Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1902-10-11
ON COAL STRIKE.
ALL PARTIES AGREE TO DIS
AGREE AND FIGHT.
President Rooseve1t's Call For Con-
ference Was Fulfilled by all Concern
ed-Two Meetings Heidi Both EN-
ployers and EMPLOYEES as Far Part
as Ever-Fight Will Continue.

Washington, Oct. 6.-The great coaI
conference between the president and
representatives of the operators and
miners came to an end at the temper
airy White House with failure to
reach an agreement, and apparently
the rock upon which the conference
split was the recognition Of the miners
union.
The president had urged the con-
tending parties to cease strife in the
interests of public welfare; the miners,
through the president of their union,
had expressed a willingness to submit
the differences to an arbitration trib-
unal to be named by the president and
to enter in to an agreement to abide by
the terms fixed by arbitration for q
period of from one to five years, and
the employers, through the presidents
OF the railroads and prominent indie
pendent mine operators, had squarely
refused arbitration, had denounced the
miners labor organization as lawless,
anarchistic body, with which they
could and would have no dealing; had
LCuCA d1 t1OOp W 6uSuI6
plete protection to workers and their
families in the mining regions and
court proceedings against the miners
union, and had offered. if the men re-
turned to work, to submit grievances
at individual collieries to the court of
common pleas for the district of Penn
| sylvania, in which the collieries were
located.
President Roosevelt had interviewed
directly between the forces of capital
and labor in an effort to avert what he
himself regarded as a great national
calamity. The result was to bring the
principals in the great calamity face to
face with the whole country eagerly
intent and watchful of their doings.
Technically the issues between the
great forces stand as they did before
the president summoned the representa-
tives Of the contending forces to the
national capital, and, forgetting his
own acute suffering, besought them for
love of the great country wherein they
dwelt, and out of pity for the countless
throng of suffering poor, to adjust the |
differences and work together in peace
for the ecommon wealth. What, if |
anything, will result from the con.
ference, is for the indefinite future to
decide. Today the views of the con-
tending forces in the great industrial
s sbHs8 Kew W IRE was s 10 midsfe ground
possible, and so the conference came
to an end without any agreement for
its continuation. The conference had |
lasted six hours, including rescess
of three hours between the morning
and afternoon sessions, taken to enable
the miners and operators to prepare
written responses to the presidents
appeal. The immediate parties to
the struggle say they will continue as
heretofore. What course the admins
tration will take next no one is prepar-
ed to say. One of the operators, as he
left the White House, was asked re-
garding this, and replied: If any one
knows what the president will do next,
that is more than / know. Fourteen
men, including the president, were in
the second story front room at the tenn
porary White House during the momen-
tous conference. President Mitchell
and three of his district leaders repre-
sented the miners, and five railroad
men and one independent mine operator
the Employers. With the president were
Attorney General Knox, Commissioner
of Labor Wright and Secretary Cortel-
you. All the cabinet save the attorney
general keptaloof during the conference
between the two meetings and after
ward several of the presidents adj
visors called upon him to talk
over the situation. During the con-
ference the president listened to both
| sides with greateagerness. Immediate
ly after its ajour nment his physicians,
insisted on making an examination
of his wound and redressing it,
Apparently no i'll effects had resulted
from the excitement of the day.
And after later call, DR.. Lung
announcedd that the presidents con-
dition was satisfactory.
After the conference the operators
came down stairs, held brief confer
ence and then left for their hotel,
where they met a number of newspaper
men, to whom they furnished copies
of the statements they had made to the
president.
STIMULATING that they should not be-
quoted, they talked quite freely of the
conference. Several of them declared
the interference of the president had
resulted in retarding rather than for
warding the settlement. They assert
ed that no progress could be made,
and they said they would return to
continue the contest. They declare
that the situation is most serious as to
coal supply, but said coal could be
| g., b h.