The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-03-06
Guarantee Trust Hartman and Lehman Organize $OOQOOO Plane Holding
Mine MISERY is
UNDERSTANDABLE,
TOOHEY REPORTS
Calls All to Aid W.I.R.
Relief for Sufferers

Continued from Page One)
upon all workers who realize the
solidarity of labor against all bosses
ard their agents to come to the aid
of the miners"
Miners have lived for over two
years in wooden barracks and tents
erected in most cases in swampy
land Through the cold winter
months their families have lived in
these wooden dugouts, deluged by
rain and snow. Actual starvation
rules in the mine fields. In Indiana
the miners have been on rations for
three years. The schools are closed
down because the miners children
cannot go to school due to the lack
of clothes and food. Disease runs
rife, with almost no medical aid
available.
Toohey told of the great unem-
lployment in the mine fields, due to
the greed of the operators, the in
PRODUCTION of machinery, the COM
petition between the various fields,
etc. The operators take advantage
of these conditions to pay starvation
wages to those workers who are
"lucky" enough to find work. Since
the war there has been a steady
unemployment of from 80 to So per
cent, or about 100000 miners.
II addition the operators have
blacklisted thousands of workers
active in strikes. Those who work
are not better off. The basic wage
has fallen from $3.50 per day to
! from So to SO. The miners are no
longer paid per ton, the checkweigh-
man has been done away with. The
miners now load tons of coal on
car for less that they formerly re-
ceived for loading one ton.
eff a miner does get job, he
works himself out of it in six
months due to the overproduction
in the industry" he said.
In thousands of cases miners find
that after two weeks labor in coal
mine they have nothing left. on
which to live. Due to the system
of company stores, which include
groceries, clothes and drugs, the
amount owing to the company is
taken off the wages. For instance
here are the actual earnings of a
miner of the Pittsburgh Terminal
Coal Corporation. At the end of
the first two weeks John earned
500, at the end of the second two
week period he received 22.91, at
the end Of the third 39.4S, at the
end of the fourth 22.49. This was
all taken away by the operators to
pay off debts owing to the company
stores even before it got into the
hands of the miner. Toohey has
with him many such pay accounts.
even when they do work, they
starve," Toohey said
AS one miner put it, "Why should
l die slow and painful death work
ing in mine, when | can go out
into the open fields and sunshine
and die a quick and more cheerful
death ?"
Toohey also described a virtua
state of military siege which exists
in all coal camps. Certain death
awaits organizers in many mining
camps. 1t is necessary to form min.
ers' committees underground, fol
fear of losing ones job or being
beaten up and shipped out of the
territory. The miners mail is in
terfered with and they are allowed
none of the liberties that even {
worker in the city may enjoy.
Lewis was worried about get
ting into Hoover's cabinet. We are
worried about organizing strong
national union of the coal miners"
In closing Toohey emphasized thu
need for immediate relief in the Goa
fields and appealed to all class
conscious workers to support thu
w. /, R. drive for miners relief.
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