Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1902-06-27
ANSWER TO OPERATORS
President Mitchell Issued Statement
on Coal Miners Strike.
ExoReITANT ERgIeHT oHAReEa
Mr.. Mitchell Says Miners Wages Can
Be Increased Without Raising Price
Of Coal to consumers-Railroada

Rob Peter to Pay Paul. tr
Wilkesbarre, Pa, June 29.-Presi. p
dent John Mitchell, of the United Mine "a
of America, yesterday issued re
an address to the public in reply to fl
the letters of the operators declining al
to accede to the demands Of the union. A,
which were published about ten days n
ago. {
The address says that every possible
means was resorted to in the effort y :,
to prevent the strike, claims that the u
cost of living has increased to the Il
point where the miner was compelled Il
to ask for higher wages, denies TIT
allegations of the operators that ths Il
productive capacity of the mine work +,
ers has fallen OF, but, on the othei a
hand, has increased; claims that tob =
at the mines means anywhere from
2,740 to $3.50 pounds, instead OF 2,24O q
and says that more men are killed and
injured in the anthracite mines Of
Pennsylvania than we're killed 81
wounded during the Spanish-American !
ago. The statement concludes with !
another appeal for arbitration.
In part President Mitchell says;
"The railroad presidents contend that
they cannot increase wages without
making a corresponding increase in
the selling price of their product to
the consumer, and have accused the
mine workers of suggesting a PROPOSE
ton that would impose a hardship /
upon the public by increasing the mar
ket price OF coal ten cents ton, the |
amount that would have been required |
to meet all the demands made by the |
miners; however. their solicitude for
the public veal has not deferred them
from advancing the market price OF
their coal more than one dollar Per
ton since the strike was inaugurated,
without giving any part of this in
crease to the mine workers. IN sub
sanitation of our claim that the coal
companies can afford to pay Increased
wages to the mine workers without
! / increasing the cost Of coal to consum-
ers. we submit the following extracts
} from the government reports, showing
e the selling value of coal loaded on cars
= at mines for the eleven years, begin
e ming with 1890 and ending with 1900,
n as compared with 1901, The average
home value of all coal mined and sold
during this period was SLAB per ton,
while a bulletin issued by Charles d.
= Walcott, director Of the United States
8 geological survey, says that for the
: year 1901 the increase in the value OK
q the anthracite product received at the
m mines showed a gain of s27146,169,
i, or more than 81 per cent. over that OF
m 1900. The average price for the mar
keted anthracite coal was S1.s7, the
highest figure obtained since 1888
president Baer. the recognized
Is spokesman of the coal trust, made the
n statement that he was ready to sub
ne nit the books of the coal departments
he for our examination, in order to prove
NJ that wages could not be increased
81 This proposition, on the surface, an
re pears reasonable, but when analysed
Iet it is positively absurd. Eighty-five 81
90 per cent. of all coal produced in the
anthracite regions is from minel
Of owned and operated by the various
en- coal-carrying railroads; the freigh
IDS charges for hauling ton Of anthracite
or coal one mile are three times as grea
he as. those of other roads for hauling
Ill ton of bituminous coal one mile; an
ev- as a consequence. the coal depar
Of ments, while actually earning enol
ing nous profits on a legitimate business
ion may and do appear to be losing none!
for the reason that the railway d.
partments absorb the profits of tn
lrt- coal departments by charging the COS
in department exorbitant freight rate
owe They thus rob Peter to pay Paul.
ced ''ln connection with this subject a
of tention is respectfully directed to I'll
GOO fact that ton of coal as the CO.
the sumner understands it is not a ton
the coal as the miner is paid for It; thi
eal- Is to say, when the consumer purchas
ing a ton of coal he receives 2,24O pound
ON a legal ton; when the railroad COZ
panies transport coal to market tn,
receive tariff upon 2,240 pounds,
r a gal ton; but when the miner is bell
con- paid for his labor he is required
of produce and load from 2,T40 to 81
and pounds for a ton, and it is again
free this fragrant injustice that the anthl
met cite mine workers so vigorously al
and justly protest. The operators say.
well course, that the excess weight is
Their quired to compensate them for /
the purities and refuse matter that is los
for ed with the coal and cannot be nj
keted; but if their statement be tn
why is it necessary to continue a S
moss TEN of docking, by which at tin
1ors they arbitrarily deduct from a mine
nh. earnings from 10 to Is per cent.
row the total as a penalty for loading j
80 purities for which they have alrea
- penalized him in excess weight? 7
- miners have asked that the coal I'll
- produce shall be honestly weighed a
: ' correctly recorded"