Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1891-04-10
SUDDEN CLOSING
or THB INTERSTATE CONvEN rION or MINERS
AND OPERATORS,
In Session at Pittsburg-Thsy Split on the Eight
Hour Question the Break Means
Five Hundred Thousand Persons Will
bs Effected and Others Indirectly.

PITTsBURG, Pa, April 9.-The Inter
State convention OF miners and opera
tors closed this evening suddenly, after
fierce battle OF words, and the opinion
that further talk was declared protitless,
and an adjournment made sine die that
fairly made the miners heads swim,
though they accepted the proposition
with smile.
This action means practically that the
Interstate agreement has..been abolish
ed and that the amicable and harmoni-
oss relations that have existed between
the two classes for the past five years
have bren broken off and may not be re-
sumed.
1t also means that the $4,000 mine
workers in theS3 two regions, Ohio and
Pennsylvania, will stop work on the lst
of May, affecting 100000 persons di-
rectly aud hundreds OF thousands indi-
rectly.
As the mine workers of the country
will also demand an eight-hour day,
continuation OF work after May l now
seems almost impossible. The two
great organizations of the country, the
Knights OF Labor aud the Federation OF
Labor, are back of the men and their
money will be at their disposal.
The demise OF the convention was
hastened by the report Of the committee
having the eight hour day in hands.
The miners formulated the propositions
in the report to which the operators on
the committee strenuously objected.
The propositions were:
|. That reduction In the pay OF day
labor relative to the reduction in the
hours will be allowed.
.. That we proceed to make our wage
scale with the understanding that eight
hours will constitute days work after
the first OF May, without the operators
officially indorsing it; but If it does not
generally prevail within reasonable
length OF time, the miners will not in
sist on It's enforcement.
These demands had been modified
from the first demands OF the miners,
but every operator in the two States,
with one exception, will fight the move
ment. The one exception is C)l. w. 7.
Rend, of Chicago.
At the three o'clock session President
Rae entered from the eight-hour COM
mittee room. and announced that the
committee could not possibly agree on
the eight-hour question in its modified
form.
President Rae made brief statement
on behalf OF the miners, and was fol-
lowed by +. l.. Robbins for the oper-
ators. who simply said the committee
had disagreed.
Mr.. Morton, Of Columbus, Ohio then
said the point of difference in the COM
mittee was too great. They had tried
and failed to reach an agreement.
There was nothing further to do but
adjourn sine die.
Mr.. Chapman, an operator, seconded
the motion, and before the convention
could draw breath, the Interstate
conference was no more.
Secretary Mcbride, OF the Miners,
who had been absent, hurried into the
room, and when told OF the adjourn
ment, whispered excidedly to President
Rae: "My God, Rae. will they accept
nothing? Is there no hope OF any
thmg?"
No" briefly answered Mr.. Rae.
The operators met in a private room
but did nothing but confirm what had
been done DO them in convention. w.
p. Rend did not attend this meeting as
he said he was In favor OF an eight-hour
day, and that the operators would come
back to confer with the miners after
they had it alone for year. He was
the father OF the system, and they
would again confer together after each
had tried it alone.
The most important business of the
convention, aside from the pronounced
disagreement OF miners and operators,
was the passage OF the following resolu-
tion at a secret meeting of the miners
Immediately after the operators filed
out of the room:
"Resolped, That the miners Of the
competitive fields demand an advance
May l. OF pick money, equivalent to an
advance OF ten cents per ton in the
Hooking field, on the basis of an eight
hour working day, and no place is to
resume operations until all have re-
ceved the advance, or until Instructed
by the Executive Board"
The labor leaders say tonight they
are pleased on the whole that the oper
ators did not accept their compromise
proposition on the eight-hour question.
| II they had sectional strikes would have
resulted, while now the miners are q
unit, non-union are as pronounced as
union men, and II is best the fight be
made universal now and for good and