Birmingham age-herald., 1894-12-29
:. REND OF CHICAGO

ff.rsBURu, Pa, Dec. 2S.-The opening | session of the joint com mittee of operators | aud miners of the Pit,sburg railway coal 1 district was marked by several sensational | utterances, in which John Burns, member of parliament, the great commissioner of l England, came in for striking rebuke, de- | livered in stentoran tones by Col. W. P. | Reod the well-known coal operator of | Chicago and the commissioner of several
 mines in the Pittsburg district.
 MT. Chapman of the Standard Coal com. pany was chosen 10 preside.
 Chairman Chapman suggested tn John | Burns. who was in the lobby, should be 1 invited to a seat in the convention. When attention to this fact was made | Colonel Rend arose and said;
 tMr. Chairman, object to the courtesy of this convention being extended to Mr. Burns, who is here for the double purpose
 of discussing labor matters and also of slandering American institutions. Mir. Burns is a stranger in America. It is
 therefore befitting that hs shall observe the decences and proprieties of the position
 that he occupies. These proprieties he has constantly violated by his malignant at tacks upon our institutions. l would advise that Mir. Burns return to the country from which he came and criticise the GUS toms, manners and institutions of bis own land, which he will find more deserving of his criticism than anything he can find here. know 1t Is the custom for blarsted Britishers' to indulge in improprieties similar to those against which l protest. It is about time for American miners to re. sent the offensive conduct of .hese men. have no objection whatever to listening to the views of MT. Burns upon labor mat ters or society. My protest is simply di- rected against garing abuse that has become in this country intoerable. '' As Colonel Rend resu med his seat there was an unbroken silence. Mir. Burns, who stood listening all the time, moved just little from steadied position he had
 assumed at the beginning. Chairman Chapman, just trife confused, arose and | put the motion to seat MT. Burns. It was carried, there being but one dissenting | vote, Colonel Reud voting "no.'' Colonel Rend again secured permission | for the floor and for half an hour addressed | the meeting, telling the story Of the dis | pute between miners aud operators and the | causes leading to the difference. Then | followed President Mcbride with his ad- | dress.
 The committee of operators and miners l on resolutions was appointed and the con ! vention adjourned at noon.
 The convention adjourned this afternoon | without reaching settlement of a wage rate. The question was left to a conn mittee consisting of three operators, three miners | and three disinteressd citzens of Pitts | burg. This com mttee will not meet in- | side of two weeks, and in the mean time the | district rate will remain 55 cents, the price adopted by the Railroad Coal Operators | association.
 But three of the committee were ap- | pointed, and they were reported by the miners The operators will appoint their | three members next week, and these six | will select the three disinterested citiz sns. | The committee will fully investigate the | cause of the deplorable condition of affairs | in the district and suggest methods by | which recurrence will be prevented. Secretary Mcbride said the miners in this | district made less than Fl day, and that if | the operators would not try and arrange | dividing rate it was impossible tor miners | to strike to uphold the district rate, they | had no money to live on. The miners that | worked for less than Fl day could not sup | port themselves, let alone the men who | were willing to go on strike.