The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-03-01
Advance VIII be Two and One
Half Cents,
FOR EVERY TON OF COAL
SlosS Iron and Steel Company
First to Announce.
PRICE OF IRON FROM So TO $3.50
Miners Will Examine Books of Ternes-
see Company and Announcement Will
Likely Be Made Today-Other
Companies to Follow.

*s.s*s*...
The long looked for advance in the =
wages of the coal miners of the Birming =
ham district has been announced, and =
will go into effect today. The advance =
= will be 21a cents for every ton of coal =
mined, and though 1t is not probable "
that this raise will be made in all the "
mines at once, it is thought that within =
the next month or two 1t will be made
effective for every coal miner in the dis
trict. The price heretofore has been =
forty cents a ton, and from now on it
= will be forty-two and one-half cents.
***%+** ***&*&&*&.p& /.
The Sloss Steel and Iron company was
the first to announce this raise. Yesterday
afternoon about l o'clock 1t had posted at
all of their mines bulletins to the miners
saying that the new rate would go into eff
feet today. And last night there was re-
Joicing among the miners accordingly
Inc Sloss company has an agreement
with its miners that whenever there is as
much as fifty cents increase in the price
of No. 1 foundry pig iron that the wages
and one-half cents for each fifty cents raise
in the iron. For the past six months the
price of No. l has been varying from S. to
$780, But now that the price has gone up
to over $3.50 the miners are entitled to a
raise themselves. This raise will increase
the pay rolls of the Sloss company about
$4,000 month.
tennessee Company VIII Make Raise
General Manager Mccormack of the Ten
nessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company
announced yesterday that he thought it
very probable his company would make
an advance in the price of mining coal, GO
ing into effect today But according to the
agreement which the miners have with the
company, the announcement of the raise
must come from committee of the miners
whose duty it is to examine the books of
the company every month. The Tennessee
companys contract is that the average
price of iron for all grades sold shall be
considered. For the past six months this
price has varied from $40 to $3.50 per ton,
and on this basis the miners received forty
cents a ton for mining coal
But now that iron has jumped, the min
ers' committee, when it makes it's examina-
ton Saturday, will find that the prices of
iron during February have been ranging
from $3.50 to $50, and they will declare a
two and one-half cent raise in their wages
1t is thought that the other mining COM
panies in the district will be compelled to
follow the lead of the two big companies,
and that the increase will be general all
over the district. AS the daily output of
coal from the Birmingham district amounts
to something like $4,000 to 1000 tons, it will
be seen that the increase in wages will
amount to from 1925 to $3.50 per day. In
other words, about $4,000 per working
month of twenty-five days.
On the first day of last July the miners
of the district received a two and one-half
cent raise exactly similar to the one they
will get today; five cent raise in the last
six months. The miners are getting
their share of the returning prosperity.