, 1901-01-17
BIC COAL STRIKE
SITUATION IN COLORADO BE-
COMES ALARMING BE-
CAUSE OF 1T.
Great Scarcity of Coal Causes Much
Uneasiness-Efforts Making Now
to Fill the Places of the Strikers
Fuel to De Brought From a Long
Distance.

Distance.
Denver, Jan. 1G.-The Colorado coal
situation today shows 300 more men on
strike, and the supply OF coal rapidly
decreasing. The number of strikers
increased from 1900 to 1900, including
almost all the northern, the Fremont
county and the Ell Paso county fields.
So great a scarcity of coal is noted
in Denver that the Gas and Electric
company has been unable to purchase
for immediate future use of its plant.
and the representatives of the COM
pany have made inquiries by telegraph
of the mine owners in Weir City, Kan,
to learn if SUPPLIES a he obtained
there. The company would not think
Of bringing coal so long a distance
were any purchasablc nearer home. is
the way one of the officials put the
matter this morning.
Union President John Gehr and Dis
trict Organizer William Howell have
gone from Florence into the more
southern fields to discover the dispo-
sition of the miners there. The Ere
mont county miners are reported as be
ing of the impression that the strike
will be of long duration-at least two
,,,N,tIc "a thN 1nn1N,. 1a1;A,-N -
will be shorter if they can induce the
miners of Huerfano and Las Animas
counties to take up the causes of those
already out by creating a serious emer-
cency through shortage of supply. They
calculate to force the operators to ask
for settlements of the causes leading
up to the trouble. 1t is admitted that
much depends on the curse the south
ern miners will pursue, which is ex-
tremely doubtful. The prospect is that
there will be no developments with
material bearing on the situation I'M
til late ext week. after the Colorado
situation shall have been discussed by
the national convention OF the United
Mine Workers at indianapolis.
The Demands Made.
The men who had been working in
the mines at Colorado Springs demand
higher wages. machine men wanting
Is cents advance per ton. and the land
solicit a like advance.
Briefly stated. the northern miners
ask that the daily wages of machine
men be increased form $3.50 per day
to 81 $50: that the wages Of leaders
the men who bore holes in the coal
veins with an augerlike drill. blast it
down and load it into pit cars, be in
creased as follows: IN the Lafayette
district, from % to 35 cents per ton;
in the Louisville district. from 33 1-3
to 43 1-3 cents per ton; in the Erie dis
trict: from 80 cents to 81 per ton for
handwork; that pit cars be furnished
in sufficient supply to avoid loss of
time underground, one of the griev-
ances being that they have to lose time
waiting for cars.
Representatives of the company af-
firm that the men in going out on
strike violated an agreement made in
cidental to settling the last strike, in
not first submitting their grievances to
the company and asking for a settle
ment. The company denies that any
assert that the men concluded it was
a good time to strike for better pay, be-
they believed the company was
making money and that the exigencies
of winter weather would help their
cause.
In the latter respect the miners var
led the course heretofore pursued be-
cause previous strikes in the northern
field, and most all in the south field,
were called in the summe season,
when the public required but enough
to cook meals and operate manufactur-
ing plants.
Sympathetic Strike.
The Fremont county miners have
made no specific demands. and their
strike is so far believed to be purely a
sympathetic movement to aid the
Northern field strikers in carrying
their points.