The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-07-07
many MINERS NOW OUT
But the Strike Is By No Means a
Unanimous One.
ssrRIKE LEADERS CONFIDENCE.
They Declare That the Struggle win
y soon Become GenoraI, While the
4 Operators Assert That Such a.Ciaim
IL Ridiculous,


+, Operators Assert That Such a.Ciaim
Is Rldlculous.
q Pittsburg, July 7.--The strike order
pf the national executive board Of the
United Mine Workers of America was
pbeyed by from 10000 to $1,000 of the
II, 900 miners in thes Pittsburg district
yesterday The great struggle is now
bn In earnest, and the developments of
the next few days will determine the
I buccess or failure Of the fight for uni
form mining rate. Pittsburg is the
pivotal pointin the five states engaged
In the contest, and the success of the
local officials in their efforts to secure
"A general suspension in this district
will have an important bearing on the
outcome of the movement.
, While 1t is estimated that at least
} two thirds of the miners have thrown
down their picks, enough men are still
Z at work, however. to seriously impair
The chances unless they can ultimately
be brought out. This President Dolan
confidently claims can be done. The
r operators, on the other hand, are in
no wise disconnected, and assert that
the strike cannot succeed.
The first break in the operators
ranks was made yesterday afternoon
by ]. W. Steen, Of the o. 1. G. mine, at
Rossvllle. The diggers refused to work
hnd the mine closed down. but a. notice
was posted that the 60 cent rate would
be paid. II is not likely that the Off
cials will allow the men. to work until
a majority Of the operators have
agreed to the miners demands.
According to estimates Of the miners
officials SO railroad mines are idle and 26
are still In operation. They reported
that In number Of cases they had
heard no news from certain mines, and
take It for granted in many cases that
they are not in operation. The miners
officials say the operators will claim
mine to be in operation as long as
there are but two men at work.
The operators claim that the Pan
Handle mines. operated by MA. Han
na where the ironclad agreement is in
force, worked as usual yesterday The
miners, on the other hand, maintain
that the entire Millers and Toms Run
district, where these mines are located,
Is out on strike. The operators them
selves admit that there were not the
usual number Of men at work in the
Bnowdcn and Gastonville mines, oper-
ated by the Pittsburg and Chicago com-
pany, where the ironclad Is also in
force.
A fair estimate shows that there are
about 1000 of the 1900 railroad miners
now out. A list Of the mines idle along
the rivers could not be obtained here,
and reports concerning the river situa-
Non are conflicting. The operators as
sert that the river mines are nearly
nj running, while the miners officials
claim they are all idle. Specials from
Monongahela City say that 5000 out
Of the 5000 river miners are out.
w. p. DeArmitt, president Of the
i, New York g. Cleveland Gas Coal COM
pany, was emphatic in his statements
that the strike would be failure.
1--WE had more. men at work today"
said he last night, than any day for
humber of years after holiday. l at
, tribute this to the fact that the men
came to work because they did not
care to be Identified with the move
ment More than 25 mines were work.
Ing in the Pittsburg district today"
=. AT the miners headquarters Presi-
nent Dolan was apparently in the best
uf humor. He had received reports
from nearly every part of the district,
knd seemed pleased with the'prospects
~sMore miners will join the movement
before the end Of the week" said he
last night "and I am perfectly salts
NED with the progress made Yet there
wsrc some mines that I hoped would be
Idle that were running today"
In West Virginia the miners have
been slow in responding to the strike
order A dispatch today says that a
general strike in the state is not prob
able. The men are not organized, and
they are inclined to regard the strike
elsewhere as favorable TO their changes
for securing plenty Of work at good
prices while 1t is pending. Great pres
sure is being brought to Dear upon
them by the United Mine Workers
officials to Join the strike, but so far
without success. The impression among
both operators and miners Is that West
Virginia will be able 10 supply the de-
mand for coal in the event Of pro-
longed strike, and that the operators
will be justified In offering the miners
Inducements to remain at work, as
they did in 1904. Chief Mine Inspector
Paul says that he does not look for
much response to the order. He says;
''If the West Virginia miners remain
at work during the strike in other
states new markets will open UP for
West Virginia GOALS, which West Vir.
ginia operators can hold after the ter.
mination of the strike. During the
strike of 1894 the operators were pushed
to supply the demand for coal and were
able 10 give the miners bonuses to re.
main at work"
This argument has had great effect
with the miners, and the United Mine
Workers officials may have great diff
ficuty in persuading them to join the
strike This applies especially to the
Fairmount, -Kanawha and New Rivel
regions.