The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-10-06
STILL WORKING Ok
 THE COIL STRIKE.
The President Holds Another Conference With Mem-
 bers of His Cabinet.
FURTHER ACTION IMMINEN I
THE CONFEREES ALL PLEDGED
 TO SECRECY.

4o CASAGLS@e
 Belief, However, That President WiH Follow Ont His Idea of Appealing to the Mtners-Does Not Expect Them to Resume .yorh Without He Can Hold Out Promise of Some Return-An Expression by One Who Attended the Conference That the Miners Wiii Soon be at Work Again.
 Washington, Oct 5.--In an earnest ef- fort to expedite the adjustment of the coal strike problem another conference over the situation was held at the white house to-day and adjourned after three hours of deliberation. No statement was given out as to the conclusions reached and every participant absolute ly refused to discuss what had taken place during the meeting. The confer ence was called for to-day, although it was Sunday, in view of the extraordi- nary importance to the American peo- pie of @ solution of the question. Be- sides the president there were present Secretary of War Root, Secretary of the , Navy Moody. Attorney General Knox, Postmaster General Payne and Colonel Carroll D. Wright, United States com- missioner of labor. The last named was summoned to attend the confer ence on account of his expert knoWl- edge of the situation in the anthracite coal fields and because of his personal Investigation of the conditions there which he made some months ago at the the instance of the president. It was notable that only four of the members of the cabinet were present. This, however, was significant only of the fact that three of these four were lawyers and that the issue involved was one which called for the delibera- tion of trained legal minds. The fourth cabinet officer, Postmaster General Payne, has taken prominent part in s the preliminary conferences over the coal situation which led up to the con- ference with the railroad presidents and the miners representatives last Friday and besides has had a lifelong identifi- cation with corporate interests which are involved in the present question. The fact that MT. Payne has also been one of the closest advisers for many years in the national councils of his party likewise is important in connec- ton with the personnel of the confer ence. It began shortly after 10 o'clock this morning, the time fixed by the president. When those who were to participate arrived at the white house in a drizzling rain, they found Surgeon General Rixey, of the navy, and Dr. Lung, the presidents physician, al- ready there making the morning call on the distinguished patient. This caused delay of few minutes. When the two physicians left it was reported that the presidents condition was progress ing satisfactorily and there were no un- toward developments.
 The president in expressing his views at the outset of the conference talked earnestly and showed deep feeling. His voice at times could be heard downstairs. Several times during the conference Secretary Cortelyou was summoned into the room and directed to prepare certain matters for the con- sideration of the president and his ad- visers. This was taken to indicate that some action of one nature or another was about to be consummated.
 When the conference adjourned few minutes before 1 o'clock all those who had joined in it declined to talk. Every member of the cabinet and Colonel Wright, the only outsider who was present was pledged to the president to absolute secrecy as to what had oc- cured within the conference room The utmost efforts were made to guard against publicity, just as the presiden- tial summons which called the confer ence had been made in a very quiet and carefully guarded way. Not since the Spanish war has there been such reti- cence shown at conference of such a character as was observed to-day.
 In this state of absolute reticence of every one of the parties to the confer ence it is almost impossible to do more than draw the most general of conclu- aions as to the nature of the proceed ings, based upon what preceded the meeting. The known facts are that the president has reached the conclusion that he has nothing to expect save re- fusal from further appeal to the coal operators and therefore has decided to look for relief from situation which in his view is fast growing intolerable, to the miners side. He feels that he hardly can expect them to make the sacrifice of all of their contentious with out holding out at least promise of some return, and the question before him is as to his ability to do this. He can pledge himself to appeal to con- gress to examine into the justice of the miners complaints and remedy them So far as lies in the power of the legisla- tive branch, backed4by the earnest good will of the executive. Also he can sug- gest to Governor Stone of Pennsylvania that he cause the Pennsylvania legisla- ture likewise to make an inquiry, per- haps hastening the usual methods by calling an extra session. But these pledges would be given only on condi- tion that the men go at once into the
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