!?B5BEHslOT
The Commoner;
14
Vol. 2, No; 38.
4
-. ' k , j .
" " I ... .PRESIDENT JOHN MITCHELLS STATEMENT. . . , f$
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Phlladolphia, Sept. 28. Prosidont
Mitchell of tho united mlno workers
tonight gave out tho following state
ment: "Tho recent utterances of Mr. Baer,
spokesman of tile anthrnclto coal trust,
Mr. Hewitt and other Interested per
sons dlselo3o a woJl-definod purpose
to confuse and cloud tho real causes
which resulted In tho coal strike and
nn attempt to divert attention from
tho actual lssuos Involved. However,
misleading as are their utterances, it
Is a relief to know that thoy now ad
mit that tho public has righto and In
terests which cannot bo Ignored with
Impunity, and, Inasmuch as tho pub
lic muBt bo the final arbiter of tho coal
strike, it Is imperative that it shall
not be deceived by statements which
aro at variance with tho facts.
"With tho purpose of correcting
some of the false impressions and
misrepresentations contained in tho
statoinonts of tho gentlomcn referred
.to, I issuo this letter.
"It is not my intontion to point out
tho Innuraorablo Instances in which
Mr. Baer has orred In statements and
allegation. His unsupported asser
tions that certain things aro true can-
tho anthracite mines of 9,000,000 tons
(sco report of Pennsylvania state bu
reau of mines).
"The output of coal in 1901 was far
in excess of that of any other year in
tho history of coal mining, and even a
paper so avowedly and bittorly hostile
to tho mine workers' union as the En
gineering and Mining Journal admits
that virtually tho only restriction-on
output was a shortage of cars.' 'This
shortage,' tho Journal continues, 'soon
bocamo marked' and 'by tho end of
November tho Reading collieries and
those of some other companies were
mining on short time' (Issuo of Jan.
4, 3902).
"Although his statoment does not
admit of any such construction, it ia
still possible that Mr. Baer refers to
the per capita output, but even here he
errs. A careful calculation of per
capita output from tho Pennsylvania
state bureau of mines shows that, de
spite Mr. Baer's assertion that tho
miners worked only from four to six
hours a day, despite tho assertion that
tho inon restricted the output, tho per
capita production in 1901, tho year
complained of, was greater than tho
per capita output for any single one
of tho thirty-ono years of which we
not bo accented as final or conclu
olve, particularly In vlow of tho fact h&vo record, from 1870 to 1900.
that unquestioned authorities can be
cited to prove him to bo in error.
"Mr. Baer states that 'tho wages paid
in tho anthracite coal regions are,
compared with the wag03 paid in liko
employment, fair and Just' By 'like
employment' Mr. iaor must refer to
bituminous coal mining. I am 'will
ing and prepared to demonstrate that
wages in tho bituminous coal fields
- JK.lE23i 20 to 40 jner cent higher than
those paid for similar classes of work
in the anthracite fields.
"Tho fact is tnat the minimum wage
received by any class of adult mine
workers in tho soft coal mines is 26 1-4
cents an hour, while the minimum
wage paid to boys is 121-2 cents an
hour; In the anthracite coal mines
men performing precisely the same
1 labor receive from 13 to 20 cents an
hour, whilo boys are paid as low as 5
cents an hour and rarely recelvo to
exceed 8 cents an hour. Tho bitum
inous minor works a maximum of
eight hours a day, which is two hours
less than men in the anthracite field
aro ; required to work; moreover, the
' ' anthracite mine worker labors under
T .ll. ... P 4.1.
ill UtUUJliJiVLllJi IW UUUUUJJL JLU1 IUO
increased tonnage the operators point
to tho installation of labor-saving ma
chinery, which reduces tho propor
tion of men and boys employed by
tho day. If we disregard all mine
workors whose labor might bo saved
by such appliances and take simply
the output: per certificated and em
ployed miner, we find that the produc
tion per miner was 1,271 tons in 1897,
1,391 tons In 1900, -while in "the year
1901 it -was 1,585 tons.
"I refer Mr. Baer to. the annual re
ports of tho Pennsylvania state bu
reau of mines and ask if these figures
do not refute tho statement that or
ganization in the coalmines is inimi
cal in good workmanship.
