The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-06-19
President Mitchell Issues Ca|| Which Has Been Awaited
 With Anxiety
EVERY DISTRICT ID BE
 REPRESENTED AT MEETING
Probable Outcome Is That Every Soft Coal Union Miner In the United States Will Be Called Out to
 Assist Anthracite Men.

Indianapolis, Ind, June lS.-An official call for national convention of the United Mine Workers of America was issued this afternoon from the national l headquarters in this city by Secretary Treasurer Wilson. The convention will meet here July 15 to determine whether the soft coal miners of the country shall go out on a strike to assist the striking anthracite miners in Pennsylvania.
 The basis of the apportionment of dele l gates to the convention is one for every l hundred members of the local union or
 fraction over fifty. This will make a
 convention of one thousand delegates.
 The voting strength of all locals Is be-
 tween 23OO and 24OO. Of this the conven- l tion will have a voting strength of from
 TOO to 18O0 A little over 300 can declare
 a strike. The three anthracite regions
 cast seven hundred and forty-seven
 votes, Virginia and Michigan which
 joined in the call for the convention,
 have 52. making 799 votes from these five
 districts which united in the move to
 call the convention. As stated at head
 quarters conditions are not satisfactory l to miners in Missouri, Kansas and Ar
 kansas and Indian Territory, and it is
 believed the delegates from those sec
 tions will vote for a strike.
 Addressed to Local Unions.
 The call which is dated Indianapolis,
 June IS Is addressed to the local unions
 of the United Mine Workers of America,
 and is signed by John Mitchell, national
 president w. B. Wilson, national sec
 retary-treasurer, of the United Mine l Workers of America.
 The call then quotes Section 1 of Arti-
 cle 5 of the national constitution which
 permits the president to order spec
 ial convention at the instruction of the
 executive board or at the request of five districts and continues:
 "Districts Nos 1, T, g, IT and "A have requested the natIonal president to call a special convention and you are here | by notified that special convention of 1 the United Mine Workers of America,
 will be held in Indianapolis Ind, com mencing at 10 o'clock a. m. Thursday, July r, 1902, for the purpose of consider ing appropriation for a general suspen- l sion of work by the coal miners of the
 United States in support of the anthra- | cite mine workers. who are now on strike"
 The remainder of the call consists of recital of sections to 10, inclusive. of article of the national laws for the l guidance Of local uniops in selecting their dele gates, and in determining the basis l of representation and other points of | technical character involved.
 It is not considered, however, that a genera. strike will be agreed to by the | convention without a fight. The four states in ths interstate agreement, In; l dina, Illinois, Ohio and the Pennsyl- yanfa bituminous fields, 1t Is believed, will | stand together to oppose such a move ment They are thought to be organized pretty thoroughly ir this purpose, but | that the bacl1e1s of the general strike will come dangerously near 10 controlling | the conve ntion-if, indeed, they will not have more thar enough votes-is not dis puted even by the opponents of the plan Mitchell Is Reticent. President Mitchell was extremely un- | connmunio ative es to what the probable action of the convention might be. If the delegates should decide to inaugurate national suspension of coal rnining every | body at strike headquarters believe 1t would have a disastrous effect on the in- dustries of the country. The supply of | coal would become short that large | and small industrial establishments would l be compelled to suspend operations and l meny railroads would also seriously sui | fer.
 There are approximately about 4500oo l coal miners in the United States or l these about $50 GOO, MT. Mitchell says. are affiliated with the union and ar. addi- ticnal 50,CGO comply with the constitution l of the miners organization It Is entirely | impossible at this distance to forecast
 what the national gathering will do be- cause not ono delegate has yet been | elected.
 The anthracite delegates will go into the onvention with 142,OOO striking hard coal miners at their back for a general | strike.
 The West Virginia delegates will have | approximately 25.000 behind them for a
 strike and in Michigan. where the union
 has had trouble the delegates will also be
 instructed for a national suspension | Central Pennsylvania will contribute a certain number of delegates who will want a general strike, will also Ken | lucky. It remains for Western Pennsyl- yania, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana to off,
 set this as it was unofficially understood
 that the miners in those sections are not
 very enthusiastic for general stoppage | of coal production.
 Evidently Has Plan.
 There is a strong belief here that Pres | ident Mitchell has plan to submit to the | delegates and this belief Is strengthened | by the fact that he delayed the call so long, He had conference with President | Patrick Gilday of the Central Pennsylva-
 mia bituminous district on Sunday and
 has been in frequent communication with | other diserict leaders in the west. | The barrier to overcome In the cam | pain for national suspension Is the yearly wage scale agreement that many of the | soft coal miners have with the com | panies. These agreements are looked up- | on as contracts and a large percentage | of miners in the west are rather averse
 to breaking them. The principal bone of
 contention in the anthracite region is for
 a yearly wage agreement. Those who are
 opposed to general strike use the argu- | ment that if the soft coal miners break
 these contracts and go on strikes to help the anthracite men they would be losing | in the west what all the hard coal miners