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DISCUSSING PROPOSED ISSUES IN FIXING
ANTHRACITE WORKING CONDITIONS
AFTER APRIL 1st.—MINERS CONVEN­
TION IN DECEMBER TO DRAFT DE­
MAND.
Whilst President John Mitchell of the United
Mine Workers was in Philadelphia recently it
developed that the anthracite miners' convention
to draft their demands for working conditions
after the expiration of the strike commission's
award. April 1, would be held in Shamokin, Pa.,
early in December, probably between the 5th and
10th of that month. Coincident with this it was
announced unofficially that the miners' principal
demands, which have been outlined in an earlier
i&ssue of THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN, would include
the following:
First—Recognition, taking the form of a signed
agreement of the miners' union by the coal operators.
Second—An eight-hour clay, to take the place of
the nine-hour day awarded by the strike commission
and accepted by the union for the
purposes of bringing about the present working
agreement.
Third—Increased pay over the minimum wages
now paid men and boys who do not come under
the classified "contract miners." but generally
known as "unskilled labor."
Fourth—Uniform wages for workers who are
not actually miners in all the hard coal collieries.
As there are not more than 30,000 contract
miners among the 140,000 workers in and about
the anthracite mines, the third and fourth items
in the foregoing list of demands are of concern
to upward of 100,000 men and boys. A yielding
to these demands would, therefore, mean an immense
additional expenditure by the coal operators.
It is on this point that all concerned in
the outcome of the Shamokin convention—operators,
miners, shippers, dealers, et al.—expect the
tug to come as between the mine owners and the
union.
"I shall," said President Mitchell, "exert all my
influence to gain for the miners what they most
earnestly demand—recognition of the union, which
is indispensable to their ultimate welfare, and the
eight-hour day, which is a demand based on human
principles. Personally, I favor both demands.
I do not withdraw from the stand I took in my
speech at Tamaqua, where I said that peace in
the coal fields can come only with recognition of
the union by the operators. As to the eight-hour
day, the justice of the demand is recognized in
all parts of the world."
Mr. Mitchell's attention was called to the fact
that, since the Tamaqua speech, it has been figured
that the miners' demands may not be granted
THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 41
unless an increase of 50 cents per ton be made
to the consumer of coal. He said:
"Experts have figured that the coal operators
have collected at least $30,000,000 from consumers
since the award of the strike commission. I do
not think that even the operators themselves will
dare to say that the miners have received more
than $16,000,000 of this excess."
At a mass meeting in Mt. Carmel, September 8,
Mr. Mitchell declared: "I want no more strikes."
At Shamokin, September 10, the miners' president
said: "Our organization has maintained all
the time from 50,000 to 60,000 paid-up members in
good standing with the national body. Besides
that, there are a large number of men who keep
up with their locals, but who are not heard from
at headquarters. By the time my tour closes I
hope to have 100,000 men in the district and national
unions, and, perhaps, 120,000 in the locals."
"Considering the increased price of living, are
the men receiving proportionately more than they
did prior to the strike of 1900?" was asked.
"I think that the increase of wages taken
straight through, amounts to about 16 per cent.,"
replied Mr. Mitchell, "and I do not believe the
additional cost of living is quite that. However.
there is this to be taken into consideration—with
the increase in wages came an increase in wants
and desires."
Disregarding the reported declaration of President
Baer of the Reading that there will be no
strike, an official of the Lehigh Valley Coal Co.
is quoted anonymously as follows:
"The demand of President Mitchell for an eighthour
day may seem to the public not too onerous
for the companies to accede, in view of the fact
that miners on contract never work more than
eight hours. As a matter of fact, however, it
would involve the addition of three-quarters of a
day's pay every week to all the employes at the
mines, with the exception of contract miners, who
are a relatively unimportant factor. It would involve
between $5,000,000 and $6,000,000 in additional
wages every year, and would make absolutely
necessary an increase in the price of coal,
if mining is to be continued at a profit. Recognition
of the union would absolutely crush out
the non-unionists and compel a large body of men
who have heretofore been loyal to the operators
to either join Mr. Mitchell's organization or quit
the region. The operators could not afford to
treat these men this way."
Discussing Mr. Mitchell's interview at Philadelphia,
an independent operator at Pottsville declared
:
"Mitchell has put his foot into it."
"Take his own word that the coal companies
have made $30,000,000 during the three years the
agreement has been in effect, and that the miners