Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-08-27
NEITHER YIELDS.
Conference of Minors and Opera.
tors at an End.
EFFORTS At SETTLEMENT FRUl1LESS
Neither Side Able to Accept the Terms
of the Otker-Thc Strike VIII
IN Therefore De Continued to
the Bitter End.

Pittsburgh, Pa, Aug. 25.-The final
effort to arrange plan for ending the
big coal strike has proved failure and
the strike goes on. AT noon the con-
ference between u committee of coal
miners and operators, national and dis
trict officials, closed and the conference
adjourned without date. The miners
representatives did not recede from
their original proposition to settle the
strike by arbitration and start the
mines at the SO cent rate.
The operators offered to divide the
difference between Sd and 60 cent rates,
making the price at which the mines
should start e1N cents per ton, but
this was rejected. Then additional
propositions were made. One was to
start the mines without fixing any
price for 80 days and then to pay the
rate agreed upon by the board Of arbi-
tration. This was also refused by the
miners, who said they had been fooled
too often to trust the operators again.
They declined to work for a month,
giving the operators the output that
length of time without knowing what
wages would be paid. A proposition
was then made to operate the mines for
ten days without fixing the price, and
allow board Of arbitration to fix the
price for that time.
President Ratchford insisted that
nothing but the 60 cent rate could be
possibly accepted.
The operators were firm, but the
miners were equally determined, and
every argument of the mine owners
was met by the miners leaders.
Neither side would concede another
point, and 1T was decided to end the
conference.
President Ratchford's Statement.
President Ratchford had but little to
say on the matter, but gave out the fol-
lowing statement:
We have disagreed. Our proposition re-
NAMED unchanged. Besides our PROPOSE
ton to arbitrate, we made them q Sec
ond one along the lines of bringing about
general conference of miners and oper-
ators Of all mining states. They refused to
lend their efforts in that direction and the
strike will be continued. We have no other
plans for the future"
The outlook after the adjournment
of the conference seemed to be encour-
aging for the miners. There is no ques-
ton as to the anxiety of the operators
to start their mines. Nearly every coal
company in the Pittsburgh district was
represented at the Monongahela house
during the conference.
VIII Start for Mines.
4 The operators conference was in
secret session for several hours and
when the doors were opened their press
agent announced that the mines would
certainly be started with the old dig
gers If possible, with imported men if
the old men refused to work. A COM
mittee was appointed composed of rep
resentatives of every firm in the district
to map out the mode Of procedure for
the resumption. This committee will
meet this morning for this purpose.
The statement concerning the joint con-
ference issued by the operators press
committee concludes as follows:
To Continue the Fight.
President Patrick Dolan said he was
very sorry that no conclusion had been
reached. MANY of the operators seem
to think that it would be humiliation
for them to make concessions" he as
serted. "The time to talk about hui
initiation has passed. They have abso-
lutely refused to meet our demands and
there is no other course for us to pursue.
We must continue the strike with un-
abated vigor."
In accordance with this statement
Secretary Warner mapped out an itin-
erary for new organizers that are to
be put In the field. Fayette City, Port
Royal, Charleroi, Belle Vernon, Vesta,
Wampum and the mining towns of
Mercer county are included In the list
It is proposed to keep at the work and
push organization with UNDATED vigor.
Would Cause Heavy Loss.
j. B. Zorbo declared that If the opera
tors should concede the 69-cent rate
some IL Of the largest would lose at
least $250,o00. This was not to be
thought Of. The proposal to call for a
general conference had been rejected
because 1t would be a waste of time so
far as Indiana and Illinois are concerned
and because the Ohio operators are anx-
ious to have the Pittsburghers either
lose their contracts or fill them at q
loss.
Camp Broken Up.
Pittsburgh, Pa, Aug. 25.-The camp
Of the striking miners, which has been
maintained for the past four weeks at
Sandy Creek in order to keep the min
ers from returning to work in that pit,
was broken up Tuesday morning and
tho 70 men were sent to their homes.
This action was taken by the miners
officials because the mine there is tight
~ closed and the strikers are fully in
sympathy with the movement for high
Or wages.
Awarded His Wages.
In the case of Thomas Deere against
the New York & Cleveland Gas Coal
company to recover wages retained, AL
derman s. j. Toole gave the plaintiff a
judgment for $4O.26. Deere sued for
wages alleged to be due from July 10 to
August 6. He is one Of the De Armit
men who joined the strikers at Plum
Creek, and his wages were declared for
feited under the ironclad contract.
Suits for wages have also been entered
against the same company by five
others. A hearing will be held by AL
Herman Toole next Monday mornino, az