Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-04-18
SOFT COAL MINE
NO SOFT JOB

Tried Il the Past Winter-JournaI
Subscriber Tells Of Conditions He
Found There
J. A. Blanchard, subscriber Of the
Journal who lives four miles out OF
the city just this side of the Sidney
town line, has recently returned from
Sligo. Clarion county, Pennsylvania,
where he has been employed since
the first of January. this year, in
coal mine. This Maine man went to
Pennsylvania to visit his son, who
lives on farm. The two men went
into a coal mine at Sligo, in what is
known as the Federal mine and
worked there for several months. Mr..
Blanchard said he went as an ex-
pertinent, intending to return to his
Maine farm in the spring. The Fed
eral mine is q non-union mine.
Mr.. Blanchard says he has Travelled
in the South and other parts of the
country and he has never seen a To-
cality where the people were living in
such deplorable conditions as they do
in the soft coal mining districts
where he had been. The miner aver
ages four days 4 week, work. Some
weeks he works five days and some
weeks, three days, more or less. They
are destitute but they cannot get out
because they do not know how. Mr..
Blanchard called to mind, only re-
Gently when two women were shot
as they endeavored to get out of a
strike zone, past the guards.
See the price you pay for coal? The
miner gets so cents on a ton Of it.
He has to lay on his side all day to
dig out that coal. He goes into the
bine and sometimes he doesn't come
out. Often he has to lie in an inch
and a half of water. He has to travel
home in wet clothes and on cold
days his clothes are frozen to his
back before he gets home.
What about the reports which the
government has been sending out?
1 tell you. the government sent men
to look over the mines. ! am not
positive as to what report the gov
eminent sends out. but it is not ia
vOrable to the miner.
l was not used to the work and
didn't like it. so I got out. was Mr..
Blanchard's reply to a query. The
people there are simply existing.
don't know how they are living. The
operator has robbed you, but the
miner has not. If you We're to so
into those mines and work Is min
utes. you would not begrudge him
(the miner) what he gets.
Those miners do not want to be
Kept in idleness. They hadn't asked
for raise in pay. in this last strike.
They asked that operators would
guarantee them 80 hours work a
week. the year round. They were
cut down the first of January. from
| Sl.00 to so cents on a ton. What
they ask for now, is a scale of six
hours a day, for five days a week.
The operator will not do it.
! When Mr.. Blanchard wanted to
come away he worked his two weeks
notice. He knew the strike was
coming on and he wanted to come
! home. They refused to pay him for
! the two weeks, saying they did not
pay for miners to work their notice.
| He went down to Clarion, which is
! the county seat Of Clarion county
! lie went into the operators office
and stated his case. He was informed
That nothing could be done about it
! The miners are supposed to be safe
guarded. that is. there is supposed
! to be two or more exits In the mine
which he had just left, Mr.. Blan-
! chard stated there was but one
| opening. If anything happened, the
miner would be penned up there, I'M
til that single opening was fixed
| The men would starve to death be-
! fore help could reach them. Only a
| short time since, so miners were en-
| tombed in a mine near there, and
starved to death before aid could get
| to them.
Mr.. Blanchard asked the operator
| il he wanted him to tell the gov
eminent that there was but one op-
cning in that mine. The operator
turned to his cashier and said, PAY
this man and let him GO" He
wouldn't take any chances. The
miners who are employed there,
| right along, would not dare to open
their mouths about it.
A large piece of fools gold" was
shown by Mr.. Blanchard, when he
was in the journal office, Monday
morning. When the light from the
miners lamp strikes this compost
ton in its natural bed, it looks very
much like gold.
In a 30-inch vein of coal. a man