The daily Republican., 1902-10-04
COAL STRIKE.
Cen.iiu.d From, ri sr ra.c,

= rciieve the public.
" "The constitution of Pennsylvania
& guarantees protection to life and prop
4 erfy. In express terms it declares the
right Of acquiring, possessing and de-
tending property 'toN be inalienable.'
When Il riot and anarchy too great to
be appeased by the civil power occur,
che governor OF Pennsylvania is bound
to call out the state troops to suppress
It, He must fearlessly Use the whole
u power of the state to protect life and
v tproperty and to establish peace, not an
armed truce, but the peace of the law
which protects every man at work and
going to and from work. He has sent
4 troops to the coal regions. Gradually
the power of the law is asserting itself
\ Unless encouraged by false hopes or
\ der Will soon be restored, and then we
4 can mine coal 10 meet the public wants.
lf the power,of Pennsylvania is insult
ficient to re-establish the reign of law.
i the constitution of the United States
requires the president when requested
by the legislature and the governor to
suppress violence You see, there is a
lawful way to secure coal for the pub
lc.
"The duty Of the hour is not to waste
time negotiating with the fomentCrs of
this anarchy and insolcnt defiance Of
law, but to do as was done in the war
OF the rebellion-rcstOrc the majesty Of
law, the only guardian of free people
and to re-establish order and peace at
4 any cost.
fa The government is Il contcmptiblc
: failure if it can only protect the lives
and property and secure the comfort of
the people by compromising with the
: violators of law and the instigutors of
violence and crime.
lust row it is more important to
teach ignorant men dwelling among
/ US, misled and Used as tools by citizens
pf other states, that at whatever cost
ND Inconvenience to the public Penn
yivania will use the whole power Of
government TO protect not only the man
who wants to work. but his wife and
children while he is at work, and to
punish every man who by instIgation
by overt acts attempts to deprive
man of his liberty to work.
nder these conditions we decline to
G4eeept Mr.. NIitchClrs conSiuerate offer
to let our men work ON terms he
names. He has no right to come from
Illinois to dictate terms on the accept
ance of which anarchy anl crime shall
cease in Pennsylvania. He must stop
his people from killing, manning and
abusing Pennsylvania citizens and
from destroying property. He must
stop it because it is unlawful and not
because of any bargain with us.
I'VE will add to our offer to contin-
ue the wages existing at the time of
strike and to take mp AZ each colIery |
and adjust any grievance THIS further
condition: Il the employers and EN-
ployees at any particular cOlipry can
not reach a satisfactory adjustment Of
any alleged grievance 1t shall be re-
ferred to the judges Of the court Of
common pleas of the district in which
the colliery is situated for final deter
minaton."
MrTCHELI.'S STATEMENT.
The following is the text Of the state
ment made to tn" president in the aft.
ernoon by the official representatives
of the miners union:
"Mr. President, at the conference |
this morning we, the accredited repre-
sentativcs Of the anthracite coal mine
ppEa
the views you expressed and the dan
gers to the welfare Of our country from !
prolOngat!ou of the coal strike that
: you so clearly pointed out. Conscious
OF the responsibility resting upon us,
conscious Of eur duty to society, con.
liGbsus Of our obligations to the 100000
mine workers whom We have the hon.
or to represent we have after most
careful consideration and with the
hope of relieving the situation and
averting the sutfcrIngs and hardsh!ps
which would inevitably follow In the
wake of coal famine decided to pro-
pose q resumption Of coal mining upon
the lines hereinafter suggested.
Before doing 50, Mr. President, we
desire to say that WE are not prompted
to suggest this CCur>" because Of any
doubts of the justice uf our claims In
Difference to your wishes we are
prompted by no fear an or part Of our
ability to continue the contest to a sue.
cessful issue. Thanks to the generous
assistance rendered Us by our fellow
workers in this and other Lands, thanks
TO n justice loving American public,
whose SympathinS are always on the
side of right, we N" able to continue
the struggle Indefinitely But, cont.
dent Of our ability to demonstrate TO
Eny impartial tribunal til" equity Of
lr demands for higher wages and i'm.
proved cnvlrou@nnt we propose that
the issues CulmiuUt;s IN This strike
Shail be rCfer-c1 10 You ana a tribunal
own selection and agrc" 10 ar-
II award upon all or any If the
hs involved, If you will accept
spOnsihility and the representa-
IS OF the coal operators viii signify
|er willingness TO have your decision
icorporat"d in HI agreement for not
ess than on" year or more than five
years, as may be mutually determined.
between themselves and the anthracite
mine workers ana viii pay The scale Of
wages which you and the tribunal up-
kOinted by yuI Shall award, we viii
Ghmediately call a convention and rec
ommcnd a resnmntion Of work un9n
FIVE sgy