Newspapers / The Charlotte Herald (Charlotte, … / July 13, 1923, edition 1 / Page 2
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COLD FACTS IN COAL SQUABBLE (Continued From Page One.) prices, also have strengthened the workers’ demand for'better pay. ; they know that steam eogl and buck wheat, the finer sizes, which used to ' sell at from $1,50.. to $1.75 at the mines, now bring from $6 to £• That the larger sissrs—chestnut, stove a»id egg—which used to bring from $4.56 to $6 pit mouth, pow is moving in in creased volume at from $11 to $13.56. • ' > Only a small part of these in creases, they maintain, is absorbed by increased costs of production. Their • labor, they contend, is being used to jj/pile up colossal profits for non-resi ,} dent owners. Under present prices j ’they feel they are not getting a right ful share of their labor’s profits. - For every dime the miners have ^■'got ’in increased wages,” one busi / ? ness man here tlod ’me, “the opera tors have put on a dollar to the *;;price.” V- “Dollar for Dina*.” ♦JV Whether or not that is borne out by facts it is the common viewpoint of the genreal public here not con nected with the mines. At the littje town of Tama qua I ’’noticed a handsome stone residence 1 going up on the main street, impos ingly magnificent beside the average ' run of houses in the town “Some house,” I remarked to a couple of miners I was giving a lift ’ into town, , ' “Yeh!” one of them answered. “It’s being built by-—who lives up at Scranton. He’s by way of being a bit of coal operator. He’s building it for an aunt of his who lives in one of the company houses up the val ley. Some change from the shack she lives in now, I’ll say. Two bath rooms, an’*, everything!” Wpshrooms Scarce. If the aUnts of men who are only “bits of operators” can be endowed with 14-room stone houses with two baths, out of the profits of coal, these men opined somewhat emphatically, certainly they, who dug it, ought to be able to give their women and children a home with a kitchen sink and one bath. 1 ' *■ “For God knows a miner needs a bath-room if anybody does,” the grimiest of them said. “But a lot of the companies don’t even give us a wash-up room at the plant, let -aione a bath-room at home.” Scarcely second^to the direct in crease in wages asked for is the de mand for uniformity in rates be tween different colleries and for nec essary equipment. One miner told me that he had been charged $21 in _>_-two weeks for compiessed air for his rjSck-hamm.er. \ “Plain, robbery!” he declared. “Government figures show the 'average of all 'mine costs in produc ing a ton of anthracite is Less than. $5.50 a ton. The average price the operator now gets is double that. ‘What we’re asking wouldn’t be a fair split on the difference, but it would help us to live a bit better. Wje don’t want mansions and limousines, but we would like decent homes, enough food and clothes and some sense of independence.” GUNNING SCHEME FOR GAY’S SAYE r{ (Continued From Page One.) ! ir command to secure in the iron ] and steel industry of this country a ■ total abolition of the 12-hour day atj * the earliest time practicable. This _> ^teans a large addition to the pres ent large numbers of workmen em- j ployed on an 8-hour basis, and that] j|^l others will be on a ba^is 10- j • Hours or less. . »Without an unjustifiable interrup tion to operation, the change can not be effected overnight. It will involve many adjustments, some of them complicated and difficult, but we think it can be brought about without Undue delay when, as you stated, ‘‘there is a surplus of labor avail able.” • - ‘ i ; The iron and steel manufacturers generally of the United States, out 'I side of the directors referred to, are expected to concur in the conclusion reached by the directors as above 1 stated. , * With high regards, we are, cordi ally yours, -4’ E. H. Gary, Willis L. King, John A. Topping, Jas. A. Burden, W. A. Rod- j gers, L. E. Block, WJ- H- Conner, Severn P. Ker, W, J. Filbert, J. A. Campbell, E.,A. S. Clarke, A. C. Din kel, Jas. A. Farrell, Chas. M. Schwab, I il G. Grace, Directors American Iron and Steel Institute. • • !