The daily morning oasis., 1919-11-18
"WHAT is TRUTH"

1T WILL be recalled that when N1codemuS, Cle
Pharisee, sought the Christ, by night, to IN
uuire into the doctrines that Jesus was teaching,
both interest and attention having been aroused IN
his mind by what he had heard in public addresses,
he put bluntly the question: "What is Truth"
Well might the same question be put today IN
the great struggles taking place all over the country
between capital and labor-between those VINO nave
and are grasping for more and those who have not,
who are trying to save what little they do get.
The great instruments of gathering and diffu-
sion of information seldom or ever give the Whole
story. The great newspapers and magazines color
their accounts of occurrences situations and condl-
tons; and the public, the great sufferer finds the
real truth as hard to discover as the traditional
Finding needle in haystack" What truth is
learned has to filter out through private and ndi-
vdual sources
Take the great coal strike, for instance: The
great newspapers and the great newsgathering a.
gences have led the public to believe all along that
the striking coal miners demand a SIX hour day and
a five day week. On the other hand the operators
maintain that they stand out for eight hour day
and six day week. They make out to throw upon
the striking miners the OnuS OF the situation.
In the published accounts of the conferences on
the issue, where the operators and the men nave
tried to threshout the issues and come to an agree
ment and in published accounts Of the recent indus
trial conference, the great newspapers and the
great newsgathering agencies were silent about
charges made by representatives of labor that in de-
handing a six-hour day and five-day week the min
ers are demanding more hours to work than they
are given.
openly in both the Industrial Conference and in the
conference between miners and operators that While
days work in the mines is now eight hours, and
six days constitute weeks work, the men are work
ed only about half time. But half days work is
given any one man. One goes on in the morning
and goes off at noon; while another takes his place
in the mine in the afternoon The result is each
man gets but half days work, four hours SIX days
in the week-twenty-fou hours The demand
made by the men is for thirty hours week-tWenty
five per cent more than they given.
And in the two conferences mentioned labor
representatives charged openly that the operators
worked their mines in the way described with short
Shifts and fewer hours of labor, to diminish produc
ton and elevate prices. If they worked all the men
eight hours per day. six days per week, there would
be such production of coal that prices would come
down fully one-half. But operating as they are,
they are enabled to make larger amount OF money
out from a smaller production than if the mines
were worked full time. That charge was made on
the floor of the Industrial Conference and IN the
conference between miners and operators IN the OIL
flee of the Secretary of the Department of Labor,
and it was not denied or cOntroverted; but 1t was
not published in the newspapers nor IN Associated
Press or United Press reports of those conferences
The people, the worst sufferers in the trouble, are
left in the dark with regard to facts. Well may
one ask: "What is TRUTH"
Again the operators spread far and wide prop
uganda of the big money made by the miners: One
day last week man who had worked IN bltumlnous
coal mines came into "Ihe Oasis office and des-
cribed how it is done: Miners in soft coal mines are
paid by extraction l. e. What each man extracts is
weighed and he is paid price which seems good
remuneration. 1t amounts to about seven dollars
per day. in an eight hour day Each miner has to
employ helper. The helper is not paid by the oper
ator. The miner pays him out of what he earns
Then their tools have to be sharpened. The miner
has to pay for that work. Powder, fuse and caps