Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-03-05
Miners Refuse Compromise on the
Third District Mine Run.
OPERATORS OFFER q CENT RAISE
The Miners However, Demand Three
Cents Above Present Price, and Will
Not Accept Less-Second District
About settIed-A Night Session.
From Fridays Daily.

committee was held last evening at
the city hall, in order to shorten the
total time which will be consumed in
attending to the work of making a
scale for the government of miners
and operators for the coming year.
Very little was accomplished, howev-
er, and the meeting adjourned at 10
o'clock with G. H. Morris, of Des
Moines, and his fellow operators in
the third sub-district enjoying spirit
ed debate with L. P. Joyce and other
miners from the same field, over a
half.cent. This seems like a small
matter to squabble over, but when it
is taken into consideration as affect
ing the price of mining coal for every
miner in the third district, its impor-
lance is readily seen.
No, Mine Run Scale.
The scale for mine run coal digging
which was brought up and temporari-
ly passed during the day for the pur-
pose of allowing the operators to fig
ure on the matter, was again taken
up in the evening meeting. AS dur
ing the daytime, the operators refus-
ed to raise the present price in the
second district farther above the pres
ent scale OF Sc 2-3 cents than to go
cents per ton, while the miners refus-
led to accept less than IS cents. A
vote was taken upon this matter at
the opening of the evening session and
the offer of the operators to pay so
cents was lost.
John P. Reese then announced that.
as no price had been made for mine
run coal none could be mined. This
lis equivalent to the ultimatum which
was cited yesterday by G. w. Traer,
|of the Whitebreast interests, who said
that should the miners refuse to grant
the operators price of 60 cents or
below Iowa would lose her mine run
coal trade and miner and operator
would thus be losers.
The Half Cont Trouble.
This matter was passed by. owing
to the fact that no agreement could be
reached, and the matter of the third
district scale was taken up. The last
years price Of 80 cents for screened
lump coal in Jasper and Polk counties
was adopted for this year, and the OPP
orators proposed to give 81 cents for
mine run coal, raise of two cents
over last years scale. The miners,
however, announced that they have
figures to justify them in asking So
cents and propose to make no reduc-
ton from that mark. Voting could not
decide the question, and finally Mr..
Morris, who had previously given the
chair temporarily to Mr.. Rosebrook,
|of Oskaloosa. another operator, moved
las a compromise that the scale be
|621h cents. The miners, thru John P.
Reese, said that they wished to be
considered fair and were willing to
compromise when by doing so they
were not doing themselves an injus-
tice, but as to taking less than 63
cents for mine run in the third dis
trict, they failed to consider it en-.
ltirely.
This was the situation when the
meeting adjourned, neither side being
willing to make the difference of hall
a cent on a ton of mine run. Mr.. Nor.
ris, for whom Mr.. Joyce works, and
has worked for several years, engaged
in a personal discussion with that gen.
tleman, and for time proceedings OF
the house were postponed, but neither
side seemed willing to agree, and the
meeting adjourned until this morning,
Some Prices Have Been Made.
Altho no agreement can be reach
ed as to the price to be paid for mine
run coal, some figures for other class
es Of coal have been settled upon
which demonstrates that something, al
least, is being done. Last evening the
miners accepted scale for screened
lump coal, in the first district. at 81
cents per ton, altho it is hardly prob
| able that they will be willing to lei