obtain.

"A bare living is all that the mine owners would concede to the miners.
This living, meagre as it was, sufficed to keep life in the miners and
their families.

"Now the miners are to be deprived of the crust of bread. You cannot
snatch the bone from a hungry dog, without danger. Do you imagine that a
man has less spirit than a beast?

"The whole trouble, Mr. Trueman, arises from the formation of the Coal
Trust. I have all the facts in regard to this matter. And so far as that
goes, there is not a man in the labor organizations of this country who
does not keep in touch with the events of the day. The education of the
masses is a dangerous thing in a land that is ruled by force, fraud and
finesse, as the United States is to-day.

"It is the Coal Trust that has brought on this threatened strike.

"When there were independent coal companies, the condition of the miners
was better by far than it is to-day. The unrestricted operation of mines
made it impossible for any two, or even a considerable number, of the
mine owners to unite for the purpose of reducing the wages of the mine
operatives, and of increasing the price of the coal to the consumer.

"But with the Trust in operation all restraints are removed.

"The illegal traffic rates that the Trust secures, make it impossible
for any mine to be successfully worked that is out of the combine.