W. B. A.

Go back to yer work, me broth of a boy,
An' shtop all yer strikes an' yer fuss.
Or divil a wun will get any employ,
An' ye'll soon all be shtarvin' or wuss.

It's d--d little minin' yer doin' at all;
There's others work betther nor you.
Yer fit but for ditchin' out in the canawl,
Or workin' wid some railroad crew.

If minin' don't suit yez, why, go till the Wist,
Or anywhere's out of the way;
'Twouldn't grieve uz at all if yez all were at rist
'Neath the sod of yer bog in the say.

So shtart or be off (we're wanting no such)
An' lit those min who want to work, be:
We've miners enough, both English and Dutch,
An' in your place we'll get the Chinee.

Note: A real rarity --- an honest-to-God bosses' song. This was
printed by mine operators in 1871 to help crush a miners'
union, the W.B.A (Workingmen's Benevolent Association.) It
didn't work, and the union persisted until 1875, when the
Reading company provoked a strike that starved the union
out. See STRK1875 RG

From American Labor Songs of the Nineteenth Century, Foner
tune not supplied, but sings well to Believe Me If All Those
Endearing Young Charms ( BNDAUST)
@mine @union @America
filename[ WBASONG
play.exe BNDAUST
RG
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