The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-07-06
Joint Committee After Contlnu- ous Sittings and Friendly Conferences Come to an
 Agreement-NiII be Ratified.
Maximum Scale is 55 Gents.
 tight-hour Day and Two Weeks Pay Roll Demand Are Dropped Some Concessions

EA HE coal operators and the United
 Eine Workers have settled their
 differences so far as. the joint sosle committee Is concerned. and all that remains to he done before scale is signed is the ratification of the agreement by the two organizations that will be rarties to the contract The outlook therefore, for an early resumption of nal settlement within the next two or three days seems now fully assured
 When the jcint ccny entlon of operators end miners adjourned sine die a week ago yesterday without reaching an agreement on any leading point the sit- uation looked somewhat gloomy.
 The United Mine Workers demanded mong other things, co cents as the maxi mum wage for digging coal, an eight-hour day and a two-weeks' pay day. but to rene of these would the operators agree. W. R. Fairley, member of the national executive committee of tho United Mine Workers of America, and Edward Flynn, president of the Alabama District No. 20, who spoke for the men, insisted that the selling price of iron on which the scale IT digging ccal is based justified their demands, while Col. T. G. Bush, R. H. Penrscn and others who spoke for the operators, explained the fact that ths bulk of the iron which would be made in 1902 had elready been sold at prices rul- ing carly in the year, and protested that II more than 55 cents adon for mining coal, the maximum called for by the contract signed a year ago.
 MINERS QUIT WORK. The United Mine Workers laid down their tools at the expiration of the old contract and quit work, Tho Tennessee Ccsl, Iron and Railroad Company, the sloss-Sheffield Steel and Iron Company, the Republic Iron and Steel Company be- gan to bank thelr furnaces and prepared for long season of idleness.
 Most of the miners and most of she op- orators, realizing what strike would mean were strongly in favor of getting together and trying again to come to terms. Both sides have maintained the most friendly feelings toward each other, and this being true, 1t was an easy mat ter to resume negotiations
 On Thur sday East, two days after oper- ations had been suspended, the joint scale committee met {; nd began negota- tions on new lines. The propositions pre- sented by both sides at the joint con vention having been threshed out. were dropped.
 AGREES ON A REPORT.
 After long sittings Thursday. Friday and yesterday the committee agreed up- on report to be submitted to a conven- tion of United Mine Workers and con vention of operators Monday morning at 10 o'clock. President Ed Flynn has called the miners to assemble at St. Pauls Hall and President r. M. Jackson has called the operators to meet in Foxs Hall After the respective conventions have acted on the report a Joint convention will be held. probably Monday afternoon in Fox's Hall, for final action; that is to say final unless the miners in conven- tion should decide to refer the matter back to the locals of which there are be- tween 75 and 80. It is not likely that the miners will refer 1t, because the dele gates will come fresh from their consti- uents, ready to act. While those who have participated in the committee con- ferences decline to make known the terms of the new scale the Age-Herald has it that the miners maximum wage remains at 55 cents and that the eight hour day clause and the two weeks pay clause have been dropped that concessions were made by the operators on certain other points, notably on an advance of the price of day labor at the mines and on the proposition to make the price of the different classes of labor uniform at all the mines.
 Good cooks use Vo1ght's