Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-15
BY ROGER BATCHELDER.

PITTSBURGH. July IA (N.A.NAD.-
I'm sorry to admit 1t, but children are
starving In the soft coal district"
M. j. McQuade. president Of the Ben
Franklin Coal Co, friendly person In
late middle age. sat at his desk, his
brow puckered. In his once. in the
Park Building He was commenting on
Gov. Pinchot's appeal for help for the
hungry children of the striking soft
coal miners.
Il once was q miner myself" Mr.
McQuade said, and this thing Is
damnable. One doesn't sleep we'll when
he remembers that babies haven't
enough to eat and no milk to drink
But go down to my mine and compare
1t with the others around here. Then
though as an operator I've fought the
boys to the limit when I had to-"
An hour before q big operator had
said: Depression Is everywhere, and
nothing can be done about 1t. Go across
the Monongaheia River and you win
find what you saw in the coal fields"
Mine Owners Blamed.
But q trip to Pittsburgh's "Shanty-
town" showed nothing of the sort.
There was food. and the children gen.
CT ally WOIC oIlUCS- xIllIby ulACS away,
In the mine areas, the mothers were
barefoot
1T may sound strange" said Mr.
McQuade, coming from an operator,
and the president of a coal company.
but this has not been the fault of the
miners. It has been the fault Of the
mine owners. and the sooner they real
lie that children must not be allowed to
starve the better 1t will be for all Of us.
We all saw 1t coming The men,
but more particularly the children,
DIDN'T have enough food. That is dan
gerous, in any line Of work. turned
my mine over to the men, to the extent
that they were allowed to organize, and
that there was no company store. They
were paid IN cash not tokens. and their
wives could buy wherever they wished.
City Fed Miners Families.
Gov. Pinchot is right. and we must
work the thing out before Winter. In
MoundSville, w. Va where you will
find my mine. the town is forced to
provide for the feeding Of the children
Of my miners.
II couldn't pay the men what they
should have had: 1t was impossible.
But what they did get was in United
States currency, and they didn't have
to go to company store and pay more
than they should. In some places 81
in currency gets only 81 In trade.
wouldn't stand for that
God knows" Mr.. McQuade said fer
vently. that couldn't bear the thought
of a starving child" He relaxed In his
chair for a moment
See my mine at MoundSville and the
people who work there" he invited.
Contrast it with the others. and re-
member that I'm still coal miner.
Well get out of it some way. and none
Of the kids on my place will starve
this year"
Homes Are Pleasant.
A visit to Moundsville disclosed mod
est little miners cottages with pleasant
porches. secluded by ramblers. and
small gardens in the back. The houses
we're painted and the brief lawns clip
ped The dwellings might have been
the houses Of artisans with $1,000 in
comes in any village remote from the
cities.
Two children, brother and sister, came
romping out to the sidewalk They
were laughing. and the set wilderness
conspicuous in the Washington County
mine area was replaced by healthy
tan.
Like nickel for ice cream"
1t had been stock question put TO
the strikers children. Some children
had grasped the money eagerly; some
had run away; others had shaken their
heads because they didn't know what
the money was or what to do with 1t.
I'VE aren't allowed to take money"
the boy said; only food. sometimes"
Then you get hungry"
We did, but daddy is working now.
sometimes three days week, and II
makes mother happy. Well never have
trouble again"
Join Labor Federation.
Investigation showed that the min
ers had been we'll cared for by the
town. and that special care had been
taken of the children. Grown ups
might be hungry, but the children
rarely The men had not struck, but
had gotten together at Mr.. McQuades
suggestion and joined the American
Federation of Labor. They laughed at
the Communists who are everywhere in
the soft coal area, and stuck it out.
When a man Is really down and out,
and when his children become ILL., the
Miners Committee figures out that he
should have work two weeks. instead OF
two days. so the youngsters can be
provided for. The miners IN better
circumstances are laid of, and this
plan has enabled every one to hold his
head above water Weighing Of coal Is
so honest. the men said. that they de-
clined an offer to put one Of their
own men AT the scales
They have many children IN the