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Irish, the remainder is made up of Welsh, Scotch, English, and German in about equal proportions, with a few Americans thrown in.
The "truck," or "pluck-me," stores are in full blast here. There are four of them, each belonging to a different mining company. Miners deal at these stores under compulsion, where open books keep the running account, which nearly always runs ahead of the wages paid to them. These "truck-stores" are also the pay-offices of the company, where on a certain day, once a month, the miners go to settle the "store-account" and receive the balance, if any is left, in wages. This arrangement makes it quite handy for the mine-owners, who keep the store account and wages due all under one head, and manage by good business qualification and shrewd management to make one generally offset the other. The Knights of Labor and Miners' Union, which are strong in Ohio, have, as usual, sought relief from the "truck store system" by legislation. Last year, at their behest and by the aid of labor politicians, a law was enacted prohibiting the collection of money due on accounts at these stores from being taken out of wages. The miners were happy. They were told that under this law the truck store could no longer fleece them by extravagant prices and adulterated goods. But alas! how soon was this "labor legislation" brought to naught. The coal companies speedily demonstrated their power to control the law. Formerly the miners dealt at these stores as a condition precedent to employment, but now, under the "labor law," the company presents the miner who seeks employment from them a "contract" which they must sign before they are employed. This "contract" binds the miner to company's service in many ways, the chief of which is that he waives all claim to protection of the law with regard to the companies paying themselves out of his wages for accounts run up at the truck stores. Alas for labor legislation! Alas for "freedom of contract;" the "labor law," as proclaimed in the Pittsburg manifesto of the International, only serves to deceive, and is when necessary simply evaded by those who control the bread and consequently the life of the worker. And the "free contract" is free in so far as the worker must sign it or starve! Those who have "saved" some money can, it is true, trade at other stores, but such action is re-
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