Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-02-17
MINERS ARE WEAKENING.
AN EASIER FEELING IN THE COAL
REGIONS.

Many PRACTICAL Engineers Seeking WORK al
the Reading Company's Collieries-Out-
breaks Less Frequent-Magnates Before
the Congressional Committee.
READING, Pa, Feb 17-There was an easier
feeling in the coal regions yesterday, as 1t
became known that the Reading company's
officials had received many applications from
practical engineers to go to work at the
mines, to take the places of any who might
strike if ordered to do SO at to-day's meeting
of the strike committee 1t is given out that
the Heading company, upon q days notice,
can fill every vacancy with good engineers
and pumpmen Whether this is simply
bluff is not known. The officials claim to be
in earnest, while the labor leaders smile and
say the company can do no such thing.
Many evidences of weakening were reported
yesterday. Several engineers withdrew from
the order, and lar1e numbers Of the Reading
companys miners tried to get work at pri-
vate colieries, but had to be turned away, as
they had all the miners they wanted. No
doubt these men would go to work at the
company's collieries if a sufficient number
could be mustered to start a breaker. The
number of men reporting for duty at the
mines or the company's collieries is increas-
ing daily, and the conservative element is be-
coming more courageous as the riotous senti
ment is apparently subsiding.
John E. Richards a miner Of Shenandoah,
makes vigorous public appeal for the miners
to go to work at the Old wages. confident that
the Reading company will do the right thing.
He closes by saying: "Never mind the strike
committee; leave them out Of the question,
for they are all right with their $25 a day,
while you and your family have not got the
necessities of life" Several of the strike COM
mttee returned from the west end of Schuyl
Kill unable to induce the men now at work to
give up their jobs.
The outbreaks by the women and boys about
fremont, Tower City and Branchdale are
coming less frequent, in consequence of the
vigorous and determined work of Lieut..
Tanner and his detachment of armed police.
If the company can, in case Of strike man
its mine engines and pumps with new men,
as they claim they can, it is believed the COM
pany will soon have few more thousand
men at work in its collieries.
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 17.-General Manager
A. b. Whiting, of the Reading Coal and Iron
company, was the witness before the congress
committee yesterday. He said that ON Dec.
20 committee, headed by John II. Davis,
waited ON him and asked that the contract
granting the per cent. advance upon the old
basis, which had been made in September and
WAS to terminate Oh Jan. l, be extended. On
I'St 81 tile IctiUeSU WIS IclleNttl l uS tSI0S-
nent OF September was the result of q conf
promise. The men had demanded an increase
Pf Is per cent, and agreed to take an per
cent advance.
Witness admitted that all of the mines in
he Schuylkill region, except the Reading, are
'pan and paying the per cent. advance,
which the Reading refuses, but they were able
o TO this only because the Reading mines
gre not in operation. If the Reading men
vcrt to work the price of coal, which ad-
anced 81 ton in Philadelphia, would drop,
I'D the individual collieries would be COM
e!iod to reduce wages also. But the witness
ould not explain why, although the output
i coal from the anthracite regions in jan
Fary, 1888, was greater than that Of January,
S"., prices We're SO much higher now than
hca.
CcAeral Manager A. A. Mcleod and George
B. keim, pre- >ident of the Coal and Iron
ninnany, were afterward examined at great
myth.