_ /'■ BOLSHEVIKI TRY : TO KILL UNIONS . (Continue^ From Page One.) hundred' years has been demonstrat ing that dmocracy and labor union ism go hand in hand. .jfiveat Britain, where modern trade unionism began, has been steadily growing more democratic for a cen tury. Wfth every increase of de mocracy, the British trade unions r have gained in power and influence. In the United States, a republic , founded on democratic principles, the unions have attained a numerical strength second to those of Great Britain and an actual strength and influence second to pone. , France, under the republic, has seen a steady growth of trade union ism. Belgium, Holland and the Scandinavian countries, all demo cratic despite survival of figure-head' kings, have witnessed a continuous growth of trade unionism. In Russia, under the rule of the Czar and under the rule of thg Bol sheviki, the ' opposite has been the ease. The Czar's government did all in its power to crush trade unionism and the organized labor movement; contained only a small fraction of the million toilers in, the Russian Rmpire. The Bolsheviki took a leaf from, the Czar’s book end brook no unions e&rept with Communist aims. As a result, millions of toilers are denied the right to organize'on lines of their own choosing. Jn reactionary Spain, where auto cracy and ignoranc rule, the unions are weak and can do little to im prove the condition of the workers., Violence from above has begotten •violence from below and many of the Spanish workers have been driven- to take refuge in anarchism, revolution ary syndicalism and other philoso phies of violence and despair. Perhaps among modern nations Germany under the Kaiser has been the only .nation in which trade union ism ^rew under autocracy. There, the government, after first trying to smother the unions, permitted them to grow and won their support by pa ternalistic’ legislation. The govern ment reaped its reward by using some of the unions to promote its imper ialistic schemes abroad. Democracies are the best friends of trade unionism, which explains why organized labor in the United States fights autocracy, whether it comes from the “left” of revolution ary radicalism or the “rights'of re actionary stand-patism. Labor knows that in democracy and its extension lies the hojfe of the trade unionism. So it strives for more and more de mocracy and encourages every vtiove to make the government more re sponsible to the will of the people. REDS DESPISE TRADE UNIONS (Continued From Page One.) greatest triumph. These unions are active in every movement that increases the intelli gence nad widens the capacity of their members. ;• Not only in better working condi tions, with resultant better homes and healthier children, but unionism is the one force that arouses the people to endangered liberty and encroachment by privilege. And this when critics sneer “5-eent increases” and jabber thdir phrases about future civilizations. And this when the - intelligentsia languidly flecks the ashes from his cigarette and yawns advice to “the working class.” * \ But suppose these trade unions did nothing but raise wages. That alone would justify their existence. Let our dilittante critics read what the , United States children’s bureau has to say On the number of baby deaths due to low wages. These trade unions do more, how ever. They establish labor papers, operate banks and co-operative stores, maintain labor colleges, homes for aged members, labor headquar ters, life insurance, health insurance and old age pensions. Every form of education and col lective action is fostered and en couraged by them. Their standards of yesterday are rejected as they plant their banner of progress one step forward, today,' tomorrow, and always. No institution in the world can equal the progress and, development of the North American trade union ists the past 25 years. Their inde pendence, their standard of living, their capacity can not be approxi mated in any other trade union move ment on earth. Other movements may be the atrical, but for things accomplished the trade union movement of this continent is incomparable. And this with the immigration question, and its multiplicity of languages and ideals, which has made unification of workers by workers the greatest so-, cial triumph in history. These facts are ignored by the rev olutionist, who sneers that the goal of our order unions is a few pennies wage increase. The sneers are logical. The revo lutionist hates the irade -union as heartily as does the industrial auto crat. , . ■ They hate the thing they can riot dictate or control. DEMOLAY AND RAINBOW ORDERS MAKE FRIENDS The City Auditorium* Tuesday and "Wednesday evenings of this week was thte center of attraction, for the Rainbow and DeMolay orders, the boys’ and girls’ Miasonic organiza tions, staged clever minstrels to the delight of several hundrds of people attending the shows. There is much good talent among the jjoys and girls, and the singing, dancing and other features of the Minstrel were enjoyed by all who witnessed the performances. Mtich credit for the success of the minstrels is being given to Alfred E. Smith, Master Councillor of Char lotte Chapter, Order of DeMolay. He was untiring in his work, as were many of those who assisted him. The successful efforts of these young peo ple is but an indication of their great worth to the city of Charlotte on the morrow, when they will be the men and women of the city, with the city’s destiny in their hands. Mlatch the I. Ml. of the Pacific Coast. /Wje’ve been telling you about the dangers thereitt. 