The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1909-01-06
INTERNAL
REGIONS
Stirring Description Of the Pennsyl-
vania Coal Mines which are like
Unto those of West. Virginia.

Unto those Of West. Virginia.
pamphlet has been issued by Thomas
F.. Kennedy called The Pennsylvania
Internal Regions.' 1t is a powerful,
stirring description Of hell.
Describing the life of the unorganized
miners in the region south of Uniontown,
he says: 'eAnother Dante writing anoth-
er Inferno would havesno occasion to tax
his wits inventing.
Just let him go live in the Connells-
vile coke regions; distill his life into
coke; go there stripped of all means of
living excepting only by the sale of his
labor power-that is, his life-which
would be expended in digging coal, or
drawing coke, or in some work incidental
thereto; weave the rest Of life's web in
shabby, hideously ugly, warren, in a
row of warrens, in row of rows of war
rens composing the company camp; and
in exchange for his labor power draw
from the Pluck gum boots, lamp oil,
flour, salt, pork, powder, pit shoes and
pick handles.''
Kennedy tells in detail how the men
are exploited, oppressed and robbed; not
only in the pay envelope, but also by
company stores and company landlords.
And, as if such actual slavery were not
enough, the companies even steal little
more on the side.
Ths trouble in most coal mining dis
tricts arises from ,;,shat is called the
'shump.. -'.-'>t .a'4-4s5s,g--s
The hump is the coal that can be
piled on the car above the level of the
Sides The men are paid by the bushel
of coal mined.
Cars filled level with the sides repre-
sent SO many bushels, the tf hump is ad-
ditional and most of the trouble in the
mining district is due to the attempt on
the part of the bosses to steal these extra
bushels.
miner in the regions, no matter how timid
and cowardly, but what was willing to
swear by all that is sacred that the min
ers had to dig five to get paid for four
bushels of COAL
He says further: 'sEvery pound of
coal on every hump on every car that
comes out of every mine in these Internal
regions is brazen, barefaced robbery
And this is the cause of bitter battles.
Strikes and riots occur to prevent men
like the holy George +. Baer from steal
ing these additional bushels of coal.
The men do not consider that they are
being robbed in their pay envelope or
robbed at the company 8 stores or robbed
by the company's landlords
They somehow consider those wrongs a
part of the irremedial custom of the
world and they suffer them usually with
out revolt.
When the system robs them they do not
understand, and in the main they are
content. But they all understand petty
thievery.
They all know that when the company
stoops to petty larceny it becomes con-
temptible. They all know that the
hump is sheer robbery
Curiously enough, it is always Just such
little expressions that cause wars. If cap
italists would only be content with their
legalized robberies things might go well
with them for long time yet. But they
are not content. They want the s'hump.' -
Greed fastens its eyes on that "hump'
and pushes and pushes and pushes the
men to the point of desperation and mad
revolt.
All workingmen should read this pow
erful little pamphlet. 1t is picture of
actual life in the mines-that is to say,
a really telling description of hell.
The story of the hump is but one