Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1897-07-15

| PTTTSBURG, July lathe proverbs
calm before the storm is likely to be
carried out in the miners strike situa.
ton. Throughout the day everything
in the district had peaceful look. All
the mines but two or three were closed
down and both miners and operators ap.
peared TO be resting on their oars, as it
were.
Last night, however, it developed that
q number of operators have been quietly
planning q coup which is expected to
bring dismay to the miners. It is the
intention 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 i'm
ported and put to work under heavy
guard and the premises barricaded after
the manner pursued by the Carnegies
during the great strike of 1892.
There is bare possibility that the
joint arbitration conference may yet
lead to the termination of the miners
strike on the basis of the "true uniform
ity" agreement proposed by President
DeArmitt of the New York and Cleve-
land Gas Coal 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 Sc
cured. Two sessions of the arbitration
board were held yesterday, representa-
tives from the states of Pennsylvania,
Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana and Hi.
nois being present. At tho afternoon
session President DeArmitt appeared
before the board and told of the condi.
tions which exist from his point of view.
He recited the history of the miners
struggles for better conditions. He told
of the great uniformity movement in
1886, which failed of its purpose
Mr.. DeArmitt said:
eff the operators Of the Pittsburg dis
trict will abolish their company stores,
use uniform screen, give honest
weight, 1000 pounds of coal for ton,
pay cash every two weeks, will leave
1t to any committee to settle the price
of mining and pay it, no matter how
high, provided all my competitors pay
the same price. Unless these conditions
can be brought about I will not agree to
abolish the contract with my men, nor
can afford to do So"
Mr.. DeArmitt pointed to the fact that
his men We're working when almost
every other mine in the district was
idle. He said he fully intended to pay
his men the district price whenever the
other operators will meet his terms. If
true uniformity was secured here, how.
ever, it would so involve the interests of
the other bituminous states, he said,
that ultimately there would have to be
a chain Of uniformity agreements in all
the states that would cost much money
and require considerable time to &C.
complish.
President Dolan and Secretary War.
ner Of the Mine Workers association
were before commission and recited their
grievances. They disputed much that
Mr.. DeArmitt had said and questioned
his sincerity at this time. They claimed
that when 30 per cent of the operators
had been secured for uniformity De-
Armitt agreed to it, but later he found
a technical loophole and awaited him
self of it to repudiate his original
proposition. The board will meet De.
Armitt again and will endeavor to get
Of induc;ng ~ purpose
-. -sum to make another
--stetnpt to secure true uniformity as
outlined by the former at the confer
ences,