Waterbury Democrat., 1902-10-04
NO SETTLEMENT. Conference at White House
 UnaVailing. COAL STRIKE WILL GO ON President Makes a Strong Plea For
 Peace.
THE OPERATORS ARE OBSTINATE.
President Mitchell ORers Plan For Adjusting the Differences, but the Coal Road Presidents Will Not Recognize the Miners Un-
 ion or Its Leader.

ion or Its Leader.
 WASHINGTON, Oct. 1.-The great coal conference between the president and representatives of the operators and the miners came to an end at the temporary White House, facing Lafa- yette square, at 4:55 o'clock in the aft ernoon, with a failure to reach an agreement. Apparently the rock upon which the conference split was recogni- tion of the miners union. The presi- dent had urged the contending parties to cease strife in the interests of the public welfare, the miners, through the president of their union had expressed willingness to submit differences to arbitration of a tribunal to be named by the president and to enter into an agreement to abide by terms fixed by the arbitration for a period of from one to five years, and the employers, through the presidents of the railroad and coal companies and the leading in- dependent mine operator, had squarely refused arbitration, had denounced the miners labor organization as lawless and anarchistfc body, with which they could and would have no dealings, had demanded federal troops to insure com plete protection to workers and their families in the mining region and court proceedings against the miners union and had offered if the men returned to work to submit grievances at individ- ual collieries to the decision of the judges of the court of common pleas for the district of Pennsylvania in which the colliery was located. There the matter closed.
 The immediate parties to the strike say they will continue as heretofore. What course the administration will take next no one is prepared to say
 At the temporary White House the following official statement was given out concerning the coal conference:
 The conference opened at Il o'clock. The operators and representatives of the miners were presented to the presi- dent. Those in attendance were: George F. Baer, president of the Read ing railway; w H. R,uesdale, presi- dent of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western; D. B. Thomas chairman of the board of the Erie Railroad com pany; Thomas F. Fowler, president of the New York, Ontario and Western railway; David Wilcox, vice president and general counsel of the Delaware and Hudson company; John Markle, representing the independent opera tors; John Mitchell, president of the United Mine Workers of America: Thomas D. Nichols, Thomas Duffy and John Fahy, district presidents of the United Mine Workers of America: : Attorney General Knox, Secretary Cortelyou and Carroll D. Wright, com missioner of labor.
 The president at the outset expressed his hearty thanks for their attendance and stated that owing to his peculiar relations to the situation, he felt that he should make to them very careful statement of his position and of his Intentions in asking them to meet.
 APPEAL BY THE PRESIDENT.
 The president, fully realizing the i'm portance of the communication that he was to make, had prepared carefully worded paper setting forth in detail his position on the pending controver- sy. The president said:
 sI wish to call your attention to the fact that there are three parties affect ed by the situation in the anthracite trade-the operators, tle miners and the general public. I speak for neither the operators nor the miners, but for the general public. The questions at is sue which led to the situation affect immediately the parties concerned-the operators and the miners-but the situ- ation itself vitally affects the public ssAs long as there seemed to be a req E F,I ho be adjusted between the parties it did not seem proper to me to intervene in any way disclaim any right or duty to intervene in this way upon legal grounds or upon any official relation that bear to the situation, but the UT 9ency and the terrible nature of the catastrophe impending over large portion of our people impel me after much anxious thought to believe. that any duty requires me to use whatever Influence personally can to bring to sn end situation which has become literally intolerable.
 T wish to emphasize the character Of the situation and to say that it's gravity is such that I am constrained urgently to insist that each one of you realize the heavy burden of responsi- bilffy upon him. We are upon the threshold of winter with an already existing coal famine the future terrors of which we can hardly yet appreciate The evil possibilities are so farreach- ing, so appalling, that it seems to me that you are not only justified in sink ing. but required to sink for the time being, any tenacity as to your respec- five claims in the matter at issue be- xween you Tn my judgment the situa- tion jmperatively requires that you meet upon the common plane of the ne cessities of the public With all tie earnesfness there IS in me I ask that xhere be an immediate resumption of operations in the coal mines in some such way as will without a day's un- necessary delay meet the crying needs of the people.
 ''I do not invite a discussion of your respective claims and positions ap- peal to your patriotism to the spirit znat sinks personal considerations and zzsalzFs indIeiQual sacrifices for the gen.