Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-01-21
COAL DIGG[RS CONFER
National Gathering of the United
Mine Workers Now in Ses.
Sion at indianapolis.
MANY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS UP
Wage Rates of Mining for the Next
Twelve .fopnths Is One
OF Them.

indianapolis, Jan. 21.-The United
Mine Workers of America met here in
annual convention today. One thous-
and delegates were present from
Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio and In
diana.
Indianapolis. Jan. 21.-The thir-
teenth annual convention ofSthe Unit
ed Mine Workers of America began
NJ 10 a. M in Tomlinson hall, John
Mitchell presiding< The officers hope
that the work before the convention
can be completed by Feb. l. There
are about 900 delegates, representing
LII local unions and 1S9,331 menu
bers. A large number of the dele
gates from Ohio. Indiana, Illinois and
Pennsylvania are in the city. Dur
ing the convention officers will be
elected and recomme enadtions received
and acted upon President Mitchelrs
address and the fepkrt of Secretary
Wilson Will. pfpba bly, be made to-
morrow afternoom or "wednesday The
matter of perhaarent building for
the miners Headquarters. printing
Office for The JoiIrnai and home for
the national presidenss will also come
up for consideration.
West virsfnin aud Iowa Barred.
1t is practically assured that neith-
er West Virginia nor Iowa will be
admitted to the competitive coal field
at the conference between the dele
gates to the national convention OF
the United Mine Workers and the In
terstate Operators association at Co
lumbus, o., following the convention
in this city. The miners agreed at
the conference to make a strong ef-
fort to organize the miners of the
state to a point where they might be
able to control the situation and force
the operators of the state into the COM
petitive field, and thus place them
upon the same basis as Indiana, llli-
nois, Pennsylvania and Ohio, the
states now embraced in the field. In
fixingGa wage scale. at the conference
last year the miners We're reminded
of their promise TO organize West Vir-
ginia and there was an intimation of
bad faith upon their part,
. Organization Only Partly Successful.
This was successfully combatted.
however, by the Showing made, and
this year more organizers were sent
into the field and a great amount of
money spent in, the. fight TO get the
miners inside the union fold. In this
the national officers have been partly
successful, but the operators. it is un-
defStOou. nave uecllneu TO Senu repre-
sentatiyes to the conference, and until
they can be persuaded to pursue this
course nothing, can be done toward
bringing them into the scale agree
ment
Demand for an Increase Not Strong.
Talks with the delegates indicate
sthat few of them come instructed TO
make a demand for a material in
crease in wages. Among the arrivals
is John r Reese. of Abba, Ia. He
gained warm. place. In me affections
of the miners during the big strike
in the southwest two years ago, when
he spent several months in jail. Speak
ing of conditions in his district. he
said: 'Iowayis the hest organized
state in the union and | cannot ac-
count for the fight made by the Inter
state. Operators association against
admitting it to the competitive field