"Since tho very inception of this
strike tho aims, objects and ideals
of the united mine workors of America
have been willfully distorted by a
small army of critics. "We have been
unjustly maligned and our motives and
purposes maliciously impugned. We
thoreforo take this opportunity to re-
poat specifically that we do not seek
' the further disadvantage of being more 1 to interfere with tho management of
liable to bo killed or injured, the
casualties bolng 50 per cent greater
in the anthracite than in the bitumin
ous mines.
"There aro other statements of Mr.
Baer which aro equally incorrect;
among those is his assertion that 'the
miners only worked from four to six
hours a day,' and his further asser
tion that 'the lowest scale of wages
was 85 cents for boy slate pickers.'
If Mr. Baor desires I shall gladly fur
niBh him with tho names and ad
dresses of thousands of slate pickers
each of whom received much less than
85 cents a day ,and I shall be willing
to have tho returns verified bv t.ha
companies' nav rolls.
"Tho next misstatement of Mr. Baer
to which I shall give notice is that
which claims that 'for somp mysterious
reason tho miners restricted the out
put of the mines. Mr. Baer claims that
'in this manner tho product of tho col
lieries has been reduced about 121-2
per cent, and that in tho case of tho
Heating company it amounted to more
than 1,000,000 tons.' This is vitally
important, if true; but it is not true.
Tho fact is that, instead of, a lbss of
l,000,i tons, tuoro was an increase
in tho year 1901, from tho mines oper
ated by tho Reading company, of 838,
243 tons, and a total increase from all
the coal properties or with the proper
discipline of the working force, but
wo do demand:
"1. An increase in wages for men
employed on piece work.
"2. A reduction in tho hours of la
bor for men employed by the day.
"3; Payment for a legal ton of coal.
"4. That the coal wo mine shall be
honestly weighed and correctly re
corded, and
"5. We favor incorporating in tho
form of an agreement the wages that
shall be paid and tho conditions of
employment that shall obtain for a
specific period.
"As to the reasonableness of these
demands we have proposed to submit
to and abido the award of an impar
tial board of arbitration.
"There could bo no grosser per
version of truth than the assertion of
the operators that the mine workers'
union is a lawless organization. Dur
ing the last twenty weeks the whole
power of tho union has boon exerted
to preserve tho peace among a volun
tarily idle population of three-quarters
of a million, and it is a tribute
to the activity of our officers and the
loyalty and self-restraint of our mem
bers that we have boon more success
ful In allaying violence than tho coal
and iron police in inciting it
"Despite all our precautions we re
gret that occasional violence has re
sulted, but it would be as logical to
charge any one of tho religious, social
or political organizations or even the.
United States government with bolng
an unlawful organization because some
of its adherents transgress the law as
It is to charge the united mine work
ers of America with being an unlaw
ful organization because some of its
members violate the law. The officers
of the union aro as severe as the oper
ators in their earnest condemnation of
any and every act of violence on the
part of a striker, and no attempt has
boon made or will be made to con
done any offense of this sort.
"The public should bo made aware,
however, that thd operators and a cer
tain -section of tho press are by no
means discriminating in the fixing of
responsibility, and that crimes of vio
lence are laid at the doors of strikers
when tho imported guardians of law
and order, tho armed coal and iron
police, are clearly and unmistakably
nt fault; and I challenge the operators
or their friends to point to one single
utterance on their part in disapproval
of the lawless actions of their hired
guards.
"Some time ago the Bellevue wash
ery at Scranton was destroyed by
lightning; a roward was offered by
tho coal companies for the arrest and
conviction of tho person who sot fire
to the washery. This is an example
of tho manner in which the strikers
are maligned.
"Mr. Baer assumes that tho pump
men, engineers and llremen .were
called out so that 'the mines would
bo 'destroyed, and with their destruc-t!GG-i40,000
msn YItb. their w.izes an.cl
children dependent upon their labors
would be deprived of work for a long
time.' The truth is that the strike
of the pumpmen, engineers and fire
men was called in their own interest
absolutely, and by their own request;
it was for the purposo of removing
grievances against which they alone
complained and against which some
of them had inaugurated an indepen
dent, although unsuccessful, strike
more than one year ago.
