WHO ARE THE MINERS P [To THE EDITOR OF THE
" SPECTATOR."]
Sru,—As a miner I was somewhat puzzled by the letters of " Ifidlander " and C. J. Eyres in your issue of May 28th. What exactly are they aiming at? Am I to understand that the mines are not sufficiently dangerous? Would they have the dangers multiplied? And the conditions we work under are much too comfortable, I see. There is no accounting for taste, but it is a queer view-point, nevertheless. It seems to me that your correspondents would have us working in chains and leg- irons, bossed by Germans carrying whips, before they were quite sure that mining was not an easy job. I fear the minds of " Midlander " and C. J. Eyres are, well, prejudiced against the miners. Life is short, space valuable, therefore I am not going to try to make a case for the miner. I am old enough to know that I could never convince these two that even now they do not know it all; but one question or two I would ask these humanitarians: How many more of to would they like to see killed in the mines every zear? Hos many more fatal accidents must there be before we can truly say that ours is a dangerous calling? And what other diffi- culties must we overcome daily before we can claim to be employed in a really unclean and unhealthy occupation? Whe is the miner? He is the man who has taken up the cudgels on behalf of his class, the working class (nothing at all to de with the privileged class). Are you answered? When the lock-out is over, when the miner has gone back to work in those nice, comfortable, well-ventilated mines they are hearing about nowadays but which do not really exist, some one else will take his place in the class struggle. Then you will forget all about the miner. Then you will have a bone to pick with the
new-comer. It will be now, Who is this Transport Worker P or Who is this Railwayman? Always asking the road, you know. But there is yet another of us who will give you furiously to think. He is known as the Aristocrat of Labour. When his turn comes you will have no little trouble in getting a satis- factory answer to your query, Who is this Engineer P—I am,
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