Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor

Friday, October 10, 2008

Let history guide us when we vote in November

I am grateful to be old enough to remember the lifestyle and working conditions of the coal miners here in Southwestern Indiana before they were liberated under the leadership of Eugene Debs and John L. Lewis.

My father arrived at college with $50 in his pocket, worked his way through -- with honors -- and without the help of a working wife or the GI Bill of Rights. Directly after graduating from Palmer College of Chiropractic, he came to Linton because of the burgeoning coal fields, and was instantly successful.. He was truly a self-made man who could have, and should have, written "The Work Ethic" textbook. He never forgot that the true source of his income was from the coal miner, who then worked very hard for little pay, and under appallingly unsafe conditions -- conditions that were mainly responsible for two explosions of which I have personal knowledge -- at the Little Betty and Snow Hill Mines. (My maternal uncle owned Snow Hill, and I am not without knowledge of the problems and responsibilities of ownership and management.)

While it is important to remember the past, it is even more important to learn from it. It was incredulous that the UMWA turned over investment of their welfare funds to management -- a management, much like that of the American automobile industry -- keeping their collective eyes on current quarter profits and golden parachutes, rather than the plea of John L. Lewis to invest in research and development.

It appears to me that we have two kinds of people concerned with our welfare and fighting our battles: 1) truly self-made men, like my father, who never forgot where they came from and remained concerned and active in the welfare of the less fortunate, and 2) descendants of inherited wealth, such as FDR and specifically Jay Rockefeller, who labored so long and successfully for all American coal miners. It is obvious that FDR and Jay Rockefeller were taught that they were uniquely fortunate to have superior financial and education advantages, in turn for which they were obligated to help those less fortunate. Too bad George W. Bush was not so well taught.

It would behoove voters to remember all this in November.

Polly Miller, Linton