| Show I I t A Washington Daybook By RODNEY DUTCHER WASHINGTON ASHINGTON V Au Aug 15 Miss Josephine Roche the little lady who has been urging John D Rockefeller Jr to cancel the thc 20 per cent wage cut order in his Colorado coal mines Is all set to show him why high wages ages and liberal labor policies in coal mines are sound business practice tice Rockefeller controls the Colorado Fuel Iron company producing moro more coal than anyone else in the state The C. C F. F I. I proposes to cut cuti I its daB dally daily wage rate from to 5 25 Miss Roche is president o of the Rocky Mountain Fuel company second second sec see ond largest c coal al producer in Colorado Colorado Colo Cob rado and pays her miners a basic wage of 7 a da day Besides paying the high wage scale for or the last three years rears Miss Roches Roche's company has been beset by price wars discrimination and other tactics employed by busin business ss and industrial groups out of ot sympathy with her policy polley But within two yo years Miss Roches Roche's miners with their average annual income raised about had increased their production per perman perman perman man per day by one and one ter cr tons and are now producing nearly two tons per man per day more than the average for all Colorado Colorado Colo Cob rado coal mines This achievement in the face of a constantly declining Colorado coal production reduction Miss Roche sa says s 's can hardly be attributed to anything other than the company's labor policy aa For three years we ve have not only had efficient union labor and our present wage wace rates but also have gone one along without secret rebates discriminations and other unfair practices prevalent pre in the coal industry indus- indus try ry Miss Roche says We have had no labor waste No turnover and none of the abuses in the hiring and firing of ot men men nen who have no union to protect protect pro- pro them Our men work with confidence confidence confidence con con- that their grievances will wm be promptly adjusted that they wont won't be e cheated on the weight of their coal that they wont won't be discharged ed and blacklisted by other mines We dont don't have to worry worn about the economic eco ceo waste aste and the waste vaste of life and property which always follows strikes in Colorado Nor do we have to o inflict expense on the taxpayers by calling for the militia to protect private property rather than the I public interest Men work better when the they real real- ize that their employers consider them as important as any other part of the business Our union group is ismore ismore ismore more skilled and efficient than the of mines which appear w willing to hire anyone who ho will work for a dollar or Ol two to less a day daj We have many splendid upstanding Intelligent men who were brave and independent enough to protest unfair unfair unfair un un- un- un fair treatment in other mines and consequently were fired and black black- listed Union men outside the mines have also come to the aid of Miss Roche in jn meeting the tactics of competitors Union minded coal In every union coal bin Is one of the thc slogans union locals have used tired in labor purchasing power and lately the local lodges of the railroad brotherhoods have joined the movement mo This assistance In Inthe inthe inthe the marketing war waged against her company Miss Roche says has been an important factor ac or in m placing it In Ina a stronger position than ever before w A graduate of Vassar Denver's first policewoman and a former of offIcial official official of- of of Judge Ben Lindseys Lindsey's juvenile juvenile juvenile juve juve- nile court Miss Roche is practical as well as a devotee deYot e of enlightened Industrial Justice When she in inherited inherited inherited in- in much Rocky Mountain stock she at once bought control discarded discarded dis dis- carded reactionary methods and of officials officials of- of said she would run the business business bustness busi bust ness In cooperation with union labor and contracted contract d to pay the basic baste daily dally scale o of 7 which means an ana a average of 8 8 a n. day to her es which antisocial antisocial antisocial anti anti- This ds Is a day In an social Industry cant can't go on profitIng profitIng profiting profit- profit Ing she says The whole bad situation In the coal Industry has been characterized by a a. failure to take the rights of labor or the In Interests interests In- In rests of the public into consideration consid consid- Generally the thc Industry has had a policy of greed greed greed-a a purely Individualistic Individualistic Indi Indi- attitude In which reserves re reserves reserves re- re serves and human beings have been wasted In the effort to get all that could be got out of it Naturally there has been a serious and there are thousands and thousands of trained miners long out of work More than a n. year rear ago Miss Roches Roche's miners asked that when the slack time came In spring and summer a system of rotating work be Installed Instead of the usual system of laying of off men com coin The management gladly responded Nov Now everyone e gets sets some work Nobody starves tarves |
