The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-06-24
A CONTRACT SIGNED.
Black Diamond Miners Will Re-
sumo Work Today.
THE SLIDING SCALE ADOPTED
Over 400 Men VIII Soon Ply Their Picks
Again-Same Terms offered at
Other Mines.

The miners strike at Black Diamond is
ended, and work will be resumed this
morning. The committee of miners from
all the camps in King county met with the
miners committee of the Western Central
Labor Union yesterday and completed the
contract which they had begun to prepare
on Monday. They then took it to James
Hamilton Lewis, who drew it up in legal
form. and the Black Diamond members
then submitted it to Morgan Morgans, the
superintendent. who is at the Diller hotel
with w. S. Moore, the bookkeeper, who
signed it after making one change, to
which the miners made no objection.
The contract is for term of two years
from the present time, and provides that
present wages shall be paid until the price
of coal in San Francisco rises to So ton.
An advance of Is per cent is then to be
granted, and a further advance of 5 per
cent. is to be granted for every further adj
vance of 81 in the price. The right of the
superintendent TO hire and discharge
whom he pleases is to be unquestioned,
but when a man is charged with not doing
his work to the satisfaction of the
superintendent or mine foreman
the matter is to be investigated be-
fore he is discharged The proposal
of the miners committee was that the
miners and superintendent should each
appoint an arbitrator who should appoint
a third party, and that the decision of
these three should be final. Mr.. Morgans
objected that this might seriously inter-
rupt work, and substituted provision
that the matter should be decided between
the superintendent or foreman and the
four miners who worked nearest to the
man whose work was in question. This
arrangement would allow of immediate
comparison of the manner in which the
work was done, and of prompt settlement
without stoppage of work. The change
was accepted by the miners committee
and the contract was signed by both
parties.
The committee then presented to Mr..
Morgans written request that no coal
should be sold to the Oregon Improvement
Company while the present dispute with
that corporation continues. Mr.. Morgans
stated that the Black Diamond Company
never had sold coal to the Oregon Improve
ment Company, but as he had nothing to
do with the coal after it left the mine, he
could not make any promise on the sub
warded to the headquarters of the COM
pany. This will be done.
The Black Diamond committee returned
to the mine last evening to submit the
contract to the body of the miners. 1t
will doubtless be accepted. The whistle
will blow for work at Z o'clock this morn
ing and the men will return to their places.
There are about 420 men at Black Dia-
mond, but only about 200 of them can re-
sumo work Immediately as during the six
weeks idleness some parts of the mine
have gotten out of order. The pumps have
been taken out of No. II mine and are in
the machine shop undergoing repairs.
They can be replaced and get the water out
ready for work in less than ten DAYS, so
that there will be some delay in general
resumption.
The miners committee decided that the
same terms should be offered to all the
other coal companies in King county.
This will doubtless cause an early return
to work at Cedar mountain and the Puget
Sound Fire Clay Company's mine near
Black Diamond.
At Franklin. Newcastle and Gilman the
situation remains unchanged. At the
frst-named place pay day passed off quiet
ly, as no saloons were open, the only OBJ
jectors to Sheriff Woolery's closing order
having yielded after ALL At Gilman no
move was made towards resumption.
Judge Lichtenberg will today hear argu-
ments by James Hamilton Lewis, counsel
for the Franklin miners, and Colonel ]. C.
Haines, counsel for the Oregon Improve
ment Company, on motion by the former
to order the equity suit of the miners
against the company back from the United
States court to Judge Lichtenhere's court