The age-herald., 1900-10-15
STRIKE IS EXPENSIVE Mir. Watkins Says the Operators
 Carrot Agree. ALL EFFORTS PROVED UNAvAILlNG Some of the Individual Operators Will Lose Their Last Cent Before
 They Will Enter Into Any
 Agreement
ALL EFFORTS PROVED UNAvAILING

Scranton, Pa, October 14-In response for a request for a statement of his views on the answer of the United Mine Workers to the operators proposition, T. H. Watkins, president of the Temple Iron Co.,, which is largely interested in coal mining, tonight gave out statement in which he saves:
 MT. Mitchell apparently thinks that the mining operations rest in the hands of one or two persons notably Mir. Morgan or trust of some sort, which can decide the whole question: when, as a matter of fact, there are only three or four of the transpor- tation companies, in which any one con- cerned has any influence, and they do not represent 30 per cent of the whole anthra- cite tonnage. More than one hundred differ ent companies and individuals are interested in mining the total tonnage, and no one man can control or have the slightest in- luence over their action. Efforts have been made for years to get some plan to which II could agree, to control the tonnage, so hat fair prices could be secured, but effort liter effort has failed through failure to lgree on a plan that would not violate the avs. and to which all would agree.
 But MT Mitchell comes here and says in effect that no mine worker shall go to work lntil one operator does just exactly what he other one does, and that the Lehigh and Schuylkil men must have new basis before the men In the Lackawanna and Wy oming regions can go to work.
 There are some individual operators and some companies who will lose their last dol ar before they will enter into any arrange ment with another operator, will join In any arrangement to recognize the union by agreement. to any arrangement MT. Mitchell may dictate for a settlement of the strike.
 "The leaders of the organization, I trust, will soon their mistake in insisting upon any of their action by the companies and order the strike off.
 "The United Mine Workers will lay themselves open, if they have not already done so, to the charge of being the largest and most dangerous trust to the public welfare that has ever existed, and the organization will make the mistake of all others that have failed by going too far and using it's power to hurt the public as well as those directly interested.
 "Our company will be glad to discuss the matter with our employees when they are ready to meet with us with view of going back to work
 "The strike has already cost us great deal of money as well as loss of trade, which we may never regain in years. In the meantime soft coal miners are working night and day filling the place of the anthracite miners"
 Before giving out the statement, MT. Watkins submitted it to various operators, among them Superintendent Lathrop of the Lehigh Valley Coal Company at Wilkes barre, and it received unanimous support. The fact that J. P Morgan & Go. are allied with the Temple Iron Company and that MT. Watkins and MT Lathrop are chairmen of the operators committees in their re- spective departments, gives added impor- tance to the statement.
 A conference of the operators is to take place tomorrow afternon at 1 D. m, in the office of the Temple Iron Company. Its inn mediate purpose is not declared, but gener- ally speaking it is as good as certain that the counter proposition made by the miners Is to be considered.