The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-09-04
FACTS LEARNED
BY MR.. WRIGHT
labor Commissioners Report on
the Coal Strike.
FAVORABLE TO THE MINERS
JOINT COMMITTEE ON coNcILIA-
TON PROPOSED.

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Washington, Sept. S.-carrol ID. =
= Wright, commissioner of labor, =
? was designated by the president =
= In June 10 investigate and report =
, TO him the cause and conditions =
> accompanying the present contro- =
y versy between the Pennsylvania =
? anthracite coal operators and their =
, miners. Twelve days later Mr. =
= Wright submitted his findings 70 =
= the president. =
After carefully going over the =
= report, the president submitted II =
= 70 the attorney general who, after =
= giving II fun and careful consider =
= alton. reports that the executive =
= has no power whatever 10 take ac- :
= ton In the matter. The report, &C =
> cOrdingly, Is made public for the =
= Information OF the people. =
Z
UYASHINGToN, Sept. s.--The report
w OF Carroll d. Wright. the COM
missioner OF labor, on the an
thraeite coal strike. was made public
today. Commissioner Wright finds that
there Is no confidence existing between
the employees and their employers. This
he believes Is one OF the chief causes
OF difference between the operators and
miners. He suggests that IL would be
reasonable and just for the operators
10 concede at once a nine hour day for
n period OF six months as an expert
ment. He suggests that there should
be organized a Joint committee on con-
Citation, composed OF representatives.
OF the operators and a new union of
anthracite employees. 10 which all
grievances should be referred for inVes-
tigation. and that their decision should
be final and binding upon all parties
and that there should be no Interior
ence with the non-union men.
Commissioner Wright says that the
facts seen 70 show that the officers OF
the Miners union, with perhaps one or
two exceptions. believed that many OF
the alleged wrongs endured by the
miners might be corrected by appeals
20 the employers. Their attempt, how
ever, to secure conferences between
p-esentatives OF mine workers and
mine operators proved fruitless and the
miners themselves decided that a
strike should be organized. All OF the
operators whom Mr.. Wright met dis
claimed distinctly that they had any
antagonism 20 labor unions as such.
They did object seriously 10 some Of
the methods adopted by the unions,
and they felt that when asked to make
a contract with the unions the latter
should put themselves in position ia
be pecuniarily responsible for carrying
out such contracts.
The miners see little difficulty in
adopting the system OF payment by
weight. but they claim that they are
systematically defraude0 by the arbi-
trary action of the bOsses, who deter
mine how much deduction shall be
made for impurities. and Trey es-
peeially complain that they are de-
frauied when paid by the wagon or
carload.
Loss to the Miners.
When il Is shown that a ton Of coal.
says Mr.. Wright. contains a varying
percentage OF refuse as IL comes from
the mine. IL Is difficult 20 see the force
of the argument why II should not be
weighed and the miner paid for the
work he does. At least the operators
he thinks. ought 20 share In the loss Of
labor ia mining impurities.
The demand Of the miners that
wages be Increased 10 per cent in the
rates per ton to those men who per-
form contract work. and 10 per cent re-
NASA-vA III the time u muse VINO Work
by the day Is backed up by the state
ment that after the increase which was
granted in 1900 the prices Of all COM
modities in the mining region We're ad-
vanced accordingly. They urge that
81 is exceedingly dihicult for them to
live properly on the present wages.
The reduction OF time is put for
ward BY the miners and backed by the
statement that their work takes only
about 200 days in a year. and for the
remainder Of the time they are prac-
tlcally idle.