The Minneapolis journal., 1902-06-19
The COAL MINERS CONVENTION


The Coal MINERS CONVENTION
In accordance with their constitution,
which makes 1t necessary to secure the
affirmative vote Of five districts allied
with the United Mine Workers Of America
in order to hold & national miners con
vention. the secretary OF the union yes.
terday issued a call for the convention,
to be held on July II, which will decide
whether the bituminous coal miners shall
be called out to strike sympathetically
with the anthracite miners Of Pennsyl
vania
The request for the convention comes
from the three anthracite mining districts
of that state and from the bituminous dis
tricts of Michigan and West Virginia, and
these five districts alone have nearly
enough votes in the July convention, ac-
cording to the apportionment, to make
majority for the strike. In West Virginia
there has been a strike of the miners
since the first week In June, which has
mininized the supply Of soft coal in the
eastern markets appreeiably. A general
suspension Of work in the bituminous re-
gions would, of course, bring about a
pinch in the fuel supply, which would, no
doubt, arouse public sentiment to bring a
pressure to bear upon the operators to
recede from their declared determina-
tion to hold no communication with the
miners union.
The published correspondence, of the
eastern coal road presidents shows very
clearly that they positively refused to
consider the adoption of wage scale and
declined, to enter into con-
ference with the representatives Of the
miners on any topic. The correspondence
also shows that the miners proposed to
submit the questions at issue to the ex-
ecutive committee Of the National Civic
Federation, but the operators refused,
and likewise refused to submit the mat
ter to. Archbishop Ireland, Bishop Potter
and other emin ent men.
This is the situation and, if the July
| convention, which can determine action by
bare majority, decides that all the or
ganized mine workers in twenty-five
states producing bituminousr coal, shall
quit work, the results will affect many
more thousands than the immediate pro-
moters of the strike. L
It is noticeable that President Mitchell
says that national convention like the
one which has been called possesses abso-
| Lutte power to abrogate all agreements OF
any kind at any time. This, OF course, Is
not good ethics. If the convention annuls
existing agreements it means that the
nearly 200, 900. men working under definite
agreements with the operators in btu
minous coal will be called out regardless
of such stipulations, go suspending the
production of 1875, 100000 tons. s The con ::
vention, therefore, has the power to bring
about a national suspension Of coal min
| ing.
Again. the correspondence referred to
shows that President Mitchell suggested
to the operators previous to the strike
that they advance the price of coal and
out Of the advance get back whatever
concession in wages they might make to
the miners. This was done two years ago,
when the operators advanced wages to
some extent and made the public pay for
the advance. Thus neither miners nor op-
orators have any bowels of. compa ssion
for the public But national suspension
Of coal mining, which is a possibility de-
rived from the action of the secretary OF
the U. M. W. o. A. yesterday, will affect
by it's ramifying influence tens OF thous-
ands of workers in other employments
than mining, which are connected with it
as necessary adjunct.
! A serious phase of the affair Is the as
sumption by the miners union that for
NAL and definite agreements with employ
| ers are violable and nullifiab1e at 3the
pleasure of one of the parties to such
Ia greements, which are made usually for
years duration This idea should be
/ eliminated from the, minds of the mem
bers Of unions as soon as possible: 1t
does not commend organized labor, which,
Ito maintain respect and honorable stand
] ing, ought to see the necessity Iof stand
ing by whatever contract it signs.
| Meantime, between now and July II,
| both operators and miners should inquire
Of their best consciousness whether they
can afford to~ignore the public interests
altogether in this matter.