The bee., 1901-03-14

~ VII ~ SblIhS anu UiO up buCAi
mines and thus prevent plaintiffs
from operating their business; /;
that plaintiffs have already been
put to great expense in paying
guards to protect their property
from destruction by defendants; ;
that they have contracts with
their employees for fixed periods
of time and that said defendants
and their confederates are seek
ing to interfere with said con-
tracts by inducing their employees
to quit work before the expira-
ton of said time agreed upon.
There are several other allega-
tions along the same line.
This suit is based very largely
upon an agreement entered into
at Central City, the 18th day of
April, 1900, by and between the
defendant to this suit. That
agreement was signed by j. ID.
Wood, President District No. %;
@. Barnaby, Vice President; W.
j. Campbell, Secretary, and G.
w. Purcell, Member N. Ex. B.,
in behalf of the miners; and by
l. p. Bernard, President; W. G.
Duncan, Vice President, and
Guy M. Deane, Secretary, on the
part of the operators. The agree
ment was as follows:
THE CENTRAL KENTUCKY DISTRICT
AGREEMENT.
CENTRAL CITY, KY, April Is, 1900
The operators and Miners of the
Western Kentucky Coal Field, in
Joint Session, Hereby Adopt as the
Agreement for the Ensuing Year
Ending March 81, 1901, Central City
Agreement of 1899, Without change,
Except as follows:
RESOLVED, The price of mining
per ton over the District Standard
Screen and all other rates Of wages
fixed therein, shall be increased
1885 per cent.
The price per ton for Mine Run OF
Fordsville block coal shall be fixec
by test.
Both parties to this agreement
eoncede the fairness to all concerned
of the principle of the equalization
of wages under like conditions ir
the same competitive district, and
with this principle 1t is agreed,tha
the scale of wages hereinbefore fix. I
shall be sapplanted by new scale
1 equivalent under like conditions Il
any rate of wages in excess of this
scale which the u. NJ. w. Il A. ma,
enfo<ce uniformly throughout thil
| Western Kentucky District, but thil
new scale in no event shall be Il
excess OF the Indianapolis scale o.
1900; and further. in the event Of ths
/ non-union mines In this Westcrr
Kentpeky competitive district rep
ressnting not less Shan 50 per cent o
the normal output of said non-unior
mines, being.on strike, and elosee
down 80 that no coalis produced fol
thirty t3o) consecutive days, ther
shall the scale hereinbefore fixed b,
supplanted by scale of 80 cents pei
ton for mining over the distric
standard screen and the rates fixeC
in the Indianapolis scale of 1900 fol
all other labor take effect at the ax,
piration of the said thirty days, anC
continuing during the period of sale
strike, shut down and non-produc-
tion of coal.
The reference in that contract
is to the mines Of Hopkins county
which have all the time been out
of the union, and which mines
are still non-union. Here is q
proposition, a confederation or q
conspiracy to force the mines Of
this county to close down
whether they wish to do so OF
not. In the event the mines OF
this county are compelled to
close down for thirty days, con-
secutively, SO that not more than
20 per cent of the.usual amount
Of coal shall be mined, then the
union miners are to have an ad-
vance of 5 cents per ton on all
coal mined in this district.
1t is an agreement between
the union operators and the
union miners of other counties
that they are to force the non
Il