The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-03-25
POWDER AND PAY DAYS
TWO STUMBLING BLOCKS IN THE
WAY OF A NINE SETTLEMENT.
Wage Scale Agreed To, hut the Miners
and Operators Have a Sharp
Tilt on These Two Points.
uecial to the Indianapolis journal.

Special to the indianapolis Journal.
TERRE HAUTE. Ind. March 24.-When
the joint committee of operators and
miners adjourned last night, after three
sessions that day, it was with the under
standing that to-day all the delegates to
the miners convention and all the opera
tors in town should be present and that an
open meeting be held. The request came
from the miners. The operators think the
miners representatives on the joint COM
mittee preferred that their fellow-miners
should hear the arguments of the opera
tors on the two questions on which the
controversy is likely TO proceed all mex
week. These are the rights to a weekly
pay day and to buy powder wherever they
please. The operators think the commit
teemen from the miners convention were
afraid to act on the propositions against
the sentiment of their fellow-miners. un-
less the latter should first hear the argu-
ments on both sides. On the other hand,
1t is said the miners had an Interior pur-
pose in view In calling for an open meet
ing. The miners had not believed that the
operators would ask to put in a written
wages contract a stipulation that the men
must buy their supplies from the employ
ing operator. and they wanted the public
to get hole Of that fact. Also, they wanted
the public 10 know that the operators were
taking the position that they would not
carry out the interstate agreement unless
the men waived the law of Indiana requir-
ing a weekly pay day and also bound them
selves in writing to buy from the company
store. Always heretofore the miners have
only verbally agreed to buy powder from
the operator at a fixed price, but now that
the powder trust is trying to run the local
powder company, which has factories near
here and is owned by operators, out of bust
ness, the operators have taken the unusual
step of asking for a signed agreement to
buy powder, oil and blacksmithing of the
operator. The joint committee had prac-
ticaIly agreed on all terms of the scale
when 1t was decided to go into the open
meeting. The leading prices follow:
Pick Mining-(Yardage) s1.66 in entries z
to 9 feet wide, and fve-eighths Of this in
entries II feet wide or more. Break
throughs shall be paid for at entry prices,
but none to be made between rooms with
out operators consent, Room turning, 81;
room necks II feet wide to be five-eighths
of the regular price.
Machine Mining-The prices are s1.19 at z
to 8 feet and "A cents at II feet; break
throughs at entry prices and room-turning
So and $1.S7 on the proportions named for
pick mining.
Day Work-Punching machine runner,
$3.50 per diem; helper. 1922; chain or bar
cutter runner, $2.S2 per diem; helper, 2.53.
Tonnage Work-Punching machine, 62 and
80 cents; chain machine, 5S1s and 3612 cents,
based on, respectively, screened lump and
run-of-mine.
Blacksmithing-One and one-fourth cents
on the dollar earned by the miners.
Day Labor-An advance Of 20 per centum,
4~0A.f fnr INN NUh h0l 0nn1Ua x
per diem.
The agreement. for day labor in machine
mines is with the understanding that there
shall be no day labor scale except where
there is what is known as deficient work,
that is, work in mines where the conditions
are such that a miner cannot make regular
wages at the price per ton scale.
When the open session began this morn
ing there were about seventy miners and
twenty operators present, with j. Smith
Talley presiding and Secretary Kennedy
of the miners acting as secretary. r. s.
Tenant, of this city, had been chosen by
| the operators to present their side OF the
| case. The two propositions under dis
| c~ussion, and as submitted by the operators,
are as follows:
Payments for all labor shall be made
twice per month, not later than the 10th or
18th Of each month.
That the price of powder. which Is now
81. 30 per keg, shall be advanced In proper
ton to the advance paid In the price OF
mining, the miners agreeing to buy their
powder from the operators
Mr.. Tenant argued that the enforcement
of the weekly pay law would work a hard
ship on the operators and cause them an
additional expense for bookkeeping that is
| not necessary. They felt that the miners
the weekly pay before there was a law.
He said that the law itself provided for this
waiver. and that by agreeing to the semi
monthly pay the miners would not De
violating the law, as some of them seemed
TO think. He claimed that it was an estab-
Iished fact that, as a rule, wage earners
were better off with fewer pay days than
with weekly pay days.
| upon the operators TO obey the spirit OF
the law. He said that the miners organl-
| zation- owed 1t to the wage earners or the
State who had secured the passage OF the
act not to give consent to its nulification.
A. M. Boyle, the Chicago operator. who
| is largely interested in Indiana mining
and who was the presiding officer at the re-
apolis, replied that the miners need not
| feel under special obligations to other labor
interests in this matter; that the miners
| should say to the members of other trades
| that they should first accomplish what the
miners had accomplished in securing the
eight-hour- day, the one thing above all
| others that labor was asking In THIS coun-
try.
]. w. Lackey, of Digger, said that the
| operators should show some spirit OF will
ingness to yield the point, inasmuch as the
/ miners had done so mucn III tudt iLHc loi
| the operators. He doubted the statements
| as to the amount of additional cost that
would be imposed on the operators by ex-
| ira bookkeeping, or the inconvenience that
would be entailed by the weekly pay day,
and dryly added that at some mines where
a 5 per cent. deduction was made for pay
| ing daily, il the men wanted their money
| there was no trouble about the bookkeep-
ing. Mr.. Lackey and Mr.. Boyle got into a
sharp controversy, Mr.. Boyle frequently
interrupting Mr.. Lackey until a miner
called him to order.
Mr.. Ogle said Mr.. Lackey had stated I'M
truths and Mr.. Lackey said the facts were
easily ascertained and he would not re-
| tort i'm kind by saying Mr.. Ogle had made
false statements.
| President Van Horn, OF the miners, and
| Mr.. Tenant talked on the powder ques-
ton. Mr.. Tenant said that Ii was the un-
Outstanding at the interstate joint confer
ence that when the operators granted the
14-cents a ton advance In the scale from
rs cents that they were to have the benefit
of the profit on the sale of powder and oil
and in the charge for b~lacksmithing. IL
that had not been the understanding the
operators would not have consented to the
advance.
The proposed advance in the price Of
powder from $1.75 by reason of the adj
vance in the price OF mining would be about
S5 cents a keg.
-
Gust. R0sberg,
The tailor. has removed to lie North Penn