The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-04-14
Strong Man Who Heads the United Mine
Workers of America Tells of
Labor Situation.

| eminent and the Industrial conditions o.
the country and read them while wa
Ia young man.. On leaving school at ths
| age or fourteen, i kept up my studies
and took lessons at night after wa,
married and had q family. I learned
early in life to debate and was decidedly
! fond of meeting my comrades IN a
friendly argument. There are many
/ good takers among the men who work
/ They are thoughtful. observing and logi.
cal Business men spend their lives IN
buying and selling products, IN making
them. transporting them and so on. They
deal with things like iron. coal and mer-
chandise. Then men who are hired 70
dig the coal and TO manufacture the iron
and merchandise are merely the agents
Of production and the business man
Jumps them in with his machinery and
| his plant. lie does not get a human
view OF his factory. his mill or his mine.
All things with him are commercial and
mathematical
Gives HIS Body TO Industry.
"on the other hand, the workingmau
Is dealing In his own flesh and blood. In
his strength and his skin. The business
man gives his money and the working
man his body to trade and industry. SO
the workingmsn, naturally. thinks out
his particular side of the case-the
human side, as have said heretofore.
In crude way. perhaps, he gets at the
ethics and the justice OF a situation and
then talks 10 his friends. He learns to
think and to put his thoughts into words.
Many a reugh-loolxing miner sitting
at his door in the evening with black
pipe in his mouth can argue down his
employer on the fundamentals of Indus
try and government. He has given his
time and head TO such subjects. Labor
has ready orators and thoughtful lis
teners, and out Of its debates come men
strong enough to present and wise
enough to see the equities Of its situa-
ton
And. as with you." i said. ''the orator
occasionally loses his job?''
That's So Mr.. White answered. II
was fred in Iowa more than once and
my name was written on the blacklist
which meant that no mine owner dared
give me INDEPENDENTLY because
was working to bring the miners to-
gether and saying that oppression would
continue SO long as they acted sepa-
rstely. That is the real issue now in the
anthracite region of Pennsylvania The
Roosevelt commission. which settled the
great coal strike OF 1S02-o1r established a
board Of Cancellation composed Of three
miners and three operators. Since then
q miner with a complaint has been COM
at Scranton. He acts alone. Now. II any
fair man will study the matter for
minute he will see that the arrangement
is wholly impracticable. The miner, with
no help, unless he hires lawyer. must
prepare his case, pick out his witnesses,
and then go TO Scranton.
He Loses II He Wins.
Perhaps he Is a foreigner. with little
knowledge Of the English language. You
may be sure that he is pcor. and that he
lives in the mountains. he makes the
fight as an individual II he wins, he has
lost his time and wages, and the chances
are that he will lose his place in the
mines sooner or later. He Is at a dis
advantage at every stage Of the contest.
We say that the union should file his
complaint, work up his case, and carry
on the battle for him"
You also asked for higher wages?'