The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1919-12-11
With w h Editors

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Harry B. Averill, editor of the Gle
'Elum Echo and the Cascade Miner, of
Roslyn, has just returned from WASH
ington, ID. c., where he spent several
months as private secretary to Con-
gresham Summers. In the first is
sue of the Echo after his return we
read two-column editorial in which
he pleads with the miners Of the Ros-
lyn district to go back to work. He
says: -. -., s.@
"The empty coal bin is a pretty Sc
rious matter, not only for us but for
hundreds of thousands of other homes
thruout the land. We are no worse
off here in this coal district as re-
suit of the strike than are dozens of
other similar localities, but this is cold
comfort at that. The unfortunate part
of our situation with reference to the
coal strike is that we are simply the
tail to the kite. Apparently it mat
ers little what we do or think or con-
clude here as to wages, hours, working
conditions, price of coal or any other
phase of the great strike. Our des-
tiny, our prosperity, our comfort, are
not in our own hands. What becomes
of us depends entirely upon what hap
pens back in the central bituminous
field of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Of
Pennsylvania. The people Of that
group of central states care about as
much about what happens out here
on the Pacific Coast as we care about
what happens to them-and that isn't
much. They wouldn't care if we new
er mined another ton of coal back here
they wouldn't shed tear If all the
industries which the west has so care
fully nursed for years went to rack
and ruin. The east and the middle
west are looking after their own in
terests first of all, as is perfectly nat
ural. All outlying western districts
are merely the tail to the kite, flying
wherever it is pulled by the powers
that be.
SIT is not our purpose to discuss the
coal strike at length now. We've been
home only long enough to know that
all the mines are shut down and that
unfortunate conditions exists here as
elsewhere in the widely scattered coal
fields of the west. Back east people
won't freeze to death because there is
is an enormous coal field to draw upon
and according to the very latest Of
cial report, soft coal production is now
so per cent of normal. This won't
keep industries going but it is a so
per cent better condition than exists
in this state, where there is no coal
production. We would hail with glad
ness and so would the public some ef-
fort to reopen the coal mines in Dis
trict No. 10 on a basis Of accepting
whatever wage adjustment is finally
agreed to back in the central co4npeti-
tive district, the scale to be retroactive
of course or an independent effort in
this district between men and opera
tors to set their own scale regardless
of what is paid back in Virginia. Some
western states have already adopted
the first. named plan Of reopenfng the
mines with an agreement to abide by
whatever scale is finally adopted back
east. Nothing is lost to the men un-
der this proposition, but. on the con-
trary work is continued, business goes
ahead, people resume their normal life !
and the public is satisfied. The time
has Arrived also we are quite certain
when the public must be considered.
Neither capital nor labor can ignore
the public in a settlement of their diff
ficulties. The side that gets public
behind it will win. This is
our conclusion after months of closely