"The fact that several weeks elapsed
botween the strike of the miners and
tho independent strike of the pump
men, "engineers and firemen, and the
further fact that the operators were
given twelve days' official notice that
the pumpmen, engineers and firemen
would strike unless granted an eight
hour work day, should convince Mr.
Baer that the strike of these men
did not originate in any desire on the
part of the mine workers to deprive
themselves of the source of their own
livelihood. If the mine workers had
sought the destruction of the mining
properties they would have ordered
the strike of the steam men without
giving the companies any notice at all.
"Similar accusations against the
mine workers are made in a public ut
terance by Mr. Hewitt, in which that
gentleman reveals his real'feeling to
ward organized labor. I do not refer
to his expressed fear that I shall bo-
come a 'dictator,' in control of votes
enough to decide the next presidential
election, or to his assertion that in
this contest the allied coal presidents
are fighting the battle of independent
labor against the aggressions of the
united mine workers in order that the
individual workman may b'e employed
upon terms satisfactory to himself.
"As an influential director of one
of the coal roads Mr. Hewitt is un
doubtedly aware that the companies
aro fighting to compel tho workmen
to accept employment under conditions
satisfactory, to tho coal trust, and
that tho preservation of men's indi
vidual rights is simply a cloak under
which they seek to destroy organiza
tion among their employes.
"Ho is undoubtedly in a position
to know that membership in an organi
zation was frowned upon hy the mino
managers, and that specific instruc
tions were issued from the general
offices of tho coal companies notifying
some classes of. workmen that they
must either sever their connection with
the union or surrender theirvpositions.
In fact, many of the local strikes
which occurred in 1901 were in pro
test against the action of the com
panies which discriminated against
and discharged union workmen be
cause of their affiliation with the or
ganization. "In this strike it has been claimed
by enemies of the union and believed
by Mr. Hewitt, although acknowledg
ing himself a recognized friend of
trade organizations, that men were
prevented from going to work through
fear of bodily harm, and it was con
fidently predicted that tho moment
the militia came the strike would
resolve itself into a stampede.
"The militia has been in Shenan
doah for more than eight weeks, and
still, for lack of mine workers, not a
pound of coal has been produced in
that vicinity. Tho militia is now sta
tioned in the Panther Creek Valley
in Wllkesbarre and in Scranton, and
yet its presence has not been fol
lowed by the desertion of a single
miner who laid down his tools on the
12th day of May. On the contrary,
many men brought here to take the
places of tho strikers have joined
the ranks of the strikers since the
arrival of the militiat and there is not
.the, remotest possibility of tne mines
being successfully operated until an
honorable and equitable settlement of
the strike has been made.
"Reverting to the demands of the
miners for increased wages and im
proved environment, Mr. Baer claims
that he cannot possibly pay an in
crease in wages J:hat would amount to
10 or 15 cents a ton to the miners,
but he and the allied presidents ad
mit that they can afford to sacrifice,
temporarily, a large market and lose
millions of dollars rather than pay
this Increase; nevertheless, without
advancing the miners' wages 1 cent
th operators did raise the market
price last year from 30 to 50 cents a
ton, and at the, present time Mr. Baer
and his fellow presidents are forcing
the public to pay from $6 to $10 ex
cess upon a ton in order to save this
same public 10 or 15 cents. l
"Mr. Baer states that 40 per cent of
the coal produced is sold in the market
below the cost of mining, but he fails
to say that the larger portion of this
40 per cent is made up of grades or
coal for which the minors received no
compensation whatever. Indeed, .up to
a few years ago. or before tho instal
lation of washeries, the miners were
docked for loading this very coal
which brings Bmall prices now in tho
market; and according to Mr. Baer's
process of reasoning the miners would
receive less wages for the larger
grades because they mine the small
sizes gratuitously.
"I shall not enter elaborately into
the question of cost, but shall merely
say that Mr. Baer's statements are ut
terly misleading: The rise in wages
in 1900 was more than counterbal
anced by an increase In the cost of
living, which left the miners worse
off than before. Mr. Baer claims that
this advance of 10 per cent which was
paid the miners in 1900 cost the com
panies more than 10 cents a ton; but
this is at least problematical. In
March, 1902, the Engineering anti Min
ing Journal (.see issue of March 29),