The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-08-18
Miners Answer Article by
Usage Company President.
Claim Cost of Living Is as High
as Material Costs.
IDLE SHAFTS WORK HARDSHIP
1t Is Admitted That Day Men
Received Big Increase.
There Are Ten Diggers, How
ever to One Day Man.

AItho it has been several weeks
since mines producing approximately
500, tons of coal a day in the Usage
district were closed because owners
and operators refused to grant the
miners a wage increase of SO cents a
ton, the controversy is still unsettled.
In the meantime. operators are pre-
dieting a coal shortage. On August
9, the State Journal printed letter
from G. T. Walker. president of the
Jackson-Walker Coal company. an
Usage operator and mine owner.
wherein the writer stated that the
operators have no disposition to treat
the miners unfair. Today the State
Journal received the following letter
from the press committee OF the
miners:
Miners Letter.
Burlingame, Kan.
Editor State Journal:
VIII you kindly allow us space In your
er's letter which appeared in the State
Journal, August 9, 1917, and we assure
you that we will not charge the -, 1oq r5at
has been or may be written by either SIDE
in the controversy.
Mr.. Walker in his letter says: IN your
statement that the operators gave the
miner only ten cents per ton advance the
first of last May and increased their sell.
ing price fifty cents per ton, you lost sight
entirely of the fact that the day men were
advanced twenty per cent, which me means IS
true, in so far as the day men are con-
cerned-but. why did not Mr.. Walker tell
you that there is only one day man to
every ten diggers, or men working by the
ton. Or in other words, one man gets 60
cents per day increase, ten men get ten
your article Of July IS: "a ton is a good
average per man !" therefore, a man work
ing by the ton gets an increase of ten
If we include the increase OF last August,
1916. which Mr.. Walker refers to. which
to the voluntary" increase of May LIST.
1917, which was ten cents, we have q. total
per cent. How, in ali fairness, can Mr.
Walker try to make the readers of the
State Journal believe the miners received
20 per cent increase during May, 1917,-
when, in fact, they only received ten
cents flat rate raise?
Supplies Do Cost More.
We appreciate the fact that the cost of
''all kinds of supplies, and equipment which
are costing today, from 100 to 500 per cent
Yes. but what is this to the cost, of the
fuel, doctor bills, education for the chill
dren, etc, for the many families of the
Again. Mr.. Walker says:
There has never been any disposition
D miners Pny %ay h but fairig The adyance
which we gave them last May the first,
was identically the same as was accorded
far as the. operator was concerned. was
voluntary for the reason that we had only
last August, given them an advance and
IN the above quotation, Mr. Walker uses
these words their contract" Is it mot
Mr. Walkers or the operators contract
cause Mr.. Walker was the only operator
limo fhn a "a an fn NJ he oGa 90
county scale, both for pick and machine
miners for the two years of which he
As stated before, Mr.. Walker voted for
the present machine scale and then abso-
lutely refused to open up or work his ma
and it is still idle.
wodld Not Take Reduction.
Representatives of the miners who were
in conference with the operators at Kan
sas City, would not submit 10 a reduction
in the machine scale Or wages. which we
miners had worked under the two previous
years. To be fair, and give Mr.. Walkers
the miners meant a reduction And we
can prove this by typewriter document
Mr.. Walker voted for three cents per
ton for the leaders, and 16 cents per day
for the day iS1e men end This to take E,
Because of this generous increase. in
stead of a reduction or arrangement,
company is kept closed down. This mine
employed eighty men and produced about
125 tons per day. Let US ask the con-
sumner, If in their opinion this is fair to
the miner? And. especially, is it fair to
you and the country, when the cry all
over our land, is for more fuel?
We do not wish to take up too much
space or go extensively into any argu-
ment relative to competition CT non-com-
petition, or whether Mr. Walker brings
coal from Marcelene to Topeka to compete
with Usage County coal and takes the
market away from the rest Of our opera
tors, not But we deny from a miners
standpoint, that We have in our opinion
never asked nor received an advance in
wages that was or is Arbitrary or 'sun-
justifiable' when the extra labor which
it takes compared with other coal fields
to produce a ton of coal is considered
Neither do we agree to the differences that
we should be charged by the operators for
any Encouragement that might occur in
any mine. which increases the cost of pro-
duction.
Press Committee Usage Coal Miners
w. A+-MEGGISON. Chairman.
VIM McMURDO, Secretary.
THOS. MURTY,
PHIL ROONEY.