1 - - V ■ r ■■ > • ■ MV.*.1** —wwp—■■—*mr**^***mim—~w^www ■ ■ ■■ mmmmm*"'—■■ . ■■■ ■»»■■— i e■ im ■^WWWw*^w*^<^»www»wi^liNW*^«WtWww»>"WIM^^WPWiW^,WWS<*«^*,,*,<llWWW^^*w-- . ' ' - FEUDAL REGIME OF COAL BARONS IN NON-UNION HBOS Wfithin a few hours’ ride of the Na tional Capital 25,000 non-union bitu minous coal miner? have - been on. strike for 14 months to obtain the right of free speech and. free assem bly—rights presumed to be guaran teed to all citizens of the Constitu tion of the United States. This min ing region in central and western Pennsylvania is owned and governed by barons who would discount many overlords of the feudal age. Som± of the uncontrovertible facts surrounding this condition were pre sented to the United States Coal Commission at Washington last week in a statement prepared by John Brophy, president of District No. 2, United Mine Workers of America, which cause one to question whether the Stars and Stripes floats over all of ::free Amreica.” District No. 2 of the United Mine Workers has jurisdiction in central Pennsylvania over a hituminbus coal region east of what has become known as the central competitive field. It has a membership.of 47,000 union miners in the following coun ties : Armstrong, Blair, Bedford, Cambria, Center, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Hunting toe, Indiana,; .Jefferson, Somerset and Tiago. Around this center of unionism lie in an unbroken crescent the non union fields of Somerset, Westmore land, Cambria and Indiana counties, j “Those non-union mining sections of our district,” says President Brophy in his statement, “are places where the spirit of American citizen ship can not breathe freely. They are a continual'menace to peace and order in the industry. For years we i have received pleas from the miners working in these non-union mines asking us to come and help them or ganise, but even the entrance/into a town where a. non-union mine'is locat ed is prohibited to any one who has the slightest connection.. with the union.” The great eoal strike of last year in j the union fields caused the non-union miners of the regin to muster Suffi- j cient courage to rebel* and most of them quit work. “The.strike of the : union miners was for a continuation j of the wage rate,” says President; Brophy; “that of the non-union min- j ers was for more—-it was also a strike to end fear. They struck to, ob- j tain their rights as free Americans against the state of fear, suspicion 'i and espionage prevailing in non-union towns; against a small group of oper ators controlling life, liberty and the j pursuit of happiness; they struck to ! put an end to the absolute and feudal | control of these coal operators.” The statement quotes from the re port of a commission appointed by Mayor Hylan of New York to investi gate mining and Iviing conditions in the region controlled by the Berwind White Coal company, operating non union mines, which said:. ' “The Berwind-Wjbite Coal Com pany controls absolutely the Thorough of Wlndber hnd other towns wherein its mines are located. It owns the banks, the theatre, a number of the public halls, the town newspapers and' all the public service plants in WJnd ber, ail the public officials including the burgess (mayor), squires (just ices of the peace), councilmen and the police.” ■. . ' It was further shown how. the coal barons control the votes of their sub jects in free America. “There was pressure brought to bear on every man,” settified a former employe. “On election day we always ha4 the men come out of the mines and sept them down to the polling place, and in lots of cases brought them back to finish the day’s work. And we always presented them with marked ballots.” ^ Jn this non-union region the com panies own the houses in which the miners live and they are ejected for any infringement of the orders and rules promulgated by the barons. In some instances the companies own the land and permit employes to build houses thereon. In the village of Bi tumen, where the Kettl -Creek Coal Mining company is the overlord, 67 miners owned homes erected Oh the company land and paid rent for use of the ground. When they refused to accept wage reductions they were or dered to vacate the premises. They refused and were finally ejected by officials' controlled by the mining company- The miners lost all they had invested in the erection of houses in' which to live. “In many non-union towns the streets and roads and