The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-02-01
COMPANY WILL
NOT ARBITRATE
Dark Outlook for Settlement
of Strike.
STATE BOARD HOLDS
FRUITLESS MEETING
Miners Give Reasons for De-
handing Better Pay.


differences between the Pleasant Val
ley Coal company and the striking
miners at ScofaId and Clear Creek, &C
cording to all present indications. The
company persists in its refusal 10 sub
NIT the matter to arbitration, and the
law is to the effect that there can be
no arbitration, anyhow. so long as the
men are on a strike, or 50 long as there
is a shut-out on the part of the COM
pany. In this case the strikers must
return to work if they wish to have
their grievances passed upon by the
state board of arbitration. Their rep
resentatives now in this city state that
they would return to work if the COM
pany would agree to then submit the
matter to the board of arbitration, but
the company refuses 10 do even this.
This is where the matter stood when
negotiations closed last night.
Arbitration Meeting.
William G. Sharp. general manager
of the company, came to Salt Lake
yesterday at the invitation of the state
board of arbitration. The board, COM
posed of Colonel E. A Wall John
Nicholson and J. S Daveler, met be-
hind closed doors in the office of Colo
mel Wall, and for over an hour in the
afternoon Mr.. Sharp was cIoseted with
these three gentlemen. He insisted
that he did not appear before the board
as a representative of the coal COM
pany, but simply in a private capacity
Colonel Wall. on behalf of the board,
confirmed this statement He also SAID
that the board did not meet in public
"a ri
cuse given for holding the conference
behind closed doors. Colonel wall
said further after the conference win
Mr.. Sharp, that the coal company
would not submit its case 70 arbitra-
ton. so that there was nothing to ar
bitrate. At the same time the mem
bers of the board were still in hopes
that some means could be hit upon to
bring the parties together Nothing
would be given out as to the intentions
of the arbitTators as to the future.
No Statement from Sharp.
Mr.. Sharp would have nothing what
ever to say on the subject for publica-
ton after his conference with the
board of arbitra ton.
You Will please excuse me from
making any statement he said; 'thls
is a very delicate matter with me, and
| must not discuss 1t for publication
10 The mana ger would say not a word
as to the matters he had laid before
the board of arbitration: rOr would the
president of the board discuss the mat
ter. The inference is that Mr.. Sharp
gave the cOmpany's side OF the c0ntro-
vers<-. not as a, basis for arbitra ton,
but for the information Of the board
T. F. Hove, Lewis George and P J.
Rooney, the representatives of the
striking miners, were invited to appear
before the board also, yesterday. but
when it was discovered from Mr.. Sharp
that the company would submit moth
ing to arbitration the men were told
when they appeared that another
statement from them would be Of no
avail They had already been before
the board on a previous occasion.
Messrs. Hoye. George and Rooney
were very much in doubt as to what
they would do. in view Of the fact that
the coal company refused to submit the
differences 10 arbitration, and in view
of the further fact that the law gives
the board no power TO compel arbttrd-
ton so long az the strike is on. They
said that the men would be willing TO
return to work if the company would
agree to arbitrate afterwards They
did not know what course they might
pursue but the chances are that they
will report back to the men and ask for
further instructions They did not
know until after coming TO Salt Lake
that there could be no arbitration
while the strike was on.
Grievances of Strikers.
The committee made a further state
ment last evening concerning the
strike. They said:
THE times being so prosperous,
prices being so high, we believe that
we should have some share in the pros
perity. We believe that there should be
one measure in regard TO buying and
selling the coal. We do not understand
why the company'S ton should be 2,GOO
pounds and that of the men 2,24O
pounds. We believe that as the coal is
shipped as it comes out of the mine to
the consumers that the men should not
have to load 5000 pounds for ton. We
also believe that the prices on mine
supplies are altogether too high. We
believe that the company does wrongly
when it shuts out competition in these
camps. and especially when It takes I'M
due advantage of the situation. We
also believe that when a man is sent to
work in a place in which he is unable
to earn a living wage that he should
be paid according to the work done"
In explanation of part of this state
ment the men said that they were re
quired to mine $500 pounds for a ton,
on the ground that 30 per cent Of the
output was slack, but even after this
deduction they mined - 20 pounds for a
ton, while the company sold 1000
pounds for "A ton. In fact they said
that most of the coal was shipped TO
the market just as they- mined it; and
even in cases where the slack was re
moved that the company sold the slack
to good advantage They are paid 60
cents per ton for this long ton; but for
mining the ton that the consumers in
Salt Lake get they stated that they
got just 371z cents.
Exorbitant Prices.
Another grievance they have is that
the prices of powder, oil, squibs. tools.