The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-05-09

points to an impartial arbitration board.
The morning session adjourned at 1890
and President Mitchell made the following
statement: r.
Replies to our proposition to submit the en-
tire question in dispute to an impartial board
or arbitration have been received from Presi-
dent Baer of the Philadelphia & Reading;
Chairman Thomas Of the Erie company
President .Truesdale of the Delaware, Lacka-'
wanna & Western, and President Oliphant of
the Delaware & Hudson company all of
whom refuse to join us in the adjustment
OF the differences by the methods we proposed
The discussion which followed the read
ing of the replies of the operators, which
were received at II o'clock, continued for
an hour and a half and is said to have
been at times acrimonious. .. ..
District President Nicholas and his as
sociates from the upper coal fields, insist
ed that nothing honorable remained to be
done but to declare for strike and en-
force the desires of the men, expressed
at the recent Shamokin convention. Dis
trict Presidents John Fahey and Thomas
Duffy, from the lower coal fields who
have all along opposed a strike, were
equally as strenuous in presenting their
views which were, Numerically opposed
to those of Mr.. Nichols. -
The latter declared that to back down
in the fact of the repeated refusals of the
operators to grant concessions and more
particularly after they had declined to
arbitrate would be confession that the
United Mine Workers of America were
powerless to enforce the demands which
had been so spiritedly and repeatedly
made. - -. .
Presidents Fahey and Duffy answered
that the present was an inopportune time
to strike; that the organization had nu-
merous fights on Its hands in the west
and south. They also urged as a reason
why strike should not be ordered that
the operators invited fight
Notwithstanding that decisive vote
was not reached at this mornings ses-
sion, President Mitchel1's statement that
the committees were considering the
probabilities Of success or defeat in the
event Of strike being determined upon
was accepted in some quarters as the
forerunner of mo strike declaration"
1t is certain that the vote will be ex
ceedingly close, with the probability
that President Mitchell's will be the de-
. Gliding ballot.
The wage scale adopted by the conven-
ton at Shamokin has not been made pub
lie by President Mitchell, but the demands
we're presented in detail to the operators
at the meeting last week in New York.
They include a general advance on
wages averaging 20 per cent, shorter
work day and the weighing Of coal wher-
ever practicable. These three demands
are considered the most important Of
those included in the scale and the miners
Of district No. / have repeatedly ex-
pressed their willingness to strike, at any
time for the last named concession.
President MitchelIs proposition which
was rejected to-day was that the differ
ences between the miners and the oper-
ators should be submitted to an Impartial
board of arbitration to be chosen by the
industrial department of the National
Civic Federation.
.tNo Further Concessions
New York. May 9.-The president Of one of
the leading anthracite coal roads said that
an important message had been received from
the nature of the communication. 'If the
miners want to strike,' said he, 'the result
Is inevitable. We will make no further con-
cessions. . u - i.