The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-07-15
SECOND WEEK OF THE CONTEST
OPENS VERY FAVORABLY
FOR THE MINERS.
MUCH DEPENDS ON WEST virginia.
CuItfvating Their Operatives for
Just Such an EmerSency-Or-
ganixers to Be Sent There.

Pittsburg, Pa, July 11.-TOday marks
coal miners strike and already it gives
promise of being one of the greatest wage
struggles in the history of this country.
Eight days ago the coal operators in
this district and the miners themselves
little dreamed that within one short week
such an era of general suspension could
be wrought as now exists i'll the btu
minous coal mining industry. The mouth
Of the many coal tipples that dot, the
Monongahela, Allegheny, Youghiogheny
and Peters creeks valleys and the val
leys of Toms and Miller's run were open
and turning out thousands and thousands
of tons of the best coal that enters into
the competitive market of the world
Now, all is changed The vast concerns
are like SO many graveyards on the hill
side basking in the shade; there is an
army of $4,000 unemployed who are anX-
iously waiting for a settlement of the
strike; on nearly every railroad track
leading to the mines there stand empty
cars, apparently anxious to be loaded,
that their burdens may be carried to the
ports along the lake.
The success that has attended the
movement has greatly elated the miners
and during the next few days every cf-
fort will be made to bring out the men in
the few mines that are still working. This
will be difficult task, but they express
confidence in their ability to make the
suspension complete before the week is
forty-eight hours old.
From the best information Obtainable.
the Pittsburg operators are IN no hurry
to have the difficulty adjusted; so many
of them had stocks on railroad sldlngs
which they held for an advance. Much
of this was disposed of Saturday at n
,,rnEt A prnpnipnpt OnprotOr said
today that it would take another week
to determine the exact state of the mar
ket and by that time general cleaning
up will have taken place. All interests
will be ready to begin business on a new
basis and probably with a higher price.
"This whole thing will result in COM
promise" said another prominent opera
tor "The operators are in position to
, stand it for some time and | believe the
Amners are in about the same condition"
8 Just now the greatest obstacle in the
way of success of the miners is the actlv-
ity of the diggers in the West Virginia
fields. They are working night and day
and are getting ready to supply all the
coal that is needed. They are repeat
ing what they did three years ago. when
II general suspension was declared. AT
that time there were number of opera
tors in the mountain states that were on
the verge of bankruptcy. The general
suspension was declared and there came
n great demand for coal at prices that
insured a big profit. The operators raj
lied around them large number of men
whose friendship and support they have
encouraged EYER since. The operators
profited bv thousands and thousands of
dollars. When the strike was declared
n failure they balanced their. books and
found things on the proper side of their
ledgers. They realized that they owed
much of their profit to the miners and
rewarded them for it. On every succeed
ing pay day the faithful miners were paid
bonuses and naturally the best of feeling
prevails among the employers and en-
ployes,
This is the condition of affairs the or
ganizers that will go into the West Nir-
ginia district this week will have to en-
counter 1t is argued by the miners
that there are more men out in that sec
ton than there were three years ago
and they express the greatest confidence
in bringing them out if they can get ears.
This failing. the railroad organizations
will be appealed to. This plan OF cam,
paign has been outlined by the national
officers. and the developments of the
week will he watched with interest. The
miners officials say that the success of
the movement depends upon the action
of the West Virginia miners. They ar
que that so many men in the littsburg
district who were not affiliated with their
organization sacrificed thousands and
ioncd the movement. There are Il num-
Der of operators in the Pittsburg dis
trict who have expressed a willingness
TO pay the price demanded, hut the min
ers have said nay. They will insist that
a majority of the operators in the dis
trict pay the 69-cent rate or none. This
is the ultimatum of the national officials,
from which there is no appeal. Ii is
known that some of the miners officials