The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-08-09

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Labor sltuatIon.
The shortage of labor In the Fair
mont region Is still the most import.
ant feature Of the coal mining situa-
ton. While the production has been
much larger for the past six months
than It ever has been In the same pc
Rod I'm the history Of this region. sey-
eral hundred more men could be used.
to good adyantage The output could
also be greatly augmented II the
miners already In the region would
buckle down and keep at work and
not take a day or two on now and then
when they have not the least excuse
for SO doing unless 1t is simply be-
cause they do not want to. work With
the foreign labor employed it must
be case of too much work, as they
are ready on the slightest pretext to-
take a dayotf, and a shortage of cars,
which does not occur frequently. Isl
welcomed BY them with a great deal
of pleasure.
One of the amusing features with
which the operators have to contend
regarding the foreign element is the
number Of holidays they celebrate,
and especially Is this true when they
have steady employment. All of one
nationality will take day of without
any apparent reason. and when the
mine-supe rlntenden1 wants to know
why they are not at work, the inevita-
Bile excuse offered is that it is one of
the national holidays, and it is loves
labor lost to try to induce them to
work on such occasions.
Another feature of annoyance ex-
perienced by the operator at this time
Is that other companies from other
fields throughout the country send
agents into this region to try to in
duce the miners to go elsewhere to
work, but outside of the annoyance
occasioned by such practices, their
efforts do not amount to much. This
is an old trick and many miners who
have been eniced away by the repre-
sensations Of these agents have re-
turned, and are not backward about
telling their fellow laborers that the
Inducements offered are false, and
that the Falrmont region is one Of the
very best in which to work.
.Apropos Of this proposition take
the case of James Roney, of Trinidad,
Colo, labor agent of the Colorado
Fuel Company, who was assaulted ana
painfully but not seriously injured at
Clarksburg about three weeks ago.
lit is believed that his assailants were
two foreign miners, who were seen
leaving the building in whicn assault
occurred Immediately after Roney had
been attacked. and the general impress.
sion is that these foreigners were
two of the men who had been enticed
away by Misrepresentation, and that
the ASSAULT upon Roney was prompted
by revenge.
Roney was employed in this region
several years ago before going to Col
orado, and has made several trips to
this field in his present capacity for
the Colorado Fuel Company, and mas.
met with some success, but practical
ly all the miners taken away by him
who could earn enough money for
transportation, have been glad to get
back to West Virginia. where there
are no strikes and always steady worj+
at good wages, On this account the
men following Roney's vocation are
not given very courteous treatment
by the miners who have gone through
the sad experience of going to other
fields upon Misrepresentation of cas-
Ter work and higher wages offered by
these labor agents.-Monongaheia Val
ley Trade Journal.