i STEAM COAL - Clpdigital.org

Carroll D. Wright, for 20 years the United
States commissioner of labor, retired on February
1 to become president of Clark University at Worcester,
Mass. Mr. Wright is a world-wide authority
on labor qestions and statistics, practically the
whole of his life having been spent in that field.
From 1870 to 1885 he was chief of the Massachusetts
bureau of labor statistics. He became the
United States commissioner when the national
bureau of labor was organized. Among the works
he has published are, "Strikes and Lock-outs,"
"Ethics of Labor. Hie Condition of the Working
Man," "History of the Knights of Labor," and
"History of the Iron and Steel AVorkers." During
the coal strike of 1902 he was the recorder of the
president's commission and was afterwards president
of the conciliation board. His successor is
Dr. Charles P. Neill, of Washington, who has had
a wide experience in the labor field.
* * *
The text of the recent decision of the United
States supreme court, in connection with the large
beef interests, has caused some temporary uncertainty
as to the power of federal judges to enjoin
strikers from committing unlawful acts. Hasty
scanning is probably responsible for the uneasiness
at first manifested and which is not warranted
by the language of the decision. The cue
was taken probably from the section in which it
is held that a general injunction against all possible
breaches of the law cannot be issued, but
that defendants are entitled to specific instructions
regarding what they must do. This neither hampers
nor nullifies the principle of injunction, and
certainly holds out neither hope nor encouragement
to those who favor a resort to violence during
industrial disputes.
• • *
Lobbyists representing the mine workers are
attending the session of the Pennsylvania legislature
to oppose certain bills which are not in
their interest. The committee consists of President
John Fahy of District No. 9. and Board Members
Thomas Llewellyn. Richard Healey, Thomas
Richards and Terrence Ginley. They were instructed
to urge the passage of the law prohibiting
child labor in or about the mines and also that
relative to the weighing of coal. They are also
endeavoring to bring about the passage of a measure
appropriating money for the erection of a
home for the care of aged and indigent miners.
* * *
Twenty-one suits for damages, $7,000 being
asked in each case, or $147,000 in all, have been
filed in the county court at Tuscaloosa. Ala., by
the non-union miners at Brookwood. against the
United Mine Workers of America and the local
THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 43
organization there. The plaintiffs assert that
during October last the local organization held
several meetings, the result of which was a demand
upon the Alabama Consolidated Iron & Coal
Co. to dismiss from its mine all non-union workers,
which was done. Much suffering resulted, it
is charged.
* * *
The local miners' organizations in the Central
Pennsylvania bituminous district have notified
their delegates to make no agreement with the
operators at the scale conference at Altoona on
March 17, unless an advance in the mining rate
is granted. The men accepted a 5% per cent.
reduction at the conference last year. The operators
say they can no longer pay the present rate,
62 cents, in view of the increased Southern competition
and the low price at which coal is selling.
* * *
An agreement has been reached at Livingston,
Mont., between the Cokedale Coal Co., and the
local union No. 2560, United Mine Workers of
America, in regard to the digging of coal in Cokedale.
A thirty-day trial will be given the men.
The price per ton is 60 cents and they will be
allowed 50 cents per foot in cross-cuts. If it is
then seen that the men cannot make satisfactory
wages the rate will be increased until they can
earn $3.60 per day.
A special meeting of the Pittsburgh district
executive board of the United Mine Workers was
held at Pittsburgh on February 8 and 9, to discus
proposed amendments to the dead work scale
of the Pittsburgh district, the renewal of the
Mercer-Butler scale agreement and other matters
in preparation for the conferences with operators
fixed for February 15 at Pittsburgh and February
21 at Greenville, Pa.
* * *
Former State Mine Inspector Elmer G. Biddison,
of Youngstown. O.. and District President Percy
Tetlow of the United Mine Workers, held a conference
at Salem, O.. on February 3 at which a
mutually satisfactory scale for machine mining
at the Salem Fuel Co.'s mines of which Mr. Biddison
is manager was agreed upon.
* * *
The United Mine Workers are again endeavoring
to organize the Irwin field, in which 25,000
are employed. At a recent mass meeting conducted
by Pittsburgh district organizers of the
mine workers union, 1.500 miners were in attendance.
* * *
The biennial report of the Tennessee board of
prison commissioners shows that the profits for
1904 from the Brushy Mountain coal mines were
$410,027.51. as compared with $405,431.79 for 1903.