places of as sembly are company owned, and if the company disapproves of a person he is thrown out,” says Brophy. When a stranger appears.in one of these company-owned towns he is im mediately put under surveillance by private or town sleuths. A permit from the company must be obtained before he is allowed to transact busi ness or look for employment. These permits read: “Permission is hereby granted (name inserted), though it is understood that in so selling he is not to enter into a discussion of the present labor situation either one way or the other with our employes.” F. K. Lyon, vice president in charge of,-operations of the C-onaoJi dated Coal Company, non - union mines, testified on April <27, 1922, be fore the court, of common pleas of Somerset -Couifty, and admitted on cross-examination that all strangers are stopped and asked their business. The records show this colloquy: . Question. If they (strangers) are going to,visit a friefid, do you’stop them? f; Answer. All strangers are stop ped and. asked their business. Q. If hhian wants to go to the public postoffice can he go without the consent of the officers and guards? A. Yes, sir. Q. Isn’t he stopped and asked to g\ye ap explanation of jttjgft be wants in there?. ' "* • ' A. He is asked his business if he is not known. , Q. If he is not known he doesn’t get in? A- Correct. If he is not known he doesn’t get in? Such is the system-prevailing in the closed non-union company coal towns in central and western Penn sylvania. The companies own the doctor and the hospital, the store and the houses, the streets and the public^ roads, the cemetery and the news paper—and even the government postoffice. “We have stated that the company owns the store in non-union fields, continues Brophy. “In some places there are other stores, but the miner - - -h... ■■ •- ■:.ia_;: must buy at the company store. After having their store bills deducted, also powder and fuse, and other things necessary for them to buy for work in the mines, many of the miners have no money jcpming to,. them on pay day. This state of affairs has ex isted for years in the non-union coal fields of Somerset, Westmoreland, Gembria and Jndina counties, where civi} liberties are denied the work ers.” Wages of non-union miners are cut without notice, unknown until they receive their deflated pay en velope. “Under sucha system,” Bro phy tells the commission, “there is no bottom to the labor market. The men do not feel safe. They are in continual fear that they will not be able to pay for what they buy at the company store. The men want an agreement which will fix their wages. They lyok with envy on the organi zed miners and want a union to help straighten out their affairs.” * * * * Short weight is another grievance in these non-union fields. An exam ple is given of No. & mine of the Forge Coal Company, operated on a non-union basis before the strike last year. Later the company recognized the union and the men gained the right to elect and pay one of their members to act a cbeekingman. Be fore* the strike loaded cars at this mine wena: ope , ton and 600 pounds. W4th a union checkweighman on the tipple the loaded cays now bring one ton and 1,000 pounds, a difference of 400 pounds to the cay. When the union gained, the %ight to protect the miners the empty car was weighed in the presepce' of witnesses and found to register 400 pounds less than given by the company to non-union miners when, it subtracted the weight of the car. from the total of both copl and '.car.-'- ' " “Dead work” is another source of cutting down the pay in non-union mines. This work must be done'be fore coal can be taken from the mine. Generally it consists of cleaning up piles of rock that have fallen from the roof, laying car tracks, etc. In union .mines this “dead work” is paid fpr on an hourly basis. In non union . mines it is not paid for at all ih most capes. If the men complain they are summarily discharged. * * * * Since the strike of non-union min ers began 14. months ago the opera tors have imported additional gun men who‘are sworn in as deputy sheriffs or coal and iron police. They have evicted families from their >Otnse regardless of whether condi tion or state of heaun of members of the family- ‘ “Forcing these miners back to work, under non-union conditions will not settle anything/11 says Brophy. “They may go hack to work but they will be embitted and will seize the first opportunity to strike for their rights again. Unless the miners are guaranteed free speech and free as sembly; unless they can, if they so desire, affiliate with a labor union of their choice and enjoy collective bar gaining with their employers, they can not he called citizens of a free country, but