COAL - Clpdigital.org

perience is an expensive teacher, yet it is in her
school that the expediency of the check system
has been learned. The hundreds of thousands
in money and the lives of many faithful men that
have been lost in the old way of distributing
money among employes made a costly demonstra­
tion, but it seems that it was inevitable. It is
to be hoped that the murdering and robbing of pay
masters and the wrecking and looting of pay cars
will soon cease to be included among the daily
items of news.
* * *
ONE OF THE PROBABLE OOOD RESULTS of the agita­
tion over the shot firers' law in Illinois will be
the production, to a large extent, of better coal.
The operators have taken the position, and justly,
that the tendency toward a liberal use of powder
has gone unchecked so long that it has become
an abuse. Experiments have shown conclusively
that the two pounds or less of powder compre­
hended by the provisions of the shot firers' law
is all that is necessary in the majority of the
mines to throw down the coal properly. Too
much powder means too much slack and conse­
quently too much loss. It is an economic duty to
lessen loss wherever possible and every consider­
ation urges the coal operators of Illinois to main­
tain their position as far as it is tenable. The
miners contest the claims against the use of too
much explosive on the ground that it makes their
work harder. This, if true, can be readily ad­
justed, but there can be no remedy for coal un­
necessarily reduced to slack. Another point in
the matter, and which seems worthy of favorable
consideration by the miners, is the decreased per­
centage of danger in the lighter charges of pow­
der, ine reduction in the liability to accident
probably is not very great but it is something
and would doubtless mean fewer disasters in the
long run. At all events, the subject is an im­
portant one and it behooves both parties to the
controversy to make every effort to produce the
best possible coal in the safest possible way.
The total value of the mineral production of
British Columbia for 1904 was $18,977,359, of
which coal and coke gave $3,760,140, being exceeded
in value only by gold and lead. Of the
total mineral production to date coal and coke
gave nearly 25 per cent, of the value, leading all
other minerals.
THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 2M
DEMANDS OF MINERS OUTLINED AT
THE FIRST DISTRICT CONVENTION.
The views and aspirations of the anthracite
miners and the tenor of the demands they expect
to present to their employers next year were
clearly shown at the recent convention at Dunmore,
Pa., of the United Mine Workers of the
first district. President Nicho's reported the
membership at present was 24,153, there being
practically no increase during the year. Secretary-Treasurer
Dempsey reported that on June 30.
1904, there was a balance in the treasury of $17,-
585.71. and that during the year the sum of $56.-
000.91 had been received from all sources, making
a grand total of $71,586.92. The expenses were
$57,579, leaving a balance of $13,386.89. All of
the district officers and board members were reelected.
The anthracite conciliation board was attacked
in the convention but a resolution declaring
against it was defeated. A resolution declaring
that "the salaried board was sapping the life of
the organization without bringing any results,"
and calling for the dismissal of the eight salaried
members of the board as regular salaried officers
and that they be paid only for the time actually
engaged in attending meetings, was defeated by
a vote that was almost unanimous.
The system of examining candidates for mine
inspectors was denounced in a resolution which
was adopted, it being charged that the examining
board and not the people selected the inspectors.
The program of the miners for next year was
shown in a resolution which was passed, adopting
the following demands in connection with the contemplated
new agreement with the operators: An
eight-hour day; weighing of coal; uniform wages
for all hands; a uniform scale for rock, slate,
water and all dead work; an agreement between
the United Mine Workers of America and the
operators.
President John Mitchell, of the International
mine workers, addressed the convention on June
19. He said in part:
"Never have I felt more concerned about the
entire mining situation than now. I don't know
whether you fully realize what confronts us on
April 1 next year. Every miner will be without
a contract and every miner will be in a position to
demand what he wants. There will be no agreement
or arbitration to deter you. But while you
still have the liberty to make demands, the operators
will also have the liberty to make demands
on us. On every hand stockades and fences are
being built. Places are being filled with every
available pound of coal. They are not doing it
for pleasure. Indications are that they are preparing
to resist your demands or make demands
on you."