them away;
cbateIaine bag of patent leather caught MS
.tCiess I'll take this home to the woman he
sai6 and he paid the price without hassiihS.
"a So of cheap jewelry caught his eye as ne VIZ
leaving the store Got any KID rings! ne S' ~
NJ little brat is a year old tomorrow, and It's
time she had some JeWelrS -.-z.,. o,,,.rad
Go II was wherever the correspondent ente ti
In the butcher shops wives of wilkes l5aTre Ieis
80 bnying huge steaks and fine roasts. NO DOL
- r1eat for them. At the grocers they teSttu
The butter they bought ana saw 10 IL tilaS "a "a
lIis 80: moi too coarse They knew the brand
of coffee and the sort or Tea lHeN l'heu' an" - w.
not always the cheapest. ;.- 1r;nlins
Tn the saloons were scores OF miners ur'.hl.i2
baar and one knew why Father Curran. the miners
friend incurred so sincerely the growth OF d
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-09-10
GIBRALTAR is CRuMeLlNG.

The public is not that the great rock Of
Gibraltar is tumbling downfall its crumbiing. rot
ting masses must he continually bound together
with huge patches of masonry and cement
Yet they who sail past Gibraltar cannot fail to
notice the slope of the fortress enormous
silver Colored patches cleaning in the sun These
patches, In some thirty forty feet square,
the proof of Gibraltars disintegration. OF
thick, strong cement. they keep huge spurs of the
cliff side from tumbug into the blue
Sea captains, cruising in the Mediterranean. say
that Gibraltar has been rottng and cyumbing for
many years but that of late the disintegration
has gone at faster rate than heretofore.
They say that the stone forming this imposing
cliff is rotten stone. and that in little while the
phrase. the strength of Gibraltar. Will be mean
mgess.-( Chicago Chronicle
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-09-10
EDUCATION NEEDED.

Several Of the companies in this region are try
ing an experiment in the line of better treatment
and education of their miners. At Buck Run for
instance Brink Thorne. formerly a Yale foot
ball star. and James r. Neale have a colliery.
for the Of their men. Not satisfied with the
public schools of the region they built school and
to Boston for teachers. The children OF their
miners educated without cost. They provide
for visits from Episcopal minister one Sunday
and Roman Catholic priest the next Tennis
courts have been laid out and bail team organ
lied. The latest addition this unusual mining
camp equipment has been a kindergarten to which
the miners children taking with great interest.
Besides the erection of fine company houses ar
one of their collieres the Philadelphia and Read
ing company is carrying a campaign OF educa-
ton. In the nine story Office building which
the company is erecting Pottsville there s big
auditorium. in which the miners will be asked to
gather from time to time. There will be lectures
lated to interest the in their work. For sorns
time the company doctors have been training the
in first aid to the injured. At OF the
mines there was a serious accident the other day
and squad of who had been under training
went to the rescue They bandaged up the injured
. before bringing them from the mine
1T shame TO take off the bandages' rhs
doctor who treated the cases said afterward The
bones set properly | could have done Il,
and the bandages We're just right
President Mitchell has been resting this week at
his headquarters here and in Phladelphia-that is,
he has been making speeches He is too ire
rlendousIy active TO take absolute rest The Trib-
correspondent found him the afternoon OF
Labor Day in his Office at the Valley House He
debating letters of instruction his district
leaders. and putting the while at short sternmed
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-09-10
UNION RECOGNITION.

