The Wilmington morning star., 1947-04-13
NINE TRADITION
BEING CHANGED
Coal Companies e r
What May Happen If
More Diggers Quit
Nv MAURICE E. r

@tlnnels under the western Penn.
@.rlvania hills where tn e indigo
-ons labor supply once seemed as
rmsitless as the supply of bitumi-
nous coal.
"A generation or so ago son fol-
,or1ed father into the mole : like
nx;stence which is a miners life.
y was not a heritage of love, but
me Of hard necessity. The father
uasded his sons earnings to help
tosd q usually large family in
t;mes when wages were low and
steadv work was uncertain.
Junior often became a bread
inner at the age of 10. Often
he sponsored a younger brother
az 2 working partner as soon as
tbe small fry was big enough to
swing a miners pick.
Like most Americans, however,
miners aspire to greener pastures
for their children.
Higher wages a d more work
dsys annually have helped fathers
n carry the financial burden bet
+er alone. Child labor laws kept
children out of the pits until they
I'D received a reasonable fac
emile of a good education. Fa-
thars helped them all they could
and many insisted their offspring
never would go into the mines.
Many never have.
reluctance of British coal
MINERS to work in the mines or
IN train their sons to do so is
felt by many observers to lie al
The bottom of England's %dwindling
coal production and acute short
,ge Of fuel which brought about
drastic power shutdown in mid
winter. despite naturalization OF
the mines and improved working
conditions designed to increase
production vital'y needed to shore
up her prewar economy
Although the father-son tradition
still persists in American mining
communities, the OBJECTIONS have
been sufficient to cause big min
ing companies growing concern
cver future labor requirements.
The average industry age Of
miners today is about 40, only
slightly less than during the wal
wears when the mining concerns
selt seriously the lack Of men.
A taste of seeing how the res
Of the world lived - albeit under
abnormal conditions-turned many
young, prewar miners away from
the pits following a tour Of duty
with the armed services.
The Pittsburgh Coal company
largest subsidiary of the Pitts
burgh Consolidation Coal, world
biggest commercial producer, los
1865 men to the services and onl,
743 returned to mining after tn
war.
A few Of these losses were il
casualties but the vast naajorit.
turned elsewhere for employment
I'VE figured about an 30 pc
cent return after the war; a com
pany spokesman said. But til
picture wasn't so good after tn
young miners got a taste Of out
side life"
This company is doing every
thing possible in tn admitted,
tough chore of making mining at
tractive as a trade. 1t has supplie'
machinery and an instructor TO
d mining class at a high schoo
near one of its bigger mines, Mon
tour No. 10, at Library, not ia:
from Pittsburgh.
1.-THE biggest obstacle is tn
opinion that the work is exception
ally dangerous, besides being un
~derground," a company spokes
man explained. However, saeet.
laws and measures instituted our
selves make mining as accident
free as any other industry.
I'VE do find some miners re
turning to the pits after a whir
at steel mill work. They disliket
the mass-production tempo in tn
mills, preferring the individualisn
Of a miner working alone or IL
a small crew."
Interviews with veteran miner
found them about divided or tn
subject Of their sons going int
the pits.
81 swore if I had any children
they'd get an education" sait
william Fike, So, a miner since
he was 10. mime work means
man misses lots of sunshine"
His son, Jesse, a former Genev;
college football star, manages
lake steamship line in Cleveland
my son I'll years ODD alread.
has decided he's not going to b.
miner" said Frank Morouse, 46
who was q merchant seaman TO.
five years until a brothers illness
brought him "back home" to TIT
mines, despite his love for the sea
Frank Harper, AZ, Scotch oor1
miner working in the pits sine
he was IA, said:
y see nothing the matter witt
mining. It's just as good in tht
mines as it is in a steel mill
His son, John, 10, a Marine vet
era. of Saipan, works in tn
mines with his dad.
IT'S good pay and better thar
the Marines" John declared. "A
least I can do what I want wfief
the day is over"
jim Campbell, a 49-year mining
veteran at so, has a son, jim
working in the mines. Jim trlee
factory work but liked mining bet
ter.
The father = son tradition run:
cutie strong in the Captive mine:
Of the Jones & Laughlin Stee
Corp. Tony Blazus, Jr., a wa
hero, returned to mining which
also employs his dad and brother
Martin Wazaniak and his three
Sons are another j. & L. family
mining team, along with Andy
Novak and his seven sons, Nlcf
Wahcheck and his brood, as wei