Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1922-04-13
FROM ALLEGHANY TO ABBOTTS-
TOWN, PENNSYLVANIA
By ]. 0. KNOTT.

stone State. In my lyceum work en-
tered the State Of Pennsylvania near
Pittsburgh, and closed my work near
Hanover.
ANY news concerning the mining Sec
ton, particularly the section OF the BIZ
luminous mines, would be old when this
communication is printed. ] note that
some correspondent of yours has al
! ready expressed his opinion concerning
the appearance OF the marching miners
that we're seen in some OF their nu-
merous parades. OF course, the mi
ners do not show of well in parades'
Many Of them are foreigners, and the
others have become clannish and dis
posed to segregate themselves, on the
basis that the money powers OF earth
are against the miners. Many things
combine to make the miners Of our
country in fact and in appearance a
grouchy set.
AS the strike was ION" the day when
was in the section Of the State not
| far from Jamestown, had fair idea
of how the people were feeling. To
show how much | had to do with THO
/ miners, spoke to an audience Of two
hundred at the small place called Gen.
trail City, and in my audience do not
suppose there were over two dozen
persons who could speak vernacular
English. At this place the primary
teacher in the grammar school told me
that her work in her first months was
to teach the tots to speak and under
stand simple English. She said they
did not even know what "stand up"
meant, "turn round" but that she had
to suit the act to the word when she
spoke. These children, who speak a
foreign language at home and our
language at school, eventually become
cultured and capable, and as one man
told me in this mining section: CAS-
these people have hosts of children, and
work hard, the third generation will
see this entire section of our country
in their hands" / do not wish any
reader of the Register to think I am
criticising any particular church when
! say what | now do, but the fact
abides which must be acted Upon ac7
cordingly: The Catholic Church is
holding these foreigners by the
strength OF church ties, and is pro-
viding for these people both church
facilities and diversions. Ii does not
take a long-headed man 10 see what
will be the outcome at the rate the
foreigners are increasing in their
families.
| | was impressed with this fact in
connection with the Strike that was
just about to 60 into effect. The miners
spoke little of it and seemed to care
less. At length | had talk with an
older man who had been mining for
twenty years, and he said: "The strike.
as always, is not our wish or desire,
but comes of our labor leaders. Of
course, we miners believe that the gov,
eminent will make the operators meet
our labor leaders. Many of us think
that the government will take over the
mines, which the miners now think is
their hope. But the miners now have
little or nothing to live on and it is pref.
ty we'll established that the labor lead
ers will draw their own salaries during
the strike and the miners get nothing. +"
One man connected with the company
store told me that the store, at which
the miners do all their buying and get
their only credit, will close down as
soon as the miners strike. Thus there
will be starvation plan instituted.
or course, the miners have a plea
against the company store, to the effect
that the operators of the mines force
the miners to buy at these stores and
charge what they please so as to pet
back some of the money they are forced
to pay the miners for digging coal.
can not subStantiate this, but it is COM
monty reported.
To show the working of non-union,
cooperative companies, at Windber,
Penn, found conditions very hap
py. Inc men were non-union, and
| without the company stores, and were
on best Of terms with their operators.
Reports show at the beginning OF the
strike that Windber would not let aei-
tators come into their section.
The amazement of visitors to a coal
field, particularly visitors from one OF
our coast cities, is TO find that coal ID
not oeing mined because there is no de-
mand for it. We in Washington City,
TOT example, are told by our sharky
coal dealers (some of them Methodist
superintendents Of Sunday schools),
tnat coal is so scarce that buyers mus,
rush in and get coal before il is ex-
nausted, and must pay a high price.
ior the demand is too great for the
supply" A lot Of these sharks were
indicted over year ago, but so far as
! know nothing more than an indict.
ment came of it all.
fear ! have shed little light on the
coal strike situation, and confess the
more saw of il the less knew of ito
inner workings. 1t is easy to run into
town, get superficial information from
some prejudiced party who is a parti.
san OF one side, and then write an ar
ticle for the daily paper, on the strike
situation" But after a man has re.
manned for days among these neonIe
IhpoNen 10 tnem in audiences, heard
, .hsi 'alk at hotels and pool-rooms, seen
.leir children in the schools, seen
union men work and non-union men