President Nichols Of the Scranton district, when
- nv, the Tribune correspondent. went rather
- into detail regarding the reasons back or the
demands which the men will surely make
w want recognition of the union for business
oors - he declared There is nothing sent-
,an+a1 about IT, How the operators enter
i,to q nov, agreement with the miners unless they
a. recosrfze US? The Strike Commission had 10
Adj vim somebody and the award recognized ,he
i, in eyervthing but name. II they give Us ke; ;
TanC@ntion we can make the men 70 liNS ~ - -
IeSoeraert The union is under no opIlgaeion "
ct Them do so the present time dnS fna
ndn e ~ willing to have keep our men IN Le.
90 ~ are unwilling give US the prIV,neseS
ni,6 sIouId go TO those who are responsIoaissL
t.+SaI,e the matter of diScharSing men
,i,inr a reason. an instance OF one oL oui hai5
??ctiCrs to the present arrangement w { NJ,
49, tLe companies should give a business ieos 49,
90 eyary- discharge. otherwise II cpeheu ~ ur
~. for discrimination. which the aWdtu - -,
tiLjtad Carroll u. Wright who acted as uIi't :, az
daCided that companies could diScIii
ritbNut reason and their men could GUY IL -
vinr reason AS result. there was tiiiIS -.
I'll ~ the officers of the locals IN the fah'nsA
S,reak valley were let out without cause -..a,
s.If the union was recognized would II not No. 49,,
that none but union men "ou'u " ii -
in the rnines?' asked q. - Saola-as1
Thar does not necessarily follow ne oeClar ~,
.,--t5f is a uoint which has not come up; ne
a5yantaees of belonging 10 the union woulo p:vvo.
9LIv he 50 great under these circumstances tna;
al would want get in. Then We cooH coi.' SI
tba men perfectly. and there would no lohSe' u
fas ~
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-09-10
AVERAGE DAILY WAGES.

-., district. for instance. and wage
con5itin,s there may he used as ldIi - no 40
-. entire district. the miner is PAID rum g
- ~ f,r Zach car of coal which is sent 70 ''e
e" o ~ ,,irers consider from six TO seven
.,,,t dsv-s work They declare, however
-, ,be,, do not average more than ioui oa'
-. ric,, ,r,lv permits them to DO t"o-InlIus ''
--oo,r, If work Of which they are capaOie
Il one accepts four cars as the average 49, 80.
,,rh Tniner who holds the certificate required pS
t''' m >, = s -, average rate to the car. the
.,r.ge cross income, is 81 80 a day. one-Iho -
iris the mine, paws mis- labcrcr. the man "o I''A9
Ire coal which the miner KNOCKS uo"il' ~
I'D who cleans UP for the next DAY : opera
Out Of this also he must pay iol iiis = Leon,
* s1nrjfa5 by the operating company al reae'.i-
az as,re tho amount used varying accoIolne ~
mo sLiu NJ the miner and the nature OF 'iie ven
Certain allowances are made by 'le opo
taose who have the most dl1lcult = ~
o- i oor,s,1, not overestiInating in placing tfie
: - &c tho miner at s. and of his Ia
-. ., "a co. the two-thirds OF a ddy : "oih'
,-,fcr : IN existing conditions make posslOie III
many ,ar1s Of the district This wage lhcf eaSes IA
exact proportion where the fuil nuiii"ei %
available .,,oi,e dis
7,,-, ri-ds NJ the miners in the anthracl'e uiS-
-. Ia workers referred to in the fore
IN, o-se,,arb The other third are known as
eeiorar,, men and work nine hours uaS' - =
i.eaker in which the coal is sorted ''.u -, - IT,
FOR dumping into railway cars runs mo 80, ia
WAGES vary from the 81 ana ~ Genus H.
nc breaker boys. who pick out the so. - ar
osI slides through the breaker, 10 81 % pa,I
enters and other semi skilled company eii'b'
Tic average number Of WORKING oa9' "a -, ta
t - a,,bra,it. acids In times of peace may re
Biaced ~ two hundred In 1900 Ire miners aver
aged iss davs being on strike part OF me ear Of
ia 800 they averaged 1876 DAYS IA ~ ,ont a, IA VS.
- lig strike 10 and in 1888 ana isVi ~ i, ce
lie mines are not operated SUNDAY and Down
aa great influx of foreigners they are chosen W ,n
So .fo, i ~. days which number ABOUT zen
in the course OF the year: In me Gays rxd on
Irish miners .,redonliated the miners r,tis
CIV days being released from thelr s 1Hoic
u The ground that their work wa "ilT riott,nent
ecessi,- and that II threw out OF employ Us
LOS. VINO had taken on themselves no rehglC ,,7
auues The non English speaking !4teisIeia
-tnr have no, taken advantage OF TINS eNiit'd'
:d their priests do not encourage mem oo,ional
b.lSavs which are generally kept the mn mn,
have several holidays OF tneir own suca az AM
KSssrS o9 their strike victory Of 1892 All OF whch
- - c1,t inUn me annual Income
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-09-10
STYLES OF LIVING.

