The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-05-16
IN FULL SWING.
The Great Strike of Anthracite
Coal Miners
Has Been Made Permanent by
the HazletOn Convention.
WILL FIGHT TT OUT.
They May Call Out the Engineers
and Firemen.
VIII Endeavor to Get Bitumi-
nous Miners Out.
TOTAL OF $4,000 MEN
Viii Be Made Idle If Their
Plans Succeed.
Another Convention of All
Miuoxv0rIrov.c II, TTuiOv,
TOTAL OF $4,000 MEN
VIII Be Made Idle If Their
Plans Succeed.
Another Convention of All
MinewOrkers in Union.

Hazleton, Pa, May 16-The miners
convention has adjourned sine die. The
delegates voted to leave the question OF
calling out the engineers. fremen and
pump runners to the district officers.
Steps were taken by the convention
to involve in the strike all the btu
minous and anthracite coal miners III
the United States. According to the
rules of the union it requires five DIS
tricts to call a national convention The
three anthracite districts will imme-
diately get into correspondence with the
bituminOus districts with the hope or
gaining the consent of two of them Tor
the issuance of a call for special ma
tiOnal convention, at which the question
of involving all the bituminous miners
in the United States in the present
struggle will be discussed. The officials
hope that if this special convention IS
called which is not unlikely, they VIII
be able to bring out the non-union btu
minOuS miners in Virginia, west V H.
ginia and central Pennsylvania Other
plans of campaign were discussed by
the delegates, but of these the members
of the convention would not talk
After the adjournment President
Mitchell issued the following statement:
AT this mornings session the con-
vention petitiOned the national officers
to issue a call for a national convention
of all miners employed in the United
States for the purpose Of considering
the situation in the anthracite field. 4
the desire of the anthracite miners is
carried into effect a national suspen-
sion of coal mining viii be inaugurated.
All questions of details as to the direc-
ton of the strike in the anthracite Held
were referred to the district and ma
tiOnal officers. Definite plans Will be
outlined within the next few days. For
the present the engineers. dremen anu
pump runners VIII continue at work.
All mine workers were advised to re-
frafr,
quentng saloons and under all cir
cumstances observe the law"
At present the United Mine Workers
are at variance with the bituminous
mine operators in Pennsylvania, Vir-
ginia, Kentucky and Michigan, and if
the national convention meets and de-
cides to assist the anthracite miners,
the men in these four states probably
would be the first to be affected.
Mr.. Mitchell said that if a general
strike did take place it would involve
altogether 449 600 men who are employed
in and about the coal mines Of the
Reports from all parts of the region
show that everything is quiet and that
the men are determined to stand by
tn strike order.
Local unions throughout the regions
are in session preparing for the cam
paign and adopting plans for relief of
members. The coal companies continue
to make preparations for long strike
The coal and iron police, who are sworn
in by the state of Pennsylvania, but
who are paid by the coal companies,
are now more active and alert, but
their services are hardly needed a this
time because the strikers are keeping
away from the collieries. The electric
railway company has reduced its ser
vices one-haH and laid off a number
of their employees Because of the stag
nation of business, traffic is becoming
very light
Many Industrial establishments are
and are economizing in this respect
VOTE ON STRIKE.
Hazleton, Pa, May 16.-The great coal
strike was inaugurated permanently
last evening, and is now in full swing.
There We're no developments previous
to the reassembling of the convention
in session shortly after o'clock this
morning.
was as follows: Total vote, S1l; for
strike, 461k; against strike, 34934 ma
jOrity for strike, 11112.
President Mitchell, however, in COM.
phance with the rules of the United
Mine Workers, announced to the public
that the action of the convention was
unanimous While the leaders are eau
tious and will not forecast their actions
it is not unlikely that the miners fight
will be carried into the bituminOus coal
regions and into other fields of industry.
Mine workers for eighteen months have
been looking forward to the strike that
their money and are considered to be
in better shape today for fight than
they were in the great strike of 1900
That struggle ended in the mine own
ers giving the men a 10 per cent. ad-
vance after a six weeks suspension.
The operators are on record as being
unalterably opposed to granting the
men any concessions. and they have
personally informed the mine workers
leaders of that fact. The Workmen fear
that the present fight may mean the
destruction of their organization, be-
cause they believed that the mine own
ers are bent more on wrecking their
union than they are in opposing the de-
mands for higher wages and shorter
work days.
President MitcheIl's advice to the
miners was for peace and he gave it to
them in the plainest and most forceful
of language He was ably assisted by
President Fahey and Secretary Hartlin,
of the lower district, and Secretary
Dempsey of the upper territory. Presi-
dent Nichols of the first district was
the great champion of the strike ad-
vocates. Mr.. Mitchell who was the last
to speak, was listened to with the great
est attention. It is also said that a
telegram was read from the American
Federation Of Labor against a perman-
ent suspension. But the delegates would
not listen, and amid suppressed excite
ment the vote was taken For a time
it looked as though the peace advocates
would win, but when delegation after
delegation from the lower district. the