Worst of all were the great disasters; an explosion under ground, the sudden flooding of the shafts, the silent spread of poisonous gasses, or fire. In the early years of mining, there were few safety regulations or procedures required by the State. The mining companies showed minimum concern for the safety of the workers.
Replacements could always be found from among the immigrant workers pouring into America from Europe. Financial liability to injured or even killed workmen was limited. Since they were paid by how much coal they had dug by the end of the day, miners went about their work in a hurry with little time and attention to safe practices.
The wives and mothers of the miners lived in dread of the wail of the mine whistle, sounding the alarm that an accident had happened.
The coal fields in northern Illinois experienced more than a few such dreadful disasters. One of the worst took place on November 13, 1909 in a mine near the little town of Cherry, just a few miles northwest of La Salle, IL on Illinois Highway 89. By 7:00 a.m. that morning 481 men and boys had descended the shaft to reach the coal, in some cases more than 500 feet below the surface.
It began as a day like any other, except that the electrical system had broken down and the mines were lit the old-fashioned way. Kerosene torches were placed along the walls; but the miners were used to that and nobody was alarmed.
Around lunch time several bales of hay were dropped down the hoist to feed the mules. Forty mules, were stabled underground. Their job was to pull the little cars, which had been loaded with coal by the miners through the tunnels to the elevator hoist.
Now, 15-year old Matt Francesco and another man pushed one of the cars piled with the hay over to the stable area. They gave it a final shove down the track, and then went on their way. Unfortunately, the car came to rest under one of the open torches. Soon the hay caught fire. Efforts to move the car out of danger only spread the fire. The heat and smoke became overpowering, as the fire began to spread.
At last the signal to clear out the mine was given, but it was too late for many. Listen to the voice of 16-year-old Peter Donna who led his father through the smoke and darkness toward an escape route.
"After my father and I got to the second level the fire blocked us off. It singed my hair on the side of my face and my head. We circled around the burning section and made our way to the main lift. The smoke almost overtook us. "I led the way .... All the lights were out and our matches wouldn't stay lit. We met only a few others who came with us on the way. When we finally reached the lift, there was no trouble getting on it and up the shaft. It took several seconds for my eyes to get adjusted to the bright light of the surface. When I finally could see, I couldn't find my father. "I wanted to go back down into the mine and get him, but they stopped me. After a couple more cage-loads of men came up, my father stepped off with an old man he had saved."
But there were 259 men and boys who were never saved despite great deeds of heroism by volunteer rescue teams. Sadly, that heroism was rewarded with death for no less than twelve of the rescuers. They were a hastily assembled team of people from the town who went down in the cage six times, each time dragging more miners to safety. From the seventh trip into the hell below, however, none returned alive.
There were tales of unbelievable suffering and endurance. One group of miners, 500 feet underground, had built a wall of mud, rocks, and timbers to block off the poisonous gasses. They were in total darkness with only a pool of water leaking from a coal seam to drink.
After eight days of confinement, they could bear it no longer. They tore down the barricade and began crawling through the tunnels. Finally, they heard the sounds of a search party. Twenty-one men still alive from this group were rescued.
After 25 days the Cherry mine was sealed. The question of compensation for the lost lives of the miners and rescuers remained to be resolved. The laws governing worker's compensation and employer liability were not yet on the Illinois statute books, and the mine company had gone into bankruptcy. At length, it was agreed that the settlement of claims would be based on standards set in the Workmen's Compensation Act, which had recently passed in the British Parliament.
A relief commission was set up in June of the following year. It included a representative of the United Mine Workers of America, the union of the coal miners. They adminstered a relief fund collected from the public, plus a contribution by the coal company, which was actually owned by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad. It came to enough to give about 1,800 dollars to the bereaved families.
Impelled by the public outcry over the tragedy, in 1910 the Illinois legislature established stronger fire and safety regulations governing mines. A year later, the State adopted a liability act, which later developed into the Illinois Workmens' Compensation Act.
