The Oskaloosa herald., 1900-10-11
The END is IN SIGHT.
An Apparent Crisis in the Great
Coal Strike.

Philadelphia, Pa, Oct. 6.-Friday's
decision of the individual coal opera
tors to offer a ten per cent. increase in
wages to the striking mine workers is
regarded throughout the anthracite
region as the beginning of the end of
the strike. Nearly all the individual
operators made announcement of their
willingness to grant the increase, and
notices to this effect will, it is expect
ed, be posted at the various inde-
pendent collieries to-day. Some have
already been posted. 1t is fully be-
lieved that the few operators who have
not yet expressed their intention on
the subject will fall in line with the
others and grant the increase. Accord
ing to some of the operators powder
will be sold to the miners at $1.50 per
keg, instead of $2.75, as heretofore
charged, but this reduction will be
taken into consideration in figuring
the net ten per cent. advance. No
other concessions to the strikers are
limited at, and, in fact, it has been
openly declared by some of the Off
Gals of the big companies that no fur
ther concessions will be granted.
1t is the general opinion that a
great majority of the striking mine
workers will be satisfied to accept the
offer and return to work, but they ex-
press determination to await the de-
cision of President Mitchell, of the
United Mine Workers. Mr.. Mitchell
will give no indication of his probable
action in the matter beyond his Oft
repeated assertion that the men them
| selves must decide in convention all
questions bearing on a settlement of
the differences with the operators.
He, however, would not state when
such convention will be called by him.
The opinion prevails that he will
wait until every operator expresses
a willingness to grant an increase.
Meantime arrangements are proceed
ing for strikers parades and mass
meetings at Shenandoah to-day and
at Scranton next Wednesday.
In the meantime, the men now on
strike, said to number $4,000, are not
wavering under the proffered increase
In wages.
In the Lackawanna and Wyoming
districts not a mine is working. The
conditions remain about the same in
the Lehigh valley region, while in
the Schuylkill district more men have
laid down their tools and quit.
Individual Operators Yield.
Scranton. Pa, Oct. 6.-According TO
the statement of President i. II. Wat
kins, of the committee which went to
New York to demand better terms for
the individual operators, the latter
will to-day join with the big COM
panies in posting notices of the ten
per cent. offer which it is hoped will
end the strike. The announcement
was made at the conclusion of a meet
ing of the individual operators held
in two sections simultaneously, in this
city and in Hazleton.
Hazleton, Pa. Oct. GA. Pardee &
Co, operating the Cranberry and the
Crystal Ridge mines, and employing
about 1000 men, posted a notice at its
collieries Friday afternoon of an adj.
vance Of ten per cent. in wages, The
notice reads:
This company makes the following an
nouncement to its mine employees: 1t will
adjust rates of wages so as to pay to its
mine employees on and after October /, and
until further notice, a net increase of ter
per cent. on the wages heretofore re-
ceived.
"Note.-It is understood in the foregoing
that powder viii be sold to miners for
$3.50 per keg, and that the difference be-
tween this rate and the old rate of $2.7i
shall be taken into account in figuring the
net advance of ten per cent. noted above
for this class of work"
This is the first individual operator
in the Lehigh region that has granted
this advance, and it is believed to in
dictate that all of the individual op'
orators have agreed to pay the ad'
vance. A meeting was held in Par
dee's Office of the general superintend'
ents of all the individual collieries in
this region. 1t is not known what &C,
ton was taken, but it is believed they
discussed the question of posting sim
liar notices at all collieries.