The Commonwealth. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914, 1913-04-18

later date. He is the only miner in
Che penitentiary at the present time
and his attorneys proposed TO carry
his case to the U S. supreme court
The Situation lndustrlalIy.
The u. NJ w. OF A., both locally
and internationally, and the socialists
locally are behind the miners. When
the miners struck a year ago, they de-
manded an eight-hour day the aboli-
ton of the mine guard system and
the short ton in measuring COAL that
is 1000 instead of 2,24O pounds, and
a check weighman. These demands
are most moderate for several reasons.
In the first place, operators of other
| fields are at a much greater expense
in mining coal than in this district,
as here it practically lies on the sur
| face. Transportation to market is ex-
| tremely convenient and cheap both by
water and rail. In the next place the
scale of wages paid here is lower than
in any other coal field, for while the
Illinois or Pennsylvania miner may
make from SO to $3.50 a day, the West
Virginia mine slave tolls for an aver
age of only 50 and only has work
about seven months of the year.
In the second place, the political
laws of the state are supposed to Sc
cure practically all these things to the
miners and they are only striking to
enforce political laws. These same
laws make the arming of private
guards by coal and lumber companies
illegal.
In the light of these facts and also
that the U. M. w. Of A. demands an
eight-hour day in other fields where
the scale of wages is higher than here
it seems strange to an industrialist
that President John 2. White in his
negotiations with Hatfield should sub
NIT a proposition of settlement which
should provide only a nine-hour day.
Tomorrow is April and it was the
original plan of the U. M. w. of A. to
call a general strike on New Rix and
Coal river But since negotiations
have been entered into, following the
conciliatory policy of the U. M. w. of
A. President White issued proclama-
ton asking these miners to stay at
work at least until something definite
resulted from the negotiations with
the Cabin and Paint Greek operators
Word comes, however, that the con-
duct of the guards in that district in
assaulting miners as we'll as the tyr
amy of the mine bosses will cause
the miners to disregard any advice of
passivity and that the strike zone will
shortly extend to include hundreds of
mines.
"PoIiticaI Action" In West Virginia"
The present fighting miners of West
Virginia is the direct product of So
cialist propaganda as it was taught
this district by agitators of
the socialist party. AS an educational
factor the socialist party has done in
estimable good. The miners have
made logical application of the theor-
les of socialism to the concrete situa-
ton they face and what seems mex
plicable to them is the apparent leth-
argy of the great socialist movement
in view of such a gigantic struggle go
ing on before them. What they have
yet to learn as we'll as the member
ship of the socialist party is that
socialist will quite often talk theories
support concretely. That he gets a
certain amount of intellectual pleas
ure and amusement flirting with radi-
calism, but unless his daily economic
struggle drives him to the necessity
of it he will not apply the theories of
force as set forth in the socialist phil
osophy.
Miners Mostly Socialists.
The miners, 80 per cent of whom
have votes in this district and who
an actual voting majority in
Cabin Creek, which is one of the ex-
ceptions in the United States, after
hearing socialist speakers, first de-
cided to employ political power to
back up their efforts in their union.
They were rather unusually fortunate,
due to their overwhelming numbers
and succeeded in getting control" of
the political government on Cabin
Creek in the form Of two justices of
the peace and a constable. This may
seem a very humble political victory,
but it was all there was on Cabin
Creek. When the strike came this
political power began to be used by
the workers. The Baldwin thugs who
were strutting around as armed mine
guards in violation of the sta-e law,