The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-08-25
By ROBERT.

Win the miners who have gone back to work
" come out again? Will the mines rs-strikep
Are the men satisfied? These are big questions
now in the mine strike situation. These ques-
tons are being answered by the miners them
selves by the men who have gone back to work,
by the growing revolt that is and must develop
among the men in the mines against the con-
tinued starvation wages, against dozens of in
tolerable grievances, against the u. M. W. A.
that stands out yellower than ever as COM
pany union. Here are some facts that clearly
point the way to continued struggle, to bigger
struggle. These are reports that miners are
bringing from the mines to the N M. U.
In Coverdale the companies are not only in
the coal business but seem to be in the bath
house business Every miner must pay fifty
cents for the questionable privilege of using the
showers. He has to pay that fifty cents whether
he uses the shower or not he has to pay that
fifty cents even if it means buying less food for
the family.
Most of the workers emphatically are against
using the showers, they're dirty, the only clean
ing done in them is an occasional washing of
the floors There are no lockers; a substitute
for the lockers is a contraption of a pulley
chain. You hook your clothes to the chain then
pun ILlc CIldlu up COWdEuS CcluilB '1OCh
it at the bottom, but most of the locks are
broken so miner might as well leave his
clothes down. All you get for the fifty cents is
water, you have to bring your own soap and
towels.
There Is reason why the company insists
that the bath houses stay open and the men
keep paying. 1t is estimated that the company
collects $500 every two weeks from the miners
IL q. -
is $3.50. But the boss insists that the only rea-
son he wants the bath house is because he likes
to see the men keep healthy and clean.
1T don't need the lousy bathhouse," the miner
says IT can take a bath home and save fifty
cents, that fifty cents I can USE" At the last
meeting of the UM.W.A here one of the miners
got up and shouted. "Close the bath house
down." But another miner went him one bet
ter, there's more to complain about besides bath
houses, he said Hell with closing bath house
down, let's close mine down!
Then there's the matter of supplies bitter
and important grievance In the mine at Gov
erda1e it's not enough that miner has to lay
his own tracks for the car, he has to go search
for the rails.
miner has to work fast all day. You can't
stop, you dare not If you want to get the ton
mage. In order to get the coal in miner needs
the car right by him; If the. rails are short, the
car is so far away that he is forced to shovel
twice sometimes three times He has to throw
the coal from where he breaks it to the car and
then pick it up again and dump the coal in the
car. Well, as far as the boss and the bosses
union, the U. M. W. A., are concerned that's
something for the miner to worry about If you
ask the inside boss for supplies for rails, tim
Der, he says II haven't got 1t in my pocket"
Go look for them" And he'll send you In some
other section Of the mine where he guesses there
might be some. What you need might be there
and then again it might not, so you go looking
all over. Meanwhile time is being lost, mean
while you know every minute lost is so much
less food for you and the family. If you can't
find rails then you either have to dig coal with
the car many feet away or go home. If you
can't find the timber you have to go home be-
cause the timber is used 10 prop up the roofs
of the mine rooms and to work without it is
certain death.
Then If that Isn't enough, you get into sec