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NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
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> North Shore Breeze | 
L. @ CEES 6 SOS 
Published every Friday afternoon by 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE CO. 
Knight Building - Manchester, Mass. 
Boston Office: 
44 Herald Bldg., 171 Tremont St. 
J. ALEX. LODGE, Editor 
Telephones: Manchester 137, 132-3. 
Boston Telephone: 3660 Oxford 
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Entered as second-class matter at the 
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Volume 10 March 15, 1912. Number 11 
The Burning Issue. 
One man’s guess is as good as 
another man’s guess on the probable 
outcome of the present difficulties in 
the coal market. A boy can see that 
there exists conditions at the pres- 
ent time which forebode a severe 
struggle between the coal barons and 
the operatives. The public will not 
soon forget the privation and suf- 
fering caused by the coal shortage 
during the winter of 1903-4. The 
unpromising lesson from that fam- 
ine was that the real effects of the 
strike were not felt until after the 
issue had been settled. The actual 
suffering was caused during the 
period in which the miners were 
struggling to put coal onto the mar- 
ket to meet the shortage caused by 
the summer’s idleness. It must be 
born in mind also that there are now 
difficulties in the coal market which 
did not exist during that first strike. 
The bituminous mine workers re- 
mained at work and the mines of 
Europe were being worked and tons 
of English coal were placed on sale 
in the American market. Today 
however, there are difficulties in 
England and other coal centres of 
Europe. The miners of bituminous 
coal also have grievances which re- 
quire a settlement. The conditions 
are ripe for the worst coal famine 
G. E. WILLMONTON 
ATTORNEY AND 
COUNSELOR AT LAW 
the world has known, but it is to be 
hoped that before April 1, the atmos- 
phere will be cleared and the im- 
pending crisis avoided. 
The uncertain and restless state of 
mind which these facts have created 
in the business world cannot be dis- 
counted and when press reports state 
that large industrial corporations in 
New York are paying even at this 
early date a premium on the regular 
price of coal no one can be surprised. 
The public have rights which ought 
to be respected and the experiences 
of the earlier strike will develop 
opposing public opinion so rapidly 
that another element will be mani- 
fested early in the deadlock between 
the operators and the operatives. 
But it is an open question whether 
that remonstrating public opinion 
will be able to bring sufficient pres- 
sure to bear upon the problem to 
mature in immediate good results. 
Those on the ground assert that 
the miners are determined to make 
their stand and that the operators 
are equally determined to maintain 
their position. The bituminous work- 
ers are demanding an increase of 
ten per cent. in wages, but the opera- 
tors have put in a counter demand 
for a reduction of ten per cent. in 
wages. It is evident that there is 
thus in dispute a valuation of 
twenty per cent. The anthracite 
coal miners demand twenty per cent. 
in increase in wages and both the 
anthracite and bituminous miners 
demand the recognition of their re- 
spective unions by their respective 
boards of control. In both eases it 
is apparent that the margin in dis- 
pute is twenty per cent.. 
If there be no strike it will be be- 
cause the operators have granted 
the demands made. This will mean 
that the consumer must ultimately 
pay the increase which by that time 
will be twenty-five per cent. It is 
a simple problem in arithmetic to 
determine the probable future cost 
of coal per ton. If there be a strike 
the expense of the delays imeident 
to the settlement will be paid by the 
ultimate consumer. Whether there 
is or is not to be a strike it is evident 
on the surface that the price of coal 
will not be lower. 
Everyone who has a human heart 
is interested in the men who go 
down into the earth to give to hu- 
manity the comforts of heat and 
light for our homes. These men 
must not be forgotten. It is 1mpos- 
WILLMONTON’S AGENCY 
REAL ESTATE AND INSURANCE OF ALL KINDS 
SCHOOL ANB UMIGN ST’S, MANCHESTER 
OLD SOUTH B’LD'G, BOSTON 
sible for one not knowing the perils 
and exegencies of such a life to ap- 
preciate its hardships and cruelties. 
These men are entitled to an honor- 
able living wage for an honorable 
day’s work. The raise in the price 
of coal which necessarily must fol- 
low, will cause much suffering and 
many heart aches. The burden will 
fall the heaviest upon those who are 
living upon the savings of other 
years. 
However, some readjustment of 
the wage scale ought to be made so 
that the mining of coal may be con- 
tinued throughout the period of dis- 
pute. The public ought to be pro- 
tected from any suffering which can 
be avoided. 
The Beverly-Salem Water Question. 
The Water problem for the City 
of Beverly is now being considered 
by the water committee of the Gen- 
eral Court. This committee consists 
of eight members from the house of 
representatives and three from the 
senate. Fortunately Beverly has one 
representative on the committee, 
Representative Herman A. MacDon- 
ald. The city of Beverly and the 
city of Salem, jointly, own and use 
as a source of water supply, Wen- 
ham Lake and the Longham mea- 
dow stream. For some years it has 
been apparent that the water pro- . 
visions of the lake were insufficient 
to supply both cities with an ade- 
quate supply of pure water. To 
remedy the difficulty it has been 
suggested that each community ob- 
tain an independent water supply. 
To meet the increased needs of the 
two communities, Salem seems to be 
unwilling to terminate the joint re- 
lations which exist with Beverly. 
Although the attorney for Salem has 
facetiously suggested in a counter 
argument, the purchase by Salem 
of Beverly’s one third interest in 
Wenham Lake, and thus giving to 
Salem, Wenham Lake, and conse- 
quently forcing the city of Beverly 
to take water from the Ipswich river. 
The attorney for Salem suggested 
the appointment of a commission to 
consist of one member nominated by 
the city of Beverly and one member 
by the city of Salem and the other 
member to be appointed by a dis- 
interested party. This board, it was 
suggested, should control the water 
interests of both cities. The city of 
Beverly, however, has committed it- 
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