The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-10-15
SPEND THEIR LAST DOLLAR.
Anthracite Operators Are Prepared
to Go tn the Limit

Anthracite Operators Are Prepared
to Go to the Limit.
SCRANTON, Pa, Oct 14-In response
to request for a statement as to his
views on the answer of the United Nine
Workers to the operators proposition T.
II. Watkins, president of the Temple
Iron company, which Is largely inter-
ested in coal mining, tonight gave out a
statement in which he says, in part:
We will give our men reasonable time
to return to work trusting that they will
see the mistake of being guided and in
huenced by men, who, however honest
and sincere they may be, are unable to
advise them intelligently and for their
best good, because of the conditions con-
trolling the trade Mr. Mitchell appar-
entity thinks that the control of the min
ing operations rests in the hands of one
or two persons, notably Mr.. Morgan, or
that there is trust of some sort, which
can decide the whole question, when as
matter of fact, there are only three Or
four of the transporta ton companies in
which any one concerned has any in
huence and they do not represent 80 per
cent of the whole anthracite tonnage
More than 100 different companies and in
dividuals are interested in mining the
total tonnage and no one man can con-
troll or have the slightest influence over
their action.
1.-THE one thing the companies are ap-
parently agreed upon and that is that
they will not agree. Efforts have been
made for years to get some plan to which
all would agree to control the tonnage
so that fair prices could be secured for a
product which requires so large an in
vestment of money with such a great
risk to the labor as we'll as the capital,
employed but effort after effort has fail
ed through failure to agree on a plan
that would not violate the laws and to
which all would agree.
But Mr. Mitchell comes here and says
In effect that no mine workers shall go
to work until every operator does lust
exactly what the other one does and that
the Lehigh and Schuyll1ill men must have
a new basis before the men in the Lacka-
wanna and Wyoming regions can go to
work
There are some individual operators
and some companies who will lose their
last dollar before they will enter into anv
arrangement with other opera tors or
will JOIN In an arrangement to recognize
the union by agreeing to any arrange
ment Mr.. Mitchell's organiza ton die
tates for settlement of the strike.
The leaders of the organization will
soon, trust, see their mistake in in
sisting upon any further concessions by
the operators and order the strike off.
The United Mine Workers will lay them
selves 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 its power to hurt the
public as we'll as those directly inter-
ested.
Our company will be glad to discuss
the matter with our employees when they
are ready to meet us with a view to go
ing back to work without regard to what
Scruylkill operators may do
Another prominent operator, E. L. Full
Ter, in an interview tonight said the
operators are not called upon to do any
thing except continue their patient policy
of waiting a reasonable length of me
for their men to return to work
There is nothing before the operators,
either collectively or individually said
Mr.. Fuller. Eve, or most of US, offered
our men an increase in wages, address,
ing a notice to the same effect to cur
respective employees. We have heard
nothing from them as yet