The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1906-11-15

. :
ed to say, more than this ,h,, -.
The permission, gentlemen -
or my own part. / know from ~,
part OF my colleagues, We have Il.
oored earnestly in this: we ara -
sc-ehious IN What v e have 3oce
hho~ that my friends, the ooa-e,,,..
>hey are all liberal men. 1hay $50
ssa. the pest companies in Thfs
companies that are ,Xay
mead OF the law We are now fra M.
we are not afraid OF it. What
nv ns IS something FAIR. some
ing Just and equitable to all con-
:srhed, but when it comes to uceTc-
ihS All miners, gentlemen ann
against 1t, and will stand apaiDsT
{ Tor one l know that Won mr. ~,
: nat side, II l have v hat Won cali m
impractical man, whether he may he
Of ne may not be. and l waniei In
30 INTO the mines with John Smith
or John Jones You would say -
ar, that man John Jones cannot en-,
oioS according to the rules and re-
ilations' sotZ our assoc alton" lob,
'oaeS nor John Smith nor aDyhndv
Use could so in there and taxa tb,t
aan In there with him give him ~
iollars or two dollars and a half or
nree dollars for that matter. Cen
aieIEen, when L used to dig coal
:ouid not sell my labor thaC way;
could not give it TO my nelrbbars
had to make all could.
think, gentlemen, in conclusion,
nat We as commission, are Cett;nL ,
.lred OF this. l have duties 10 nar.
.orm at home; 1 have the interest,"
ot my company to look after and IN,
own business. We have heard whai
you have got to say; We know what
you want. |, for one, will do any
n l.
are willing to do anything fair and
;tsht and equitable SO that all three
parties that are Interested here
me miner, the operator and the State
may obtain the very best results.
MIR. DEAN spoke as follows:
ME-. CHAIRMAN, we as miners want
/ cert1fcate for miners in this State.
We are demanding reasonable eX-
)erlence. The safety of a man in the
mines is as great to him in the mines
is 1t IS on the water. AL laws O.
our State demand that an ersIn-
ser on the water shall have Ii
;ense and shall be licensed man,
ana one man in coal mine can put
out, the lives of five hundred of his
-ellow men on account of ignorance
lie can go ignorantly in the mine,
IAN not read word, and you may
nave all the fire bosses in the world
he marks, and he could go in the
gaseous places with an open lighI
and blow every place in that mine
nto eternity. You know it is ar
actual fact, and in regard 10 the COM
mission getting tired, l would say
his, so are the miners of West Vir-
sinia getting tired with the presen;
avs that we have. Go into the cir
quit court. Let's see, let's turn the
DfhPr T O fln
or power to stop n mine when it is
dangerous condition and let the
other fellow have redress to the law;
ct him go for an Injunction. Our
ives are worth more than a few dol
ars. We want property taken care
u, too. While it is the case of life
blown out and property is destroy
ed by those explosions, the loss of
life and property should be decreas-
I'd. The motto on the Capitol door
avs, The Mountaineer Is Always
Free" (Montani Sempsr Iiberi) ),
Jut there are cases in the State of
Vest Virginia where they dare not
make complaint TO the mine inspec-
or There are men in the southern
art of this State that dare not come
here today; you cannot refute that.
Zen cannot come to the copitol here
md make complaint of the air tina;
hey are working in and the condt-
ions that surround them, and in re
gard to the statement made here be-
ore dinner that we had as good con-
litions in this State as any other
1tate, l have had the privilege OF
working in other states. / have
iorked in other states where III
.hree minutes after putting off shots
could not smell the powder smoke,
and l have worked in West Virginia
Under conditions where the powder
smoke remained with you all day.
these conditions actually exist in
his State ard our mining force tthe
nspectors) is inadequate to meet
-hese conditions.
You give a man one hundred and
eighty mines to inspect, how then
,an he get around? How many me:r
can be killed in his circuit before he
IAN get from one mine to the other?
The question is the experienced min
or, that is where it all hinges in this
convention, and you want to put q
nan along side me that has been la
boring thirty three years, put an
-Engl:sh-speaking man or any
other man in there that hasn't any
idea of mining at all, and my life
5 in his hands. We find that ths
case all over the Valley; We have the
practical men that are afraid to
work in the mines in this State, that
are running away from this State OF
account of ventilation. ! have hap
oened to be on both sides of the
fene ! have known of mines in this
country. if the conditions of mines