The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1915-02-11

year from date OF its enactment n lie
committee deems IL advisable.
Perhaps some OF you have dug coal
TOW would you feel gentlemen OF the
committee. II you were working at the
face loading n car that your Judgment
told you would had two and one halt
only get paw FOR two tons-that YOU
would be cheated out Of i've hundred or
seven hundred pounds Of coal on each
car mat YOU lgaucd-would you stand
Tor this Would you like IL Would
you want your coal weighed and gct
/. WiiIina ts S,sa3 yTasI; ." ~ would you
pay for hear Of coal simply
A. you brooded over this great In
Justice from day 10 day. forced To stand
( ~ and take ~ because OF the hard ne
cesSitics Of your environment what
Kind Of feeling would you have toward
your employer Toward your govern
ment; Toward the constituted authori-
ties Would you grieye? Would you
some times despair when your bud
dy's' liielcss form was carried out Of
DO you wonder that this results in
Socialism and Anarchy
Penslzed.
The operator argue that ne cannot
stand the additional expense because the
Norkmens Compensation Law "penali-
yes. him. What about the miner lie ar
cues that he has stood this thing Tor
a good many years, and has patience Is
threudbure.
The Dead.
But the compensation law does not
penalize the coal operator-it merely
compcls him TO bury his dead some
/ thing many Of the operators Tor whom
some you appear refused To do dntu
this law became effective.
FOR the years FOR which we have sta
ustics, we know that 1927 men have
been killed outright IN the mines OF the
state. This does not include the ISL
killed at Eccl,s. Not one per cent OF
the widows ana orphans lett by these
te-' victims ever received penny from
sand. five hundred and eight dependents
unprovidcd for.
out Of 44ij miners killed. the widows
and orphans OF Isl have been protected
and provided foT-not b. the coal COM
panies alone. but b. an contributing
companies.
Apropos Of the pcnslizing pIea-just
a woru, IL Is "A fact that the coal COM
panics have lodged from the first. the
matter OF contributing their share OF
this compensation fund. There has not
been trouble with other contributors In
thls respect. l. e.. new spapCr plants. and
other manufacturing and commercial
corporations who ali contribute to this
From June 1897 to June 1913. 1850
miners were killed. or an average Of one
miner for each working day. In recent
ana onc-hait miner killed FOR each work
day.
In this average we do not include the
great army that have been Injured. many
counted FOR. Last year this record was
kept Tor the FIRST time. In Marion Couu-
~ - men were killed and 40 injured.
Harrison county. Il killed and 80 in
Jured Raleigh county. - killed and 81
injured. Mcdowell county. " killed
and 49, Injured. Fayette county. -
killed and ll3 injured.
In all last year. SOS were killed and
Sos injured. Many were crippled for
life. There f. no means Of calculating
the awful toll. but 70 Will not do for
the operator to complain that he Is
penalized by the compensation law and
urge that excuse as q reason why the
miner b. not worthy of his hire.
Prior to tho enactment Of the Work
mems Compensation law. the operator
protected himself by iusuriuE tn a liahil-
ity company. hut this did not always in
sure the miner. AZ on" great explosion
the liability company paid the operator
many thousands Of dollars OF insurance
carried ON the men -Four days after
this payment the company went into the
hands NJ 90 receiver and the loved ones
LETT by tho men never received penny
compensation.