The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-08-19
AN INCREASED NUMBER OF MEN
REPORTED WORKING IN THE
OAK HILL NINE.
.A COOPERATIVE SCHEME PROPOSED
n. armitt Said to BE Maturing q
Plan to Divide the Profits with
the Miners-Many Requests
for Food ARE Made.

night. and after denOunclnS in' ~
pany's action formally declared the S'rlkt
at Oak Hill on and decided to remain OUT
until the 90 cents per ton Is pad.
Notwithstanding this action there were
more men at work today i'll the nlne
than on any day since the marchcrS APP
reared in the ncighborhood. At lcaSt
twenty men went into the pit AT > O'Clock
this morning who were not there yeStcr-
day. Nearly all of them wer" among
the number who refused cash for thcit
check weighman slips yesterday alter
noon. and few of them were at inc
Newton meeting last night.
The Pound parade ut the camp OF me
strikers in Turtle creek brought to lhe
commissary provisions hardly enough lor
one meal.
There are about 300 men and two
bands in the camp. and after their usual
morning march on the Oak Hill mine
the were served short rations.
Vice President Mckay. who is III
charge of the camp said that the lardrr
would be replenshed before noon.
At Plum creek the force was increased.
The full quota of 2S3 men went i'll be
fore Z o'clock and the De Armtts are
jubilant. The striking marchers watch
ed them 90 in, but they still hold that
they will be out in a few days.
~
change in the situation since Monday:
The strikers continue their marches, and
about twenty-five men continue work.
The output of the Oak Hill mines yes
tertlay was four cars. Sandy creek pro-
duccd three cars and, Plum creek about
twenty-three cars. according to the men.
but the company officials say they ship
ped thirty-One cars.
There is story being discussed about
the mines and on the street corners III
Pittsburg that the New York and Cl2vc-
land Gas Coal company has under cJnSll-
Grafton at least. if it has not already
adopted it, plan that is entirely new
as applied to coal mining. 1t is nothing
more nor less than sharing the profits
annually with. the miners. The plan
will not he put into effect however. until
after the strike. and those claiming to
have knowledge of the purposes of the
company in this respect say it is copied
after the system in force in Wanamak-
er's stores in Philadelphia and New York
and other large retail establishments in
the east.
The division will be according to the
earnings of the men. The man who
digs the most coal will get the larger
share. 1t is proposed TO reta in the present
form of contract binding the diggers to
work for 10 cents less ton than the
miners are paid at other mines in III"
district so as to enable the company TO
compete with other mines in the market.
and their being allowed to share the
profits is designed as an additional com
pensation, they being given steady work
and being paid twice IL month III cash.
This plan. it is claimed, will enable the
company to select their men from the
best miners in the district and to encOur"
age the building of homes by the miners
near the work. There will be no change
in the present system of working the
mine. The check weighmen will be re-
tanned and the men will still have their
pit committees.
Il. Il. De Armitt was seen regarding
the proposed new plan, and said he would
rather not talk about it at present. as
it was not fully decided upon and would
not go int effect until after the strike.
Several threatening letters have been 70
ceived by President De Armitt recently,
he says, some of them menacng him per-
sOnally and others the property of the
company. To these no attention has
been given other than to take precau-
tionary measures lest Il person of disor-
dered mind may be prompted to carry
out the threats that have been made.
Coal is still plentiful here and prices
are steady. There is still large guam
tity of coal in the river available for
rail shipment, but much of it is held for
emergencies and is not being sold. and
is regarded by the operators as almost
certain that Il break will he made by
the miners at several places within the
next ten days.
The reason given for this view is that
there is great restitution among the
families in the villages about the mines.
The contributions from the public have
been devoted largely to the feeding of
the men at the camps. while the women
and children nave been neglected.
Appeals from the officials come from
the villages every day for the aid of
families of men who are at the various
camps. Operators think the strike will
be continued at certain places as long
as the contributions are so liberal. But
the restitution which prevails in the
villages is relied upon to induce the
men to accept the offers which have
been made by the operators until such
time az a more acceptable agreement
can be made.
AS high as 80 cents. 10 cents more
than is demanded. has been offered by
some operators whose contracts specify
coal of a certain grade and which is
only obtainable at fancy figures.
Ex-National Vice President Miller of
the United Mine Workers association
entered suit today for $4,000 damages
against L. b. De Armitt, superintendent
OF the Turtle creek mines of the New
York and Cleveland Gas Coal COMPANY
for alleged malicious prosecution. In
addition to serving injunctions on Mi.
Ter, Mr.. De Armitt had him arrested
on charges of riot and unlawful assem-
blage. These charges were not sns-
tanned at the preliminary hearings of
the case before Justice Simmons. and
the case was dismissed
The fact just made public that tho
men at work in the Spring Hill mine of
Dempster, Boyd & Co. were getting 80
cents, has further complexities the
strike situation. This rate has henn
made since July.
An effort will be made by the strilers
to get the miners out. but the latter sar
they will continue at work until forced
out. Aoieeu
Inc latest movement of the strikers
indicate that the miners leaders have
abandoned all hope of drawing the cole
region into the strike and have adontad
a plan of using the cokers to assist tha
strikers in a more profitable way.
Committees have been in the coke 20
gion all week collecting money and nro-
visions: The headquarters of the dis
trict officials of the United Mine WIS uis
ers in the city are still besieged With
piti1ul appeals for aid for the starving
women ana children of the strikinS