The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-08-07
HANNA PRAISES
 BIC FEDERATION Says Civic Organization is One
 of Gods Blessings, PRAISES ALL WOREINGMEN
Claims Way to Settle Strikes Is to Appeal to Heart and Reasonable Wants to Leave Senate to
 Work for Federation.

Work for Federation.
 Urbana, O.. August 6-Senator M. A. Hanna addressed the Urbana Chautauoua on the topic Labor and It's Relation to Capital" The audience numbered 5000.
 We are now witnessing an object lcs- son which tells IS that something must be done" said Mir. Hanns. My friends. Judge Warneck has told you that in my business life I have been connected with industries employing a large number of men. It is true. From the miner under the ground to the men that work in near ly every vocation in life in our industries, I have had to do. Thirty years ago was witness and participated in one of the most serious strikes that ever occurred in Ohio. It was the miners strike of the | Tuscarawas valley. After it had been set tied, after property had been destroyed and blood shed there came time to think l it over and l made up my mind that l there was better way to settle such dis putes than that. And from that hour until this 1t has been the thought and theme upermost in my mind. l Tt is not a political question: but an | economic one. It is that and no more. It is a moral one. The best way to reach mems minds and mems hearts Is to ap- peal first to the heart and then reason with the mind Who knows better than the great good that can be accomplished through education? And 1t Is that work that l am devoted to personally. It is to
 that work that l want to enlist the sym
 pathies of all such people as sit before
 me, and with Gods blessing may it spread
 through every circle in the land If can
 enlist sympathy and cooperation of the
 good women and men who unite for
 weeks in every year in combined effort
 first to learn how to do 1t and then to do
 1t, every day and in every action of your
 lives, then l will feel that the work so
 begun will never be abandoned until the
 miilenum comes"
 The senator then spoke of the national civic federation, of it's origin and it's work
 He said the organization is to better the conditions of labor, to bring them in clos CT core2ct with capital and if possible.
 by effort and education, to make it impos- . sible to have strikes.
 Organization Falls.
 Continuing he said. in every instance but one in ten months life we had set tied every labor difficulty that has come up. This one instance where the orgaffY- zation failed was the anthracite coal l strike.
 T admit that the Civil Federation has l failed in it's efforts there. It Is hard l to arbitrate a question when only one side will consider it. But in that con- nection l want to call your attention to another incident in my efforts in that strike and others
 When appealing to the employers to consider some things in connection with the situation that I did not think they fully appreciated or understood. I told of the experience of myself and asso- ciates recently in connection with the coal mining of western Pennsylvania 1 Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. 1 have said that thought there is a better way to settle differences, and after twenty years of experience, the operators con l trolling the mines of the states mention- ed have found better way Four years we organized what was termed the 'fn- ter-state association" composed of the l operatives and operators of the coal mines of these states. We agreed upon scale of wages. flexible enough to adapt itself to different physical condi- 1 tions. That scale, once agreed upon, all that became necessary was to fix the basis price. That was four years ago l The contract was made. The operators went into the markets and sold their 1 coal and the miners abided by their con- l tracts and delivered 1t. The next year 1t was renewed by horizontal advance l of price, the next year it was renewed and then the last year 1t was renewed | Peace and harmony, good and successful | business operations have succeeded that | policy
 Tn using that argument with others 1t was said to me: What Is your contract worth with labor organization? If 1t don't want to keep it. it wont, and you cannot make it. That is true but when that remark carries with it the insinua- tion that the men Of that class had no honor in carrying out contract I want to say that I deny it. and have. the proof. The prolonged strike in the | anthracite country has brought about q | condition that Is alarming not only to the I peace of society, but to the material in- l terests of our people
 There Is in the constitution of the | United Mine Workers of America a pro vision that if five divisions of the organ ization make an application to the presi- dent he shall call together in convention delegates of the organization, and set | tie that question. When every other means had ursuccessfully been tried. | when men became desperate from their | situation, when they saw hunger and star yation before them. it not natural that they would be desperate? They then | called that national convention. The ob- | ject was to decide whether the bitumin- ous men belonging to that organization would go out and strike in sympathy.
 Confidence in Miners.
 Those of you who may be familiar with the great railroad and industrial ir- | terests of this country can appreciate | what that means. John Mitchell, the president of the O, organization had ex- pressed himself publicly as averse to that | e1 pedient. And, knowing what I knew of his influence with his men, and be- | lieving as I did. that the men who had entered into a solemn compact with the | | fcur years. bound orly by their honor, | would defend that honor. and they did. | by voting unanimously against tho stu Ike. Now there Is che of the best les sens that has ever heen presented to the | American people. There is one of the | trongest arguments that can be argued | in favor of getting further win t.is policy and encoura ging these men and | their class by assuring them that they osn earn and establish the confidence of aH.-.l.. .ll...c rl...l1. A rA