are in fact slaves of an industrial feudalism. Until their con stitutional rights are made secure, there jwill be no peace in the mining industry.” . President Brophy concluded his written statement by requesting the commission to recommend to Congress such action as will end the autocratic control now exercised by non-qnipn coal operators to prevent tfcef? em ployes from joining labor unions or otherwise enjoying such liberties as are guaranteed them by the Constitu tion of the United States. HAS THE SUPREME COURT ASSUMED MORI CONTROL? The United States supreme court has sniashed the Kansas “can’t strike” law by annulling the indus trial court’s power to set wages and enforce Its decisions. On its surface/this is a distinct ad vance, and supports labors’ fight against a vicious proposal. Rut it would be well if labor examined the reasoning of the court and compared same.with the court’s decision nulli fying the District of Columbia wo men’s minimum wage law. In the latter case the court declar ed itself sternly against setting wag es by law. The court said that i£ a women’s minimum jyyage law is justified “in the face of the guaranties of the fifth amendment,” the “field for the operation of the police power will have widened to a great and danger ous degree.” This sounds like the final word against ■ setting wages by law, bpt in the Kansas Case the court now says: “The extent to which regulation may reasonably go varies with differ ent kinds of business. The regula tion of rates to avoid monopoly is one thing. The regulation of wages is another. A business may be of such character that only the first is permissible, while another may invol ve such a possible danger of monop oly on the one hand, and such disas ter from stoppage on the other, that both public concern and power of regulation.” Compare this with the court’s clear cut poposition to a law that would guarantee pricing women $r Jivihg wage.0 In the woman’s case the court was definite. Ip thje.^ Kansas case the court let it fife J understood its deci sion against wages by law is not-its last word. The court hints (in the Kansas ease) that wooers may organise to the point of a “possible danger” of “disaster from s^ppage.” In that eyent, says tlie court, wages by law would'“come within the public con cern and power, of regulation.” In the District of Columbia case the court let it be .known that it does not fear the organized economic pow er of working women, whp can do little harm to hig business and gi gantic monopolies# The court, .it will be jpotiped, ex presses no such fear in the cace of women working in’ stores and restau i rants. They carl not challenge mo nopoly,' as can men workers in the steel or mining industry, for instance. In reversing the wages feature of the' Kansas law the court let it be known fhat at some future time, and under different' conditions, wages by law could be legalised. That portion of the Kansas deci sion may prove a pathbreaker. # It may pave the way, for future action by the court to uphold wages by lftW when the issue is not involved with price- fixing on the goods [ business men sell. , • This can be done, ‘ the c.our$ shows, when there-is “a possible dan ger” of “disaster from stoppage.” Then “regulation of wages” will be legalized. Labor "must not overlook the im portance of the court’s quiet intima tion that it wlil “regulate” wages un der certain conditions. When John Marshall ruled in the Marbury case', more than 100 years ago, that the supreme curt can pass on acts of congress, the decision did not alarm the populace, and it was not used for years. But it was not forgotten by those who profit by count usurpation. The court is not sensational when it assumes new powers. It never alarms the populace. Tfce daintiest of family washing and ironing, dose with profceaioaal thoroughness by skjUml laundry people who are proud of their work— Done ware economically than a laundress could cpise into p>r heme and do it, because we are washing and ironing for so many families. ^ . This is our ‘'FidfPwt” service—a seryice ’ that returns you*' bundle beautifully washed, daintjlf ironed, ready to pot away. v . Tails it over with ns. J«t use th* phono. The Charlotte Laundry, ' Model Steam Laundry Sanitary Steam Laul The Bitterness^ Of Poor Quality Remains long after the sweet- * ness of low price is forgotten. Everything we sell in oili*4tbre l, i _ ■ J ? —the Quality remains Jjjong after the price is forgotten. » / . ' • > CLARK-WIGGINS HARDWARE OO. “If' It U Hardwy* We Have It” Phone 4154 311 East Trade
The Charlotte Herald (Charlotte, N.C.)
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July 13, 1923, edition 1
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