In studying the life of the anthracite region one
divide the coal workers into two distinct
classes. for their manner of living is opposite
and different could he found in any COM
munity. For the purposes of this article the divi-
sion may well he made on the point of whether the
coal worker speaks English
The aristocracy of the coal fields is formed of
IRISH Welsh, Scotch. German and English. most
OF whom contract miners. with income of
$500 year. The average family in this class
numbers six. and at least two of them workers.
The father has idea of putting his children
in a better position than that which he holds. and
attention is given schooling. At least until the
fourteenth year. He does fairly well by his church
without too much proddng and he is the backbone
of the United Mine Workers in that he pays his
dues and has conception of the ends which
the leaders trying 10 reach.
In a great many cases he has saved enough to
own his house, perhaps building plain but
comfortable structure. buying the house which
he occupies in company row" His house and
its furnishings represent investment OF from
81 Oc6 TO $3.50 In Wilkes Barre for instance, where
there are few company houses property is high.
and the q or 30 foot lot which the house stands
costs from $500 $500. The miner insists on solid
construction. plaster, on gay wall paper, on a
front porch Bath tubs and open plumbing are
not considered essential. tub of water on his
Nv cd hap SlfilCeS
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-09-10

,,o+o, Penn. Sept S-A few months more
-, ~ee the expiration of the agreement made at
- ,osa Of the disastrous strike of 1s2 between Tue
..ocite coal miners and the operators. unoer
-; se-eernent the hard coal fields CT Pennsy wanna
80 sntoyed a reign of peace. and the result mas
~ degree OF general prosperity over the enOie
1su,on which was not equalled even in the puSS
ars lust following the Civil War
~. end of this armed truce-for the agreement
Oh its three year limit hardly he considereo
- .nything but truce-approaches there are slsiiS
= -enaration for a new struggle / >weeh cap1'"l
.,.hor AT this time John SIitcf III the president
~. United Mine Workers Of America, and ms
,..,ants are enga ged in a strenuous campaign OF
,r,oo expansion which promises to estahhsh 'he
ten m a basis much stronger than it was at the
80. The strike Of 1902 called Their texts are
m eirht-hour day and recognition OF the union anu
,befr promises aluring-
Farlv in December, at Shamokin. the haFo CA
miners will gather in convention and forinuiae nc
demands which they will make on the operators
~. ,a+ter have signifed from time TO time that
+nsv are willing continue under the present
.e,,ent While no formal action has been taken
-, have given the miners to understand that the
hour day and union recognition are Poiii'S
that will not be yielded
With the situation again becoming tense ana .iie
horror Of 4 coal fsmine-which strikes home Win
49, a much bitterness in New-York as in the
coal feIds-loonling up as possibility, II Is inter
sting 10 note the exact conditions under which the
80 workers live at the present time. To that eho
. tribune correspondent last week visited the Dig
.,ss NJ the anthracite country-Scranton. wilkes
% Hazleton and Pottsve-as well as many
80 smaller camps He talked with the miners
and The operators with mine lahorers ana repre-
,+stiyas OF coal carrying roads. with the ofhcers
:, The union with priests and others. VINO lacking
a personal interest. might well be CONSIDERED I'M
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-09-10
SHORT HOURS OF LABOR.

The rnineworkers and company men work CON
Eicc-abIy less than eight hours day on the ave.
as At the present time The certihcated nlhsr
oe-eo Gets Through his work I'm couple OF hours
II he has an easy vein it is child's play for nm
10 tumble down enough coal 10 keep his iaboIer
Lrsy until the cars allotted 10 nm are hIled.
laD5rer TOO can get through MS Work ia aooue
eight hours. even IL fortune faNors MN WIN ih'
III complement Of cars , ,,-, ,
The report of the Strike Commission which was
furnished with most comprehensive DATA as 10 tile
Iours of work found that there was no douD,.
l,lit nc contract miner finishing his days WORK
.i.retn eight hours The company in 1901 av-
eraged Is hours. The figures of one Of the large
csanpanies for april and May Of this year sh owed
that the miners averaged 6.&5 and the company
There is no complaint that too much work II
required of either the miners or the company men.
The miners and their aborers in many parts Of the
dstrict are crying for more cars, which would
mean more work and consequently higher wages.
In spite Of their work underground. and in cramped
and uncomfortable positions. the miners as class
will stand a health examination with any other
body Of laborers
The mine workers OF the anthracite country are
marrying meu and they do believe in race
su!c.de TIER families AL lafbe. aad j.. some