The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1902-06-21
PREGNANT WITH TROUBLE
Call for a Special National Conven-
ton of the United Mine
Workers of America.
IT WILL Be HELD IN INDIANAPOLIS.
The Result May BE an entire Sus-
pension of BituminOus Coal Min
fng and n Consequent ~StagnatiOn
of Industrial and Transportation
Utilities.

Wilkesbarre, Pa, June 1s.-The
aong-expected call for a special ma
tional convention of United Mine
Workers Of America was issued,
Wednesday, by National President
Mitchell at strike headquarters, to
be held at indianapolis at the earliest
possible date. The date of the con
vention will be fixed by w. b. Wilson,
national secretary, at Indianapolis,
who has charge of the machinery by
which q convention is arranged.
The convention will be held for
the purpose of discussing the advisa-
bility of involving all the soft coal
miners in the United States in the
struggle now going IN in the anthra-
cite coal fields.
The Fiv Petitioning Districts.
Under the constitution of the
union, five districts must request a
convention before the national presi-
dent can issue a call for a national
convention. The five districts that
applied for this convention were the
three anthracite districts, the Michi-
gan district and the West Virginia
district where a strike is now on.
President Mitchell has had the con-
sent of the five districts for some
time, but for some reason did not see
fit to issue the call until now. The
request for the convention was
made at Hazleton, -four weeks ago
last Friday.
Mitchell muuicatiye
President Mitchell was extremely
uncommunicative as to what the
probable action of the convention
might be. If the delegates should de-
eide to inaugurate a national suspen-
sion of coal mining everybody at
strike headquarters believes it would
have a disastrous effect on the indus
tries of the country.
The supply of coal would become
10 short that large and small indus
tries would be compelled to suspend
operations and many railroads would
also seriously suffer.
Nearly Half n Million Miner
There are approximately about
t5O 900 coal miners in the United
GltttS. vi thCScf obcht pSNFSONs N'h
Mitchell says, are affiliated with the
union, and in additional $4,000 com
ply with the legislation of the min
ers' organization. 1t is utterly i'm
possible at this distance to forecast
what the national gathering will do
because not one delegate has yet
been elected. The anthracite dele
-.tao will rn into tho convention will
Jap 900 striking hard coal miners al
their back for a general strike. Thu
West Virginia delegates will have ap
proximately $4,000 behind them fol
O strike, and in Michigan, where the
nnion has been having trouble, thu
delegates will also be instructed for
national suspension. Central Penn
s~ylvania will contribute a certain
number of delegates who will wan
q general strike, as will also Ken
lucky.
Whe the Opposition Lies.
1t remains for western P~ennsylva
mia, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana to OH
set this, as it is unofficially under
stood that the miners in those sec
tons are not very enthusiastic for
general stoppage of coal production
There will be about 1000 delegate
IN the convention. National Score
tary Wilson has already started t
send out the call for the convention
The call is sent direct to every loci
union, and does not first go throug
the district offices.