Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-01-04
FIRST GUNS FIRED.
The Annual Settle Between the Coke
Operators and Men Begun.
WEIGHING COAL ON THE Triple
Together With the Eight-Hour Question
Will Be Features of
A LIVELY AND INTERESTING FIGHT

in the city yesterday, in reference to the
preliminary meeting at Scottdale between
the coke operators and workers, respecting
the scale for the year.
The message was sent by one operator to
another. and. OF course, expressed the
sender's views only. The scale. which ex-
pires early in February, will not be renewed
this year without heightened fight and
determined opposition from both sides.
Such, anyhow, is che opinion of conservative
members oft trade spoken with yesterday.
1t is even said that the region will witness
strike Of character not yet experienced In
those districts.
The two points ia the subject which will
receive most attention, and which both sides
regard as of vital importance, are the ques-
tions of weighing coal at the tipple, and
basing wages on a sliding scale. Any time
since coal was first mined the question of the
measurement of the output has been bone
of contention between owners and miners.
Scope of the sliding Scale.
For some time past the miner has been
paid1. according to the number of bushels
loaded into wagons, constructed to hold "a
bushels or 40 bushels each. and officially
certified to as holding these amounts. A
34.bushel wagon loaded to the edge at the
face of the coal would seem to contain less
on arriving at the tiple, the jogging over
the rough road seeming to settle the con-
tests. The operatorEwould then insist that
the wagon had not been loaded, and the
miner would be docked in his pay. Again
a dishonest miner can load his wagon in
such way, by putting in several large
Jumps, etc., in the bottom. that it would hold
% bushels of coal instead of "a
Thus the operator would be getting six
bushels in each wagon less then he was pay
ing for If three ouch wagons were charged
into an oven, the operator would have to
pay the miner for IS bushels he did not
mine, and would lose, in addition, by pay
ing the drawer for drawing three wagons of
coke, though getting Is bushels less.
This years discussion will turn from
whether the miner should be paid for the
! wagon as it is loaded at the face of the coal
| or when it arrives at the tipple, to whether
the worker shall be paid by the actual
weight of his output. In other words, a
| fight will be mad, on whether the coal shall
be weighed al the tipple and the miner
paid accordingly. The men favor this plan
though it would seem to be against their
| interests to adopt it.
No More Check on the Output.
The responsibility of weighing the coal
| each tipple, and the man in the mine who
is doing the work will no longer have a
check on the amount of his output as he
| now has by means of the officially stamped
| wagons
1t is very easy to conceive that very
| little manipulation of the scales would de-
| priye the miner of slice OF his earnings,
| and it is a question, even were the weigh
men strictly accurate, whether the miner
| would not find reason to disagree with him.
The adoption of the weighing system, it is
argued, would not be satisfactory to either
4 side. In some places 26T bushels run
| to a ton; in others but %. A
man working in dry pit would
load very much less In weight,
but of even bulk, than the man in the wet
mine. In the first instance, the operator
would be getting the benefit of the bulk at
little weight; in the latter, the miner would
be receiving pay for a much greater amount
of coal than he really worked. Among per-
sons acquainted with the trade were it is be-
| lieved that the amount of coal
should be decided at the tipple,
| and by measurement as being the
most equitable plan.
1t is believed that the operators are not
unwilling to pay for results on sliding
scale of wages. and that the miners would
prefer to adopt this system, all, of course,
with several very important conditions at
tached
Some Conditions to Be Laid Down.
The miners would make a point of ap-
pointing a committee to act in conjunction
with a com mittee of the operators when any
suggestions for raising or lowering the SELL
ing price should be made. The miners
committee would be expected to make very
careful inquiries into the reasons for the
change, and would exercise discrimination
in whether alterations in price were sug-
! gested as a necessity OF the times or for tine
purpose of freezing out rivals. The sliding
scale would be acceptable to the miners ii
the base was not lower than 81 IS. Opera.
tors would adopt it if too many restrictions
as to its fexibility and uses were not at
tached as condition.
Advices from Scottdale last night say
The operators and miners held preliminary
meeting to-day, and adjourned without ac.
| COW b1cSsTS. pde, L dThcl
ami Kerioot were present on behalf of the
miners and Messrs. Lynch, Bremen and
Schoonmaker on behalf of the operators.
The scale was presented and at once stamped
by the operators as impracticable. They
declare that the proposition to weigh coal al
the tipples was out of the question. The
miners committee took the stand that many
mining regions were now being successfully
operated BY the weight system, and they could
therefore see no reason why it would moi
be success in the coke regions The clause
in the new scale bearing on the discharge o.
all nom unionists was also discussed. The
operators ridiculed the idea of the
adoption of the eight-hour system. bu
miners evince determination to secure
that concession if none other. All the oper
ators present stated emphatically that they
would sign no new labor contract unless thu
scale committee would give bond.
An adjournment was taken, after which
the Scale Committee of the miners held
heightened conference. Following is thu
scale:
The Scale Submitted Yesterday.
That the prices to be paid at any and al
plants operated by the said .......... for min
ing coal and drawing coke shall be adjudicatet
by weight, by the ton or bushel, at the follow
ing rates:
Mining and loading room coal, dry. 81 OF %
Mining and loading room coal, wet.. IL 81
Min and loading heading coal, dry. y 33
Ming and loading heading coal, wet. 50 So
All narrow work to be paid heading rates
wet and dry, as the case may be, and this ap
plies to first cnt-through in drawing ribs
Where it occurs thata place is troubled witt
continual hard coal or any other deficiency, ,sucl
| a;al hall ho r,afd fha nina