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NO STRIKE IS EXPECTED BY
THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 35
CONCILIATION BOARD MEMBERS.
President W. L. Connell of the conciliation board
for the anthracite region, and S. D. Warriner,
general manager of the Lehigh Valley Coal Co.,
and a member of the board since its inception,
are of the opinion that there will be no strike of
the anthracite miners when the present agreement
expires next spring. Each has carefully examined
the situation, and Mr. Warriner gives the follow­
ing reasons for his views:
"The past three years have witnessed the greatest
prosperity ever known in the anthracite regions.
There has been a total freedom from petty
strikes or large strikes; there has been no cessation
of work for any cause; the miners have had
larger earnings and have participated in the advantages
of the high price of coal. About $4,000,-
000 have been distributed annually to the mine
workers through the workings of the sliding scale
agreement, in addition to the advantages of increased
wages and shorter hours.
"If the report of the strike commission be examined,
it will be found that none of the demands
of the miners was supported. The recognition of
the union was not granted; it was found that the
rates of wages compared favorably with other industries
where there were the same hours of
labor, and so on through the list; not a single demand
was found to be well founded on fact. Notwithstanding
this, an advance in wages was given
and a sliding scale was established, from which the
miner benefits by the high price of coal. That
agreement or award resulted in this period of
great prosperity.
"Now this award was made after a painstaking
and thorough investigation into the coal mining
industry had been made by the commission of
eminent men, appointed by the president of the
United States. Their decision was a fair and unbiased
one, and it seems to me to he ill-advised to
talk of upsetting these conditions. The general
business conditions have not materially changed
since that time. There is no more warrant for an
increase of wages now than then. The price of
living has not increased to any extent since 1902;
the general conditions are the same.
"The demands of the miners are not worrying
the companies a great deal. They seem to be
worrying the miners more than anyone else. It
is good strategy on the part of the mine workers'
officials to talk of the possible necessity for a
strike in April and formulate demands, for by this
means they can induce their members to pay up
their dues and get back into the organization, but
aside from this, I think they will have no effect."
PRESIDENT WILCOX DISCUSSESS
ANTHRACITE LABOR SITUATION.
In an article in the North American Review for
August, David Willcox, president of the Delaware
& Hudson company, denies vigorously the complaint
of the anthracite miners that there is cause
for a repetition of the strikes of 1900 and 1902,
and asserts that there is no possible reason for
disturbing the conditions in the coal fields established
by the anthracite coal strike commission
and the board of conciliation.
President Willcox points out that the recent
activity of John Mitchell among the United Mine
Workers has arouseu considerable interest, and
atter an account of the prevailing conditions concludes
by declaring that the machinery of arbitrating
all differences is already in operation and
that there is in the present situation no warrant
for subjecting the country to another strike.
The present agitation in favor of an eight-hour
day Mr. Willocx declares to be merely a thinly disguised
demand for an increase in wages. The contract
miners work less than eight hours a day now,
and the other class of employes, known as "company
men," has on an average a day of only
7.6 hours. As a result of the strike in 1902 wages
were raised from 10 to 11 per cent., exclusive of
the increase brought about by the sliding scale.
This raise in pay resulted in 1904 in increased
cost of production.
Should the eight-hour law be passed. Mr. Willcox
says, the miners would have to work longer
than they do now for the same pay, and the "company
men" would receive one-eighth, instead of
one-ninth, of their daily pay for an hour's work.
As the "company men" make up about 53 per cent.
of the employes the cost of mining would be
greater.
Then, taking up the question of the "open shop"
Mr. Willcox quotes at length from the commission's
report, declaring that the mines should be open to
all, regardless of membership in any labor organization.
He points out that Mitchell's contention
that it is as right to compel men to belong to
unions as it is to compel children to go to school
is in opposition to decisions of the supreme court
of the United States.
These decisions, Mr. Willcox asserts, are more
important than Mr. Mitchell's logic.
"While differences of opinion may always exist. '
Mr. Willcox goes on to say, "still the rules of
action in civilized communities are authoritatively
settled by their judicial tribunals."
Mr. Willcox explains that the board of conciliation
has met with great success.
"Every grievance," he says, "has been disposed
of in due course and there are now no grievances
in existence of sufficient merit to warrant their
submission or arbitration save a small number of