The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-10-28
COAL STRIKE COMMISSION
PROCEEDINGS AT FIRST MEET
 ING IN WASHINGTON.

ODJeets to 4uttChoh AppeHEAbS as
 Representative of the United Mine
 worksrs-ERort to Avoid Any RecOg-
 nitIon of the unIon-CompanIes Ob-
 jrct 10 Opening Their BoUks for Ex-
 animation.
 Washington, Oct. 27.-The anthracite coal strike commission to-day, in the hearing room of the interstate commis- sion, held it's first conference with the parties to the controversy in the an- thracite regions. There was full rep resentation of both operators and min- CTS and members of the press and a number of other interested parties were present. The commission occupied the elevated seats generally filled by mem bers of the interstate commerce com mission, Judge Gray, as president, oc- cupying the center seat and Messrs. Wright, Watkins and Clark the seats to the right of him In the order named, while General Wilson, Bishop Spalding and MT. Parker sat on the left in the order of their names. The proceedings covered about two hours time and were given up entirely to discussion of the time and method of proceeding with the proposed investigation.
 The, commission decided to begin its work next Thursday morning at g o'clock. the first days of the investiga- tion to be devoted to a physical exam ination of the mines and the homes Of the miners, starting in the vicinity of Scranton. The entire anthracite field will be covered. There was considera- ble discussion over a proposition made by the commission to have expert ac- countants appointed to audit state Inents of wages and classification Of miners to be made by the operators for the use of the commission but no re- suit was reached on this point beyond the announcement by the chairman Of the commissions intent to appoint such an accountant in case his services should be found necessary.
 During the progress of the meeting. Mir Mitchell, as representative of the miners, presented a copy of the original
  by the Shamokin convention as the basis of the demands of the miners. This demand is. first. for an increase of 20 per cent. in wages, of those not engaged by the day: second. a reduc- ton of 20 per cent in working hours of those engaged by the day; third, the payment for coal mined by weight at minimum rate Of 60 cents per ton of 2,240 pounds; fourth, @ wage agreement between the operators and the miners for an adjustment of wages.
 MT. Baer, on the part of the coal op- erat ors, took exception to MT. Mitchelrs s appearance before the commission as a representative of the Mine Workers union, but said that he had no objec- tion to his presence as representative of the strikers as such in their indi- vidual capacity. The committee made no attempt to settle the controversy, but it was made apparent that the recognition of the miners union will be an important and knotty problem for the arbitrators.
 Preceding the discussion over opening the books to the experts MT. Baer said the operators would be prepared to meet the commission in the region and assist in giving information Many Of the individual operators are not repre- sented and they were not consulted and were not compromised by the latter he had written.
 Judge Gray suggested that they could be represented. At the meeting next Monday they would determine which of the companies could be taken up first and the place of meeting could be de- termined by the location of the coal company taken up.
 MT. Baer made a point of saying that the case of each coal company would be dealt with separately. He would con- tend for the sliding scale in the regula- tion of wages.
 q shall urge the adoption of that profit-sharing plan," he said, which gave us peace formerly in our relation to our employees
 MT. Thomas, of the Hillside Iron and Coal company and the Pennsylvania Coal company said he noticed that the word arbitration" had been applied to the commissions work, while he wanted it considered as an investiga- ton.
 Judge Gray said that the presidents S instruction settled that as an arbitra- tion.
 MT. Thomas also urged that the con- ditions in each of the mining compa- nies were different and could only be considered separately. He thought that ,,,or, ,aroorasc ooyIId he made hV q OhV- sical examination of the coal region. He thought that as many of the in- terests involved in the controversy were represented in New York, some of the hearings should be held in that city.
 The suggestion that both sides ap- point experts to examine the books of the companies was made by Judge Gray He said it would be a good plan for the two opposing interests in the case to agree that tabulated statements relative to existing rates of wages in different localities of the mining region be taken from the books of the opera tors by two expert accountants, one to be named by each party, such account ants to be employees of the commission. MT. Baer, after expressing his disinclin- ation to accept this suggestion, said that his company would submit their payrolls under oath of their account ant He said they now had seventy clerks who are working day and night fin compiling data for the commission
 President Mitchell said that it would facilitate the work of the commission if