The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-01-12

crushed INTO stove ana nut sizes. In
portion left that did not pass throug
the bars mentioned may then be run on
on the platform, which is a fat or in
clined floor covered with iron plates. TIL
impurities are then picked out, the larg,
Jumps go to the crusher rolls, after whicl
: the crushed coal passes over screen ant
is made into several sizes known as lump
broken, egg, stove, nut, pea, buckwhea'
Nos / 2 and 3.
sit is only within very recent years
that these small sizes have been used
Twenty-Five years ago there were high
mountains of refuse in the mining dis.
tricts OF Pennsylvania that contained
chestnut, pea and buckwheat coal in
large quantities. They have been worked
over by washing process SO that prac'
tically every bit of coal is put into use
except the fine dust, and If any Of you
are able to invent satisfactory method
of pressing this dust together so that it
may be made into briquettes, economi.
cally and satisfactorily, your financial
future will be well taken care of.
The Labor Situation.
"The labor situation in the anthracite
| field is very hard for us to understand,
as wages vary in accordance with the
conditions, width, depth and various kind
of rock work that is to be done. There
is no doubt whatever that without labor
unions, conditions in the anthracite fields
would be most .deplorable. Cooperative
effort on the part of the men has
brought about great many laws for
bn mn NJ conditions Va tht
there are abuses by the labor unions as
there have been by the capitalists when
given the opportunity but taking things
as they are and as they have been, we
must say that the labor unions have been
beneficial to the people of the coal re-
gions.
From 1902 to 1912 they were working
under sliding scale, their wages depend
ing somewhat on the price of coal, In a
settlement made after the stopping of
work in the spring of 1912 this sliding
scale was eliminated and the men were
paid fiat rate. To give You some idea of
the wage conditions, | will quote from
the 18th census Of the United States.
For the period of time 1880 1909, the
wage cost in the production OF anthra-
AiLt ttf pei Itill anu bit NhluE
of the output increased 100 per cent, |
while the quantity OF anthracite in
creased only 1874 per cent or in about |
the proportion of one-half as compared |
with the increased cost of operation.
From 1889 to 1890 there was no gen
eral change in the mine rate. There were |
some various changes in average values
per ton at the mines due to market CON
the average values in 1895 being
81 SO. The average value per ton. how
aver, was only two cents per ton higher
than in 1899 general average being 1856
for that period. Following the advent
IF the United Mine Workers of America
INTO anthracite fields in 1900, a strike
or higher wages brought an advance OF
10 per cent. In settlement of the great
itrike of 1902 another 10 per cent was
yranted and at this time the sliding scale
vas given to the men. This meant that
he miner received one cent for every
i've cents above $3.50 which was the {
yerage price of domestic sizes at New :
FORK harbor. From 1903 to 1911 the ;
miners received bonus of 405 per cent /,
bove the wages, which increase added ;
total of 25.445 per cent to the average (,
ates as they existed previous to 1900. i
I is very safe to say that the working !
( thinner and poorer beds of coal, min
RS rates, taxation and the general i'm .
rease in cost of everything used has in .
reased the cost of production another +
5 per cent.
ain 1912 the sliding scale was aban 3
oned and the miners We're given another .
as t4 tna rs | g
BOP. The average value per ton at the h
lines has advanced from 2.l7 in l0ll,
80 in 1912, and $50 in 1913.
april |, 1916. was another wage ex-
ration date. This year the men were
Cpected, in fact they agreed, to stay at
ork pending settlement OF their griev- In,
1ces. The agreement was finally decid II,
on May 5, and provided for an in
ease .of per cent in wages OF men -
hose length of working day was not III
fected Except hosting engineersl, an ia
crease Of 3 per cent in pay of men w
hose working time was reduced from til
ne hours TO eight hours, and of hosting OF
gineers who were already on an eight ill
,ur basis. It is estimated that these m
ncessions have increased the labor cost r,
anthracite 10 to IL per cent. II was OF
ped that these changes would act at
an incentive TO greater efforts and ey
ow an increase in output per man. On ar
e contrary, since the agreement was he
yned the anthracite region has been GO
e scene of many petty strikes-the so ne
He'd button strikes being most promi- tol
mt. Every possible excuse for refus-
2 TO work because of holidays has been M
ken advantage of. at
According to the reports by companies liz
oducing nearly one-half of the total IN,
tput, 65 different collieries were the
mes of these petty strikes-.some of nle
I'm more than once, and one of them as N,
my as hVe Times Inc time lost IN sio
n strike has varied from fraction of A,
lay 10 six weeks or more, the longest 20,
rs being usually of the button variety. ~
long some of the other causes have 49,.
m Il the dissatisfaction Of the miners 80
In the changes of starting and quitting ~,
he ordered by the companies in COM Eli,
ance with the eight hour clause of the af
cement; t2l discharge of men for dis Va.
.dience; (3l sympathy with other -
ikcrs; "a general dissatisfaction with ~
90 breaker boys demand to ,ho
paid at noon. One strike alone caused -
dissatisfaction with agreement lasted ~
DAYS and resulted in a loss in wages =
over 100000. The breaker boysY
ew one eolliery idle two and a half s1.
s at loss in wages of 5000.
As stated above. the production OF ~