The town of Cherry (just a few minutes north of Interstate 80 on Ill. 13 at the Peru exit) is well worth a visit. In the town library is a very interesting exhibit of old mining tools and pictures relating to the disaster. The Cherry Public Library is open Wednesday from 5:30 p.m.to 7:00 p.m., and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The telephone number is (815)894-2919. (Bear in mind that Cherry is a very small town.) Then, ask your way to the cemetery where there is a very impressive monument to the victims. It was erected by the United Mine Workers of America. A good class project would be to look up Chicago newspaper treatment of the Cherry Disaster. It was extensive and dramatic. For class reports the students could specialize in different aspects of the story: rescue efforts; relief efforts; ethnic composition of the Cherry miners; child workers in the mines; political response; legislative consequences; editorial reaction in the Chicago press, and so on. There is a statue of a miner who has returned safely from a day in the mine, and is embracing a child. That statue is in a Chicago park on the West Side. Who can find it? Is there a story behind the statue? Can a student take a picture and bring it to class? Clue: Ask your alderman to have the Chicago Municipal Library search their records for background on the statue. It is in Humboldt Park, and was badly deteriorated by weather and graffitti, when last we looked.
Other SourcesThe Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration presents Eight Days In A Burning Mine. This remarkable narrative gives the experiences of a man who, with nineteen others, was imprisoned in the bowels of the burning mine for eight days and lived to tell the tale. Driven away from the shaft by flame and smoke, the little band found the deadly "black-damp" closing in about them and retreated to the farther recesses of the workings. |
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October 10, 2009 - by Michael G. Matejka, Vice-President, Illinois Labor History Society
When a worker is injured, they turn to workers’ compensation for relief. It’s not a perfect system, but it does provide financial support to pay doctor bills and compensate for time off work.
Imagine a world without workers’ compensation. If someone was injured, they had to rely on family, friends, or corporate benevolence. In 1911, Illinois passed its first workers’ compensation law. The passage of that law can be directly tied to a disaster in the tiny village of Cherry, Illinois.
In 1909 Cherry was a booming mining town. Almost 500 men and boys labored underground, mining coal to feed the locomotives of the Milwaukee Railroad. The mine was relatively new, having opened in 1905, featuring an underground electric lighting system.
On November 13, 1909, that electrical system failed. Miners went back to the old-fashioned method of torches and lanterns. Unfortunately, a small fire broke out in a hay wagon bringing feed to the mules underground. Because there was no quick action to extinguish it, the fire spread, as one misjudgement after another fueled the flames. Before the day was over, 259 miners laid dead, either from asphyxiation or immolation. Brave rescue attempts were made and a rescue crew also sadly perished. Twenty men retreated deep in the mine and sealed themselves off, surviving for a week underground before rescue.
The shock and outcry over Cherry led to political action and calls for mine safety legislation. As public donations came into the community, a review board was established, modeled after the recently passed British Workers’ Compensation law, to hear claims from the bereaved families and survivors. The United Mine Workers helped serve on that committee. Approximately $1,800 was given to each surviving family in the summer of 1910. The next year, Illinois passed its first Workers Compensation Act. Thus workers would no longer have to simply rely on charity after an industrial accident.
This November 14-15, the Village of Cherry will commemorate the disaster and the miners. A full weekend of ceremonies is planned, free and open to the public.
On both days, there will be walking and trolley tours of the town, mine site and cemetery. Videos on labor topics are scheduled, along with displays and genealogical workshops. On Saturday, November 14, a new monument will be dedicated at Cherry’s Village Hall. Chicago Fire Fighters’ Local 2’s color guard will lead the procession to the dedication. In 1909, Chicago fire fighters came to Cherry to help extinguish the blaze. Preceding the dedication, labor musician Bucky Halker will sing coal mining and labor songs.
Confirmed speakers for the dedication include Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael Carrigan, United Mine Workers Vice-President Steve Earl, Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson, State Senator Gary Dahl and State Representative Frank Mautino. Confirmation is still pending on other speakers.
On Sunday, November 15, the tours and displays will continue. At 11:45 a.m., people will gather at the Cherry Grade School. For many years it was traditional for Cherry children to march to the cemetery on the disaster’s anniversary. After a march to the cemetery, there will be speeches from Italian representatives. Many of the immigrant miners who died were recent arrivals to the U.S. from Italy. Speakers include Italian Consul General Alessandro Motta, Charles Bernardini, immediate past-president of the Italian-American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest – Chicago; and Silvia Bartolini, President of Emilia-Romagna Citizens Abroad.
Cherry is on Route 89, about five miles north of I-80, in Bureau County. The small village has kept alive the story of the workers who never came home. The events in Cherry are free and open to the public.
The Illinois Labor History Society
28 E. Jackson, Chicago, IL 60604
Phone: (312) 663-4107