Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-01
The Coal Exchange Will Ask
Congress to Appoint One
for the Ohio River.
THE PLAN In GREAT FAVOR.
Operators and Striking Miners Still
at Swords Points.
A LABOR DISPUTE SETTLED.
Glass Men Discuss Questions Relating to
Their Business.
CURRENT EVENTS IN LABOR CIRCLES

At q meeting of the Pittsburg Coal Ex-
change held yesterday in the Iron Ex-
change building, it was decided to petition
Congress for an Ohio River Commission.
At previous meeting action had been
taken on the matter, and when it came up
yesterday it was soon DISPOSED Of iThe
petition was signed by nearly all the MEM
bers of the Exchange, and all express them
selves in hearty accord with the plan. This
petition will be brought before Congress as
soon as convenient, as there is feeling
that the commission cannot be appointed too
soon.
This is considered as one of the most i'm
portant steps taken by the rivermen for
some time. 1t has been a much discussed
question for years, but the river operators
could never agree on the plan, so that the
question dragged on with nothing accom-
plishcd Since the Exchange has adopted
the plan of holding meetings semi-weekly,
the members came together so often that a
committee was appointed, the petition
drawn up and having been adopted, was
signed and made ready for Congress.
Old Plan unsatisfactory.
Heretofore the supervision of the Ohio
river has been in the hands of United
States engineer. He was required to make
frequent inspections and make the neces-
sary recommendations for improvements,
but the plan did not meet The requirements.
The views of the engineer and operators
did not always agree and there was fire.
quently much dissatisfaction felt at the de-
cisions reached for certain changes so that
there has been a general demand for q
change. The commission is intended to be
modelled on the same plan as that of the
Mississippi river and will be composed of
five members two of whom will probably
be engineers and the other three practical
river men.
The advantages of this commission are
said to be many, and the operators yester-
day afternoon spoke warmly of the pro-
posed change. The commission will be re-
Qulred to make an annual inspection of the
river and recommend such changes as will
be necessary to promote the best interests
of navigation. Since the question has been
brought to a head it is the intention to
have it pushed forward, so that what has
been so long the talk in river circles will
become reality.
The miners strike was warmly discussed
and the operators again declared their in-
tention to standing firm and fighting the
strikers to finish.
VIII Not Yield.
Many went so far as to declare they
would close up their business before giving
the old price but the more conservative
positively asserted they could not afford to
pay on the 31Z-cent basis. The strike has
already lasted much longer than was at first
expected, and has already destroyed the
prospects for full years shipment OF coal
to the southern markets, as the season is
already too far advanced.
The consensus of opinion heard by a
DISPATCH reporter yesterday from num-
Der of the best posted operators is that there
are now about 600 men at work, half of
whom are mining at the 31z-cent basis-and
the rest at a reduction of 4 cent busheL
Reports from the region are so conflicting
that many of the operators themselves do
not know how many men are working. The
number is not the same for two days in sue
cession, which makes calculation impossi-
bic. 1t is considered that there are about
5000 miners out on account of the strike.
What coal is being mined is used to sup
ply the local markets, and it does no. nearly
supply the demand. so that the railroads
have all they can do 60 supply the
deficiency. The greatest difficulty is
experienced from the lack of cars. About
125 bushels a day is good average for
a river miner. The strikers are enabled to
get along from what they can earn in the
railrosd mines. The most of them work
oplv about half the time and make lust
enough to support themselves and fami-
e lies. That the operators are feeling the
long strike cannot be denied.
A Break Reported.
From all appearances the strike seems to
be as far from being settled as a month ago.
1t was reported on Water street Yesterday
that the men had decided to return to work
today at the reduced rate, but nothing
definite could be learned, and 1t was
not believed by the best posted
operators. The river men have never
stood so well together in any previous
strike, and it has become a life and death
struggle.
Another discouraging feature of the situa-
ton to the operators is the rapid inroads
which the railroads are making in their
trade. Mills that always depended on the
river for their coal are having tracks la id
into their yards, and will hereafter depe nd
on the railroads for their fuel, and when a
firm once changes it is seldom that change
is made. This has gone on so far that the
railroads have all they can do with the pres
ent equipments At present coal
is selling in the Cincinnati market at
9I% cents bushel, with efforts being made
TO get it down to cents Tne kanawha
district sent about 100000 bushels to the
lower markets on the rise of last week, and
this is seriously affecting the price.
One operator said yesterday: 'Since the
strikers have shown so determined stand
there has been growing feeling On part of
the operators to Jet the railroads have
their trade before giving the old price. 1t
has simply come to the point that we can't
DO business if we have to pay a half cent
more a bushel than the railroads Busi-
ness is practically at q standstill
as the little coal being mined for the local
trade does not enter into calculations on
the river business. Some little coal must
be mined, no matter what comes. and that
is all that is being done at present The
business is as near stopped as is possible to
have it, and the situation is becoming
serious.