Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1908-08-27
His Position Wrongly Understood

Editor News
Some time ago one CT your valuable
correspondents, stated that | wanted
miners to work for reduced wages. l
do not remember his exact language,
but he certainly did give me quite a
overhauling in your paper. Now, l
wish it distinctly understood by every
reader of the News that | never have
advocated anything like cutting prices
for labor or the products of labor de
seemed to think that because | worked
12 days for one dollar and twenty cents
and boarded myself. was an enemy
of labor. 1t was not my intention to
receive only ten cents day at the
time | did the work. | took 2 job l
was not familiar with, agreeing to do
it for $1.20. The man who gave me
the Job said / could earn good wages at
it. 1t was lathing room. might
have done it in less than two days, If
the studding had been all the same
ize. | had to hew the studding to the
same thickness which took me nearly
two weeks to accomplish. 1t was a
job to scaffold up and gauge the stud
ding and cut off the extra portion l
lived on bean soup, coffee, flour and
bacon, and had plenty to ill me up
during the time have never in all
my life taken job for less than what
Others would work for who did the
same kind of labor. My letters to
your paper all advocate the laborer
getting the most Of his labor. Ii they
will take my advice, instead of con-
tractors making profit out of labor,
labor would get the entire value OF
what he produces, capitalists not re-
ceiving one cent profit by labor, unless
he did the work himself. Under my
plan, labor would own all he created.
We are having bad state of affairs
all over the country, North and South,
owing to strikes and other causes.
The labor unions make the mistake in
trying to bulldoze and intimidate
those who do not agree with them. |
do not object to their organizing, but
| do kick like bay mule when any
one tries to dictate to me how | shall
run my business. | am not any en-
ployer of labor to mine coal or any
thing else. | sometimes hire hand
to work in the field when | am behind
with my crop. pay the highest price
for blowing. Two dollars a day for
horse and hand to pillow, is the regular
price here, but in pinch | have paid
as high as So. so for hand and horse
to do a days blowing for me. No
man, white or black, can say did not
pay fair wages for his labor, and tell
the truth. | raise vegetables, straw
berries, grapes and other truck to sell,
and when my stuff needs work it has
to be done at once or it is failure.
This year it is almost failure any
way because of dry weather.
If the union men will take the ad-
vice of one who wishes them well
some of them will go to work on a
farm to raise feed for others who work
in mines and shops. Lease or pur-
chase coal land, and own it There is
plenty of coal land not owned by syn
dicates Don't dig coal for any COM
pany, raise your own grub and not be
dead beats, feed by brother laborers.
Quit abusing as good men as you are
because they are not able to see
through your spectacles. All men have
the right to labor for living, and at
any wage they can get. Uncle Tom
expressed my sentiments, and told
some solid truths in the issue of last
week. l like to read all the cores
pondence in the News, but some of
them are too vindictive and violent in
their utterances. They do their cause
an injury, and make enemies instead
Of friends There is something radi-
cally wrong in cause, when its advo-
Gates resort to abusive language
against those who differ with them.
Abuse is not argument, calling bad
names never did cause any good.
Nonunion men have to live as well
as those who belong to the union.
We are having lots of rain now, but
crops are dead for want of it.
Wishing all men, union, ''scabs
and all, success in all their laudable
undertakings, | remain yours,
MORE ANON.
Pell City, Ala, August %, 1908.