The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-05-03
LAB0R'S DEMANDS.
THE IRON CONFERENCE TO-DAY.
An laid. View of the int z.s,lls at Pittsburgh.
What is Said to Have Pa,s.d-TsO Coal
hiasrs riilIas to Try arbitration.
Cigar Maksrt' STRIFE, &c.

PrrrsDvRoH, Pa, May 2.-The Con-
ference Committees Of the Iron Manu-.
iacturers and Amalgsmated Association
meet tomorrow 10 settle thera OF wages
for next year. The general opinion is that
they will not agree and that strike will
ensue.
An evening paper, referring TO the
recent conferences, says: The pr0cee dings
OF the tlst session Of the conference con.
sisted OF statement OF the position OF the
Manufacturers. 1t included reduction in
the whole mill, pudding and finishing, OF
about twenty per cent, and was based on
three reasons, namely, the effect OF the re-
vised tariff on prices, the small margin
OF profit, and the fact that In the East
wsges are lower than In Pittsburgh and
districts west. The Amalgamated Com.
mittee argued so terssly and effectively that
the proposition relative to the tariff, Il not
withdrawn entirely, was certainly not
pressed. Manufacturers as rule do not
allege that the revised tariff Is not protec.
tive ut pr sent quotations. At the confer.
ence Il was shown there was still about
five dollars Of margin between the 'Ameri.
can market and conman bar iron and the
best tie British could do in tina! line laid
dow min New York or Phila6e phia.
The margin manufactures should have
and have not, Is understood TO have been
recognized by the Amalgamated men.
They assailed the reduction, however, on
the plausible ground that II would be- mani
festly unfair to expect TO make up the en-
tire percentage OF margin wanted by the
manufacturers ofthe mill-oif the two de.
Partnents Of labor, puddlingand finishing.
They suggested that wh3teverthe aggregate
figure which 1t may be determined should
be cancelled from the cost Of production,
the reduction should be distributed over
all the emsinyolved in making finished
bar. II this was done 1t was asserted that
one-fourth the whole would Approximate a.
the share OF the burden 10 be borne by the
labor oil the mill, or five per cent on prob
able twenty per cent reduction.
To the third statement OF the declaration
that the East pays lower rate, the bald
fact was acknowledged to be the case at
present. But it was shown by published
memoranda OF the Bureau OF Labor Sta.
tistics that wages Past and West have
varied constantly in the past dozen years.
Sometimes the rate fer pudding has bnen
close on TO that In the Pittsburgh district;
and occasionally higher. The rates Els /
seemed to be 10 fliul that it yonld be
unjust to measure Pittsburgh compensation
by them.
In regard to common bar there was con.
siderable debate. 1t was held by the man
ufacturers and admitted by the mill men
that there was no profit in the class OF iron
at two cents pound. There was shade
better lines for margins on refined bar OF
common sizes. IL was advanced on the
part OF tie Amalgamated people that COM
mon bar is usually made up by the manu-
facturers thereof into specialtics on which
there is a profit As to the market it was
asserted that common bar was about $40
of cent lower in April, 1883, than in the
same month OF 1882. This was admitted,
but 1t was met by the statement, not con-
truveited, that specialties were in better
shape and that sheet iron, though
struck hardest OF all by tariff revision,
was in SITTER condition than II was
year ago. There was no reason TO sup
pose there would be further decline; on
the contrary s,atistics indicated Lright-
ening up I'll around, inasmuch as while
there was stock OF six hundred thousand
tons Of finished iron in the United States
in April, 1852, there are now only two hun
dred thousand tons. This business Of
supplies ready 10 be drawn upon must
assuredly have good effect on the mar.
ket II was not intended that the first
session would include more than STATE
ments OF wants on both sides, and this
having been accomplished the conference
adjourned to enable the members 10 pre-
pare fresh matter for consideration.