Page 6 - William H. "Bull" Marah - Still Fighting

ISSUE : Issue 72

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1997/6/1

on the coal mines, because the work is easy and the money is good! Now, me, I was the opposite (to what the men wanted on this). I used to drive the company crazy. I wanted all the goldarned mechanization you could get. The easier you could make it for the men, the better I liked it. And our people thought that they would lose jobs by mechanization. But my common sense told me that, at least for the first 20 years, we wouldn't lose a job. Because, Number 1, I knew that they'd be too ignorant of the fact of how to work mechanization.... They said they'd only need 10 men. My common sense told me that it wouldn't be 10, it'd be 20. And I was right. Like Lingan--they said it was going to be a 600-man pit. It was as high as 1300 men out there! So...you didn't have to be Einstein to figure that one out. So the mechanization didn't hurt us at all. You take for instance from 1961 to about 1965--they closed three or four mines. Well, all the mines they closed were the ones that weren't mechanized. And they Cape Breton Island Bed & Breakfast Association Salutes 25 Years of Cape Breton's Magazine (EapfirtlDit Cape Breton Island 1-800-565-9464 for information You're always welcome to come and enjoy the warm hospitality of Cape Breton Bed and Breakfasts • an island experience that goes hand in hand with our unique and splendid scenery. If you appreciate the personal touch and all the comforts of a home, then check into a Cape Breton B&B; on your island vacation. Cape Breton Island Bed & Breakfast Association Tourism Cape Breton P. 0. Box 1448 Sydney, N.S. BIP 6R7 kept the ones open that were mechanized, that had the Dosco Miner on them. Number 12 and 26--they kept them open--and Prin? cess. They closed Prince mine, they closed 16, and they closed Caledonia. And they were all handloading. But then in 1966 we got into the Dr. Don? ald JReport, and they were talking about opening a new mine in Lingan, which later opened in 1969. (Was this because of the Arabs and the Oil Crisis?) No--well, yeah, but see--the only reason Lingan was opened was to help phase the rest of (the coal industry) out. Because the (coal) industry was supposed to be phased out by 1981. (And Lingan was opened to phase out the industry?) Lingan was going to be a part of (it)--help (by) keeping the men working while it was phasing out. And producing cheap enough coal to do that. And not cost them so much money to do that.... And it should have been phased out totally--it was supposed to be gone by 1981. Supposed to be no coal industry. But then in 197 6 we had the Energy Crisis--God bless the Arabs, and the rest of them! And then we started to phase back up again. So you had Lingan mine. Lingan mine broke every conceivable record that was known in world history in longwall mining. (It's interesting that you and Harold Gor? don- -the Vice-President and General Manag? er of the Dominion Steel and Coal Corpora? tion- -sa-w eye-to-eye as to what should happen in the mines. He wanted mechaniza? tion, and you wanted mechanization.) Oh, OFF THE DOCK FRESH SEAFOOD fflsh s your dish... • We pack for travel • Live & cooked lobster, year-round • Fresh halibut • Fresh haddock, salmon • Englishtown mussels • Scallops • Homemade fishcakes MUCH MORE! ...then this isjhe place! 1071 King's Rd., Sydney River (same bidg. as King's Convenience) 564-5541 Island Vinyl Siding Ltd. LeBlanc Siding Ltd. ' Authorized Dealer for /'jKiTCjAN Aluminum & Vinyl Siding ' Aluminum Windows & Doors ' KAY CAN Shutters / Softfit / Fascia / Awnings Heavy Duty Vinyl Replacement Windows 109 Reservoir Road SYDNEY Professional installation of Aluminum & Vinyl Siding in Cape Breton for over 22 years. FREE ESTIIVIATES, and any siding inquiries, Call Collect: BRUCE or SONNY MaoPHERSON 539-3665 & 539-4626

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