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and offered a oasis for just settlement of this
controversy—and one which, if carried out in good
faith on both sides would entirely remove the
friction that has arisen from this "give and take
agreement."
The contention of the operators' representatives
tnat to direct payment for bone lifted without
orders would lie tantamount to taking the control
of the business out of the hands of the superintendent
and turning it over to the miners, is not
warranted. There would be some basis for this
contention were it proposed for a moment that
the taking up or the leaving down of bottom
bone for which the payment was to lie made,
were left simply to the discretion of the miner;
but it has not been proposed at all to leave the
matter to the choice of the miner.
The proposition of the miners' representatives
simply recognizes the conditions fixed by nature.
Where there is a practical choice as to the taking
up or the leaving down of the bottom bone, it is
unquestionable that the say shall rest absolutely
and unqualifiedly with the representatives of the
company. When there ceases to be any choice,
when it is physically impossible to take up the
coal without at at the same time lifting and handling
the bottom bone, it is unfair to say that the
question of payment should depend upon the order
of the mine foreman. The miner had no choice
as to whether or not to do the extra work; and
to insist that he should be paid for work he cannot
avoid cannot be construed into an interference
with the right or the authority of the mine
foreman nor into the taking out of his hands of
the control of the affairs of the company; it
merely takes out of his hands the power to work
an injustice on the miner.
In the judgment of the umpire, the testimony
seems to establish the fact that the agreement
out of which this case has arisen was for a fixed
payment per yard for the lifting of bottom bone,
irrespective of its thickness. It is further established
that at times the bottom bone ran as high
as 2 feet 9 inches in thickness, and for a long
period, averaged from 22 to 24 inches; that at
times the men considered it a hardship on them
to receive only 55 cents and complained to the
foreman of the inadequacy of the rate; that no
readjustment of the rate was granted by the
company, and that the men continued at that rate
expecting a compensating advantage when the
bone should become thinner.
Under the agreement of a fixed rate for lifting
bottom bone "whether thick or thin," the men are
entitled to the given rate no matter how thin the
bone becomes, and the company has no right to
discontinue the rate liecause in its estimation that
rate has become absurdly high. in the present
case, the company is further bound to maintain
the contract rate on the principle of equity and
THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 37
fairness; for it is established by the testimony
that for a considerable period the company had
the advantageous side of the bargain, and its
present disadvantage is merely restoring a compensating
equilibrium. It may be perfectly true
that the bottom bone has become so thin that
the rate of 55 cents is too high a rate as compared
to the allowances made in other collieries;
but on the other hand, by the testimony of the
mine foreman himself 55 cents per yard was a
meager allowance for the bottom bone when it
was only 12 or 1 -, inches in thickness, and it is
clear that at times, the bottom bone was considerably
more than double this thickness.
The decision of the umpire is that whenever the
miner cannot avoid taking up the bottom bone
along with the coal, he is entitled to the allowance
of 55 cents per yard for lifting this bone,
irrespective of its thickness and regardless of
whether or not the foreman had ordered the bone
taken up; but if the miner without orders lifts
bottom bone when it could have been left down,
he has no claim on the company for the 55 cents
per yard for said bone.
Washington, D. C, Oct. 18, 1905.
CHARLES P. NEILL.
LARGE CONTRACTS FOR
MONON. R. C. C. C& C. CO.
The St. Louis and Cincinnati gas companies
have awarded to the Monongahela River Consolidated
Coal & (Joke Co., Pittsburgh, contracts
amounting to 12,000,000 bushels, about half of
which will go to each. the St. Louis order is
to be filled in a year while the Cincinnati contract
has a life of two years. There was sharp
rivalry among river shipping competitors, new
Kentucky interests being keen to capture the
business. The gas concerns' experience with
Pittsburgh coal is said to have been a factor in
the award.
According to Anglo-Oriental Commerce for October,
the total number of coal mines in operation
in 1904 in India was 296 (256 in Bengal), compared
with 302 (279 in Bengal) in 1903. The
production in Bengal in 1904 was 8,216,706 tons.
The output has increased every year for the last
nineteen years, i. e., from 1,294,221 tons in 1885
to 8,216,706 tons in 1904. The exports from Calcutta
in 1904-5 amounted to 2,375,977 tons, about
three-fourths of this being loaded into coasting
vessels, and, including 770,589 tons of bunker coal
shipped for use on steamers engaged in the foreign
and coasting trade, 3,146,566 tons left the
port, or nearly 45 per cent, of the output of Bengal
collieries in 1904.