Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1902-10-04

Washington, Oct. 2.-Prcsilent
Roosevelt will make an effort to bri Gs
the anthracite coal mine owners and
their striking employees together in ihe
interest or the public good. This CON
clusion was reached after IA series Of
conferences with his cabinet advise IS
covering Tuesday and yesterday. The
decision was arrived ut when the law
yers of the cabinet Informed the prnsi-
dent that there was no way, under tAe
constitution and the form of govern
mcnt of the United States, for federal
intervention to end the strike. Every
phase of the situation was canvasSad
and the determination to have the mine
operators ana President Mitchell meet
the president was reached when ii was
found that no other method was open.
At the conclusion of the conference yes.
terday the president sent an Identical
telegram to the coal operators ana to
John Mitchell, representing the rn-
ployes, asking them to meet him here
at II o'clock on Friday for the purpose
of consultation.
At the meeting Friday the line of np-
prOach toward the settlement OF ,lr
strike will be an appeal by President
Roosevelt to both sides to come to-
gethcr as men and not to allow false
pride or Il feeling of obstinacy to stand
in the way Of the termination Of thr
great strike. IT is stated by on" of the
presidents advisors that beyond this
the president cannot go; ht has no
powers of compulsion to bring into
play against either side and he must
rely upon his persuasive abilities and
his appeals to their sense of humanity
If anything tangible IS to De accom-
plished.
The president intends to lay before
his hearers the situation us it appears
to him with all the prospective hOr-
rors that will follow Il fuel famine. and
will urge them in the interests of hu-
manity to open the mines and supply
the demand for coal. The president
has taken this action because he feels
it to be his duty to do so, as the eX-
ecutive head of Il nation. threatened
with great peril. The president has,
in Il sense, taken upon himself the
burdens of an arbitrator in this great
dispute between capital and labo",
and though the arbitration is not com
pulsory and Is not even known under
the name of arbitration in any of the
invitations issued yesterday, it Is the
hope of the president and his advisors
that Il will be effective.
There will be no one present at Fri
days meeting but the principals. 1t IS
true that Friday is cabinet day and that
II o'clock, the hour appointed in the
invitations for the meeting of the coal
magnates and Mitchell. is the usual
hour of assembling of the cabinet, bat
according to the present understanding
that cabinet meeting will be postponed.
The purpose of the postponement is
plainly to relieve the invited guests
from the feeling of reserve that might
naturally be created if they appeared
before the entire cabinet. including
some exceedingly clever lawyers whom
the coal people might not care to meet
in Il business way in the absence of
their own legal advisors.
SO the absence of the cabinet will
give the president an opportunity to do
just what he wants. namely, to have Il
good heart-tO heart talk with the op-
orators and Mitchell. to induce them to
talk to each other freely and TO reason
quietly and soberly and finally to agree
If possible to make concessions Oh each
side which will terminate the strike.
And ut least if this last object cannot
be directly obtained, 1t Is hoped that
the foundation may be laid for an
agreement in the near future, perhaps
an agreement between the principals
to have further meetings.
1t is stated positively that the presl-
side which formed the basis of his call
for this meeting. But, when Secretary
Root was in New York Tuesday and
the night preceding. he saw one at least
of the coal presidents whose names
appears in yesterdays list of invita-
than Mr.. Morgan. competent of ex-
ercise tremendously powerful but
secret pressure upon corporations, eN-
list in New York, and it is surmised that
with some of these the secretary, not
unacquainted in business way in
that circle, may have had interviews
during his visit.
President RoOscvelts proposition n. ct
prompt response from Il number Of
the men to whom invitations were sent
During the afternoon and evening the
president received replies to his invita-
tions from President Mitchell of The
mine workers. President Baer Of the
Reading railway and one or two others
Baer's prompt reply to the presidents