The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1923-09-21
SLAVERY IN W.
VA. Mine FIELD
By MARX LEWIS
Federated Press Staff Correspondent.

Washington.-Th nillsides in states
where mine operators prevent union
organization of miners are dotted with
the graves of union miners VINO were
shot down or beaten by the hlred as
sassins of the coal companies, the U.
S. coal commission was told by repre-
The report, is a reply to the non-unlon
sentatives of the United Mine Workers
companies recent attack on the Y. M.
w. A.
"The only offense of these unfOrtun-
ate victims was that they were union
members or that they wished to be-
come members" the miners spokes-
men declare in their plea that the COM
mission investigate the situation in the
non-uniOn fields.
At the same time the report was
filed with the commission, the Chill
dren's bureau, Department Of Labor,
issued a report furnishing a graphic
portrayal of the miserable conditions
under which both children and adults
live in non-union West Virginia coal
fields. Contrasting these conditions
with the conditions in the anthracite
fields, which are organized, the report
of the Children's bureau confirms the
charges made from time to time by
union representatives.
1t is impossible to bring to justice
the desperadOes responsible for the
shootings in the nOn-union fields of
West Virginia, Utah, Alabama, Mary
land and Colorado because of the in
difference of local officials, the union
representatives told the coal commits
sion. eve are hoping that when your
report on this subject is made public it
will declare positively against a con-
tinuance of the present gunman and
armed guard system in these coal
mining fields" they declare.
In its report on child welfare in
West Virginia, the Chilren's bureau
points out that the coal companies
control towns, roads, houses, stores
even the church, the pastor very often
being paid by the companies. The
school buildings are also owned by the
companies. The miners have no re-
dress, the Children's bureau states.
The houses, owned by the companies
and rented on leases which the tenants
do not read, as they have no alterna-
tive but to accept the conditions named
in them, are lacking in the essentials
of a comfortable dwelling, rooms are
small and few in number, insanitary,
ill-ventilated and cold. The company
owned schools were found to be in
sanitary, over-crowded, without books
or other supplies. Teachers salaries
range from $3.50 to $500 for the school
year. Most of the teachers had not
completed elementary school.
Failure to enforce mining and child
labor laws by state inspectors is
charged by the bureau. 1t is only
when children are injured in mine &C
cidents that the extent of child labor,
which was noticeably increased when
the child lacor act was declared un-
constitutional, becomes known.
Absence of satisfactory economic
conditions is responsible for the low
standard of child welfare, it is assert
ed. Parents are at the mercy of the
company stores, and four-ffths of the
family never see any cash, but script"
which is used to purchase gods at the
company stores. Deductions for pur-
chases at the store equalled or exceed
their earnings.
Sixty percent of the families were
found to be in debt about 1913 on the
average at the end of the year, while
80 per cent reported an average saw
ing of S228 during the year.