The age-herald., 1899-07-04
KNIGHTS OF LABOR
 HAVE SESSION
Endorsed Cause of the IShkooda
 Strikers.
WALKER SCALE ADOPTED
Passed Resolution Sense of Which is That Price of Coal Mining Should Be Based on the Market
 Price of Coal.

The Knights Of Labor of Alabama and Tracy City, Tenn, officially known as Dis trict 6, held a convention in this city yes- terday for the purpose, principally, of dis eussing the strike which is now on at the ore mines of the Robinson Mining com pany at Ishkooda
 The outcome of it was that the action of the assembly at Ishkooda in going out on the strike, was endorsed, and the strikers were given the official sanction and aid of the whole district. The organization has plenty of money, it was said to put up a good fight for the Ishkooda miners if nec- essary. However, the executive committee of the district was instructed to act in con Junction with the local committee at Ish- kooda, in endeavoring to bring about a re- conciliation with the company.
 The convention met in the Bricklayers' hall on Twentieth street, between Second and Third avenues, yesterday morning. Master Workman J. w. Evans, R. W. Hen derson, colored. the secretary, and Dave Ieckie, financial secretary, being the other officers preaent. General Secretary J. w. Hayes could not attend the meeting and sentSa telegram to that effect
 Most of the morning session was devoted to the work of seating the delegates the committee on credentials attending to this work very carefully There were in all about seventy-five of them present
 Among the first business transacted was the report of c. P. Beddow, the attorney for the organization, in which he told how the Robinson Mining company had had twelve of its miners arrested during the progress of the strike, and how he had gotten all of them released and had enter ed suit against the company to recover damages. Master Workman Evans, A. J. oJit nf fln Af1,i tnr nfi cial organ of the assembly, and other off, cers, made their reports.
 The Wage scale Adopted
 At the afternoon session the scale Of wages adopted by the coal miners belong ing to the Knights of Labor in Walker county, was read and adopted. It is claim ed that there are eight ten mining as- semblies in Walker county, and that they met and agreed on scale which is higher than the one afterward adopted by the United Mine Workers. The Knights claim that they are much stronger in Walker than are the United Mine Workers, and that they have the right to say what the wages shall be, just as the Mine Workers are stronger at Pratt Blocton and some other places, and fix the wages at those places. While there is no clash between these two great labor organizations, they are fighting in the same district for prac- tically the same purposes, and there Is naturally a great deal of rivalry between them. The Knights claim that they are much the broader organization of the two, taking in all branches and crafts of labor.
 The Ishkooda matter was then taken up discussed in full and disposed of as stated above.
 During the discussion, the point was brought out and approved by the conven- tion, that it was not fair to base the wages for the coal miners on the price of pig iron, especially the wages in the mines which produce only domestic coal and have no iron furnaces to depend on. The following is the resolution they adopted on the sub ject:
 Should be Based on Market Price
 Resolved, That it is the sense of this convention that the price of digging do- mestic coal should be based on the market price of coal instead of iron"
 The following delegates to the national convention of Knights of Labor which meets in Boston next November, were eected: J. w Evans, the master work man of the district; A. J. O'Keefe, the ed- itor of the Arbitrator, and Secretary Rich ard Henderson. In the national conven- ton, the various districts are entitled to one delegate for every thousand members, and it will be seen that there are in Ala bama something over three thousand mem bers. The officers of the district expect that before November the organization will have grown to such an extent that one or two more delegates will be needed. The course of the Arbitrator was ap- proved and support of the district was pledged to the paper as the official organ The convention adjourned last night after a prolonged all day session.