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44 THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN.
REPORT OF U. M. W. DELEGATES TO
INTERNATIONAL MINING CONGRESS.
The report of President John Mitchell and Wil­
liam Dodds, the delegates of the United Mine
Workers to the International Mining Congress held
at Paris last August, was one of the most inter­
esting presented at the recent national convention
of miners at Indianapolis. It embodies a brief
narrative of tlie trip abroad, the places visited
and the general impression received, together with
a series of thirteen articles on labor and living
conditions in Europe. The titles of these articles
are: "How the London Workingman Lives,"
"British Trade Unions in Politics," "Government
Savings Banks in England," "The Co-Operative
Stores of Great Britain," "Compensation Laws of
Great Britain," "The Land of the Poor," I Ireland),
"Conciliation Boards in Great Britain." "The Trade
Union Movement in France." "Labor Conditions in
Belgium." "The International Mining Congress."
"How the German Government Insures the workman."
"American and European Labor Conditions
Compared," and "The Social Democratic Party of
Germany." The first twelve of these articles
have been published in the I'nited Mine Workers'
Journal. Messrs. Mitchell and Dodds arrived in
London on June 19 and attended a meeting of the
Miners' Federation of Great Britain where they
obtained information concerning British mining
conditions, the form of organization, the methods
of adjusting grievances and regulating wages, and
learned that owing to industrial stagnation and
the imposition by the government of a tax upon
export coal, wages in the British mines had suffered
a decline.
They visited the mining districts of Lancashire,
Durham, and Northumberland, England, tlie Lan­
arkshire, Fifeshire and Dalkeith districts of Scotland,
making a brief trip to Ireland and thence to
the mining fields of Wales. They then proceeded
to France and after a few days spent in Paris,
went through tlie Charleroi and Liege districts ot
Belgium, where they made a close study of mining
conditions. They next visited the great West­
phalia mining district of Germany, from whence
after completing their investigation they returned
to Paris to be present at the opening of the Inter­
national Mining Congress. Regarding the proceedings
of the congress and the deductions of the
delegates the report says in part:
"The congress met at the Bourse de Travail on
August 8, and continued its sessions up to and including
August 12. There were 77 delegates in
attendance, 45 being from Great Britain, nine from
Belgium, seven from France, 13 from Germany,
one from Austria, and I wo from the I'nited States.
The number of men represented was 2,009.500.
The subjects discussed were the shorter work day,
the niininiuni wage scale, old age pensions, the
mine inspection laws, the control of wages, the
nationalization of mines, disease among miners,
and a proposition to establish an international
secretaryship. Mr. Mitchell was elected a member
of an international committee of 12. It was
decided to hold the next congress at Liege. Belgium.
"From the reports submitted liy the delegates
from France. Belgium, Germany and Austria, it
was quite evident that until recently the trade
union movement has made very satisfactory progress
among the miners of these countries. Wages
are low and the conditions of employment ex­
tremely bad. It is safe to say that the miners of
Prance and Germany do not average more than
one dollar per day. while in Belgium and Austria,
wages are considerably less. There are, however,
many hopeful signs for the future in these con­
tinental countries. Trade unions are increasing
in strength, and through their influence much
remedial legislation has been enacted.
"It was surprising to learn how closely they
have watched the growth and development of the
United .Mine Workers of America. The public
press gives more space to American mining news
than it does to events occurring in the mining
fields of continental Europe.
"In Great Britain, the wages are very much
higher than on the continent : the hours of labor
and many of the conditions of employment are
superior to our own. I believe it would be safe
to say that the English ami Welsh miners earn,
on an average, $1.50 per day, while those in Scotland
will probably earn 25 cents less.
"The one pre-eminent feature of European industrial
life, especially in Great Britain, is the preva­
lence of the co-operative store system, and it was
this feature whiidi made upon us the most lasting
impression. Nearly all British miners—and indeed
many other classes of workmen—are mem­
bers of some co-operative society; every mining
town supports one or more co-operative stores.
In these stores, a person may buy anything that
is used in the ordinary household. We were
given splendid opportunities to study the workings
of these societies and it was demonstrated
lo our entire satisafction that a person buying
through them can save from 12 to 20 per cent.
In connection with this report, we take the lib­
erty of recommending that our members give the
co-operative store system their serious considera-
t ion. We desire to say that in our judgment it
would be to the interest of our organization, and
certainly to the advantage of the miners of the
Old World, were we to continue our representation
in these international mining congresses."
( To be Continued)