Omaha daily bee., 1897-08-25
lU UPEN lHE MINES
Coal Operators Will at Once Proceed to Dig
Black Diamonds.
REJECT ULTIMATUM OF The MINERS
Will Not Pay the 69-cent Rata Pending
Arbitration.
OLD MEN MAY co TO WORK IF THEY WISH
If They Decline New Laborers Will Be
Imported.
.Wo SIDES FARTHER APART THAN EVER


tors meeting this afternoon the miners
uitmatum to return to work at the 60 cent
rate pending arbitration was rejected. The
operators will now carry out the plan
adopted at the Cleveland conference and will
open their mines at once. II the old men
will not accept their terms new ones will
be imported. The press committee has given
out a statement placing the responsibility for
the situation upon the miners officials.
EFFORTS AT SETTLEMENT FAIL.
The final effort to arrange a plan for end
ing the big ccal strike has proved failure
and the strikes goes on. At noon the confer
ence between a committee Of coal miners and
operators, national and district. adjourned
without date. The operators did not recede
from their original proposition to settle the
strike by arbitration and start the mines at
the 61h cent rate. The operators offered to
divide the difference between the "a and 60
cent rates, making the price at which the
mines st uld start G1h cents per ton. but
this was rejected. Then additional PROPOSE
tions were made One was to start the mines
without fixing any price for thirty days and
then to pay the rate agreed upon by the
board of arbitration. This was also refused
by the miners, and they said they had been
fooled too often % 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 board of arbitration to fix the price for
that time.
President Ratchford insisted that nothing
but the 69-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 it was decided to
end the conference.
President Ratchford had but little to say
on the matter, but gave out the following
statement:
I'VE have disagreed. Our proposition re-
mained unchanged. Besides proposition
to arbitrate. we made them a second one
along the lines Of bringing about general
conference of miners and operators 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"
ference, J. b. Zerb called meeting Of op-
orators for o'clock this afternoon to dis
cuss the situation and outline a plan for
future action
QUIET AT THE CAMPS.
Quiet prevails at the strikers camps
about the De Armitt mines. Both
sides are waiting for the decision
of the court in the cases OF the
five men arrested on Saturday morning The
sheriff does not want to go making
arrests until ne is sure the court VIII
sustain him, and the strikers don't want to
be arrested If the court will sustain the
sheriff in making the arrests. So a sort of
truce has come about There was no agree
ment of any kind, the strikers maintain
their right to go out in small groups, NOV
Ing about quietly so not to attract the
attention of the deputies If they can help
it, and the deputies maintain their posi-
ton of not allowing the strikers to march
by not seeing any of them who do march
and failing to recognize them as strikers
II they must them. This morning the
campers did not even go out in small
groups on account of G"!:Zlng rain. They
remained under shelter and passed an un-
eventful day. awaiting news OF the con-
ference between the operators and miners
officials In session at Pittsburg
The threatened evctions at Plum Creek
will not take place this week the COM
pany discovered error in the papers
served on the tenants, which made them
Illegal New papers are being prepared, and
the evictions will be made as soon they
can be served. Anticipating this, several
strikers have moved out.
Yesterday was payday at the Plum Creek
mine, and about 200 of the men received
their money. Pay was withheld from about
$50 men on account of the strike. The total
amount held back amounted to about 81 900
A number of the miners threatened to enter
suit for the amount due them.