Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1897-07-24
THE STRIKE GROWING
More Men Join the Ranks Of the
Idle Miners.
PREDICTION OF A GOVERNOR.

West Virxfnfa's Chief Magistrate
Thinks the Trouble WIN BE Speedily
Settled by Arbitration - Debs and
Sovereign willing TO Take n Hand.
Pittsburg. July I4.-Thers IN a lulI
IN the miners strike In this district,
attributable to the fact that nearly
every mine In the district is idle. To
keep up the enthusiasm and prevent
the strikers from becoming lukewarm
In the cause. however. the officials have
arranged Tor = series OF meetings in
dinerent sections every day. Three
meetings. were held Monday at Ban
ming Fayette City and West Newton,
and at zach place resolutions were
adopted not to return to work until
the officials gave the order.
Yesterday 4 large meeting was held
at Snowden, on the Wheeling division.
and the men were unanimous In their
determination to stand firm for the 80
cent rate The miners on this division
fear that the company win soon begin
evicting them from their houses, and
intimate that IL this y attempted there
viii be trouble.
News reached the miners headquer-
tiers yesterday afternoon that the dig
gers In the Camel. Warner and Morgan
mines, Beaver county, had thrown
down their picks and Joined the strike
The three pits employ about 200 men.
The strike has also spread to Mercer
county. Five mines are idle In that
region. The men struck for an ad-
vance Of ten cents per ton An effort
was made yesterday to resume work
at the Eagle mine at Monongahela
city. 1t IL cooperative concern. but
the sentiment OF the majority OF the
stockholders was against resumption.
and II was decided to keep the nit
closed until the strike was settled.
delegation from Brownsville SAYS the
Knob. Beaumont, Umpire and ALBANY
mines have closed down. and the min
era have J0ined in the general strike.
with q determination to remain out
until the question OF wages Is salts
tactorily settled.
Governor Atkinson, OF West Virginia
accompanied by his wife and a number
OK state ofncials, spent the day In Pitts
burg. en- route to Canada. where they
VIII attend the convention of the ED
worth League. Concerning thu miners
strike he said:
The coal strike Is not Affecting West
Virginia very much. and DO not be-
lsvs the main body OF our miners win
30 out do not anticipate any trouble
whatsoever from the strike In our
state. and believe the trouble all over
the country will be speedily settled by
arbitration"
There is a bare possibility that the
Joint arbitration conference may yet
lead TO the termination OF the miners
/ strike on the basis OF the true and
uniformity agreement proposed by
President DeArmitt, OF the New York
and Cleveland Coal Gas company, last
year. but which failed for the reason
that the 81 per cent. OF the operators
In this district required by DeArmitt
could not be secured. Two sessions of
the arbitration board were held yes
terday, representatives from the states
Of Pennsylvania. Ohio. West Virginia,
Indiana and Illinois being present At
the afternoon session President De-
Armit appeared before the board and
told OF the conditions which exist from
his point of view. He recited the his
tory OF the miners struggles for bet
ter conditions. He told OF the great
uniformity movement In 1856, which
tailed OF Its purpose.
IL has developed that a number OF
the operators have been quietly plan
ning q coup which is expected to bring
dismRy to the miners. 1t Is the inten-
ton to at once equip the mines with
machines and do away with a great
many diggers. When the mines are
ready to start. miners will be imported
and put to work under heavy guard,
ana the premises barricaded. With the
co-operation OF the other operators
J. A. Beidler. OF the Webster Gas Coal
company. located on the Monongahela
river. Will take the initiative. The
operators claim this plan becomes nee
essary because the West Virginia peo-
pie are gobbling all OF their contracts.
Il goes without saying that the diggers
VIII resort to every possible means to
prevent the carrying out OF the pro-
posed scheme. The Sickle Hollow
tragedy OF 1894. when seven striking
miners were killed, is likely to be re-