Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-03-07
SCALE FOR THE FIRST
Joint Scale Committee Takes Up
Knotty Questions.
ADOPTS MOST OF DAY WAGE SCALE

This Matter in the Southern Field
Nearly SettIed-Several ResoIu-
tons Adopted-Session Last Night
to Consider Scale.
The members of the scale committee
have gone to work on the scale for the
first, or southern, sub-district, with
view of settling the scale in that ter
ritory at once, or rather as soon as
possible. This sub-district has been
behind the others nearly all the time,
owing to the fact that it's committees
could not agree on reports on the dead
and deficient and day wage scale. The
miners feel that they have received I'M
just decisions in that field in past con-
ventions, but say they have come to
stand for what they think is right this
year. Yesterday afternoon, while the
work of adopting resolutions to incor-
porate into the agreement was going
merrily on, the first district operator
delegates conceived the idea that they
were being sighted. The representa-
tives of the other districts said that
this was decidedly not the case, but
in order to preserve good feeling 1t
was moved that night session of the
committee be held and that nothing be
taken up then except the troubles in
the first district.
Night Session.
This was carried, and accordingly
session was held after supper, lasting
from o'clock till IL o'clock, mid
night, and some of the questions which
have defied the efforts of the small
committees were decided. Others
were left, however, which will require
some time for adjustment land on which,
judging from appearances, the two
sides are now as far divided as they
were at the beginning of the conven-
ton.
knotty Questions.
Under this head might be classed
the entry driving and room turning.
On the other hand, the questions re-
ferred to may be brought up at some
session and settled comparatively
quickly. This is not to convey to idea
that they are "railroaded" thru, but af-
ter certain amount of discussion,
during which both sides learn to I'M
derstand each other thoroly, some way
of amicably settling all the questions
has thus far been discovered
The truth of the matter seems to be
that the matter upon which the COM
mittee is working now is one of the
most knotty ones which has confronted
it during the Joint convention. The
conditions which govern the operators
and miners in that field are different
entirely from those which influence
other districts. The operators in a
part Of this field are in competition
with the operators of Missouri, but
owing to the fact that Missouri is not
tnoroly organized that states miners
are not paid as high prices as are the
Iowa miners. Nevertheless, the oper-
ators claim, their coal goes in the same
markets as the output of the Missouri
mines, the latter being produced at a
lower price than the operator of this
state can get. The operators in this
convention therefore use this fact as
an argument in favor of lowering of
prices, or at least against an increase.
Machine Prices Settled.
The machine mining price, which
has caused so much discussion during
the convention of the joint scale
committee, has been settled. The
loading prices have been fixed at the
same place as last years scale pro-
vided, and last evening the day wage
scale for the machine runners and
helpers was decided upon as the same
as last year.
A resolution was introduced yester-
day afternoon providing that opera
tors, when they choose, can change
from pick mine basis to machine
mine basis and pay the same prices
as are now in vogue for the different
machines used. 1t was decided I'm
necessary to make such resolution,
as this is fully understood, that no
discrimination is to made against any
operator wishing to make such a
change, provided he pay the scale
price.
One machine matter was left unset
tied, that in regard to the scale to be
paid in mines using the machine last
used by the Edon Coal and Mining
Co., of which w. r. Daum, of this city,
is superintendent. This was held
over until today pending investigation
on the part of the operators.
The Truck Store.
During the adoption sof resolutions
yesterday, resolution No. III, of the
Des Moines agreement, was brought
up, which reads as follows: 'This
agreement shall be based on cash pay
ments, after deducting mine expenses,
accepted orders, house rent, fuel and
organization dues" The miners OBJ,
| jected to the clause, accepted ORDERS
and long discussion was entered in
to on the evils of the company store.
This is, according to one of the state
officials of the miners, the greatest
evil the miner has to contend with. OF
course, there are some places, and
the miners admit it, where the EN-,
ployes are not asked to trade at com.
pany stores or live in company houses,
which bears on the same subject. On
the other hand, however, according to
the miners, there are some mines in
this state where the owners require
the miners to trade at the company
store and live in the company &
houses. If the miner violates this IL