Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-05-05
STRIKE SEEMS Sure.
President Mitchell Is Worried Over
the Outlook.
$4,000 MEN MAY STOP WORK.
Civic Federation, Says Labor Presi-
dent, Has Done All That Coula
BE Expected Of 1t - Opera"
tors D0dge Concessions.

New York, May 5.-Au negotiations
between the miners and operators are
OF, and President Mitchell Of the Unit
ed Mine Workers said that strike
seems certain. Mr.. Mitchell has just
returned from a conference In WASH
ington with Senator Hanna and evil
IDENTIFY was worried.
1.-THE subcommittee Of operators ana
miners selected by the Industrial
branch Of the National Civic fedora
tion," he said, "failed to reach an
agreement upon any of the important
issues embodied in the miners scale
adopted by the Shamokin convention.
"The executive committee Of the
three anthracite coal districts of the
United Mine Workers of America, In
which is vested the authority to begin
q strike, has been ordered to assemble
in Scranton Pa, at 10 a. m. Wednes-
day, May Z. This committee consists
of twenty-eight members, appointed
from the three districts, and should
majority of them vote in favor OF
strike the entire 1900 mine workers
will Immediately respond to the CALL"
Asked If this positively meant that a
strike will be ordered, Mr.. Mitchell.
shaking his head In serious manner,
said
Threatening Outlook.
ut certainly looks extremely threat
ening. The Civic federation has done
all that could be expected of it. Its
sole duty was to arrange conference
between the workers and the operators,
and this has been done. 1t will have
nothing further to do now until a
strike has been declared, when, at the
request Of both factions, they may sug-
gest basis for arbitration. The fail
ure of the two committees to agree is
not the fault of the federation, which
has done it's work in an excellent man.
ner and has proved itself success in
every way.
"There is very little to say about the
failure to agree. The operators would
not grant any concession to the work
ers whatsoever. They would not agree
to advance wages to reduce the num-
Der of working hours or that the coal
should be weighed at the pit mouth"
Mr.. Mitchell explained that in addi-
ton to the $4,000 members of the an
thracite workers in the miners organi-
cation there are also large majority
Of the 100000 bituminous miners, and
these men will 60 out II strike is Or
dered. He said he would remain in
New York until Tuesday, when he
would go to Scranton to attend the
meeting Of the district committeeman.
No Concessions Likely.
While there still is possibility of the
Civic federation pers,nding the oper-
ators to grant some slight concession
to the workers between now and
Wednesday, Mr.. Mitchell did not seem
to think that this will be done. The
twenty-one delegates who accompanied
Mr.. Mitchell to New York have all re-
turned to Scranton. Whether many of
these men also are members of the com.
mittee of twenty-eight, on which now
hinges the question Of strike, Mr..
Mitchell would not say, but it seems
to be the general opinion that almost
all Of them are.
Now that it is definitely known that
the operators absolutely refused to
grant any concession the opinion that
they would welcome strike at present
which has been heard in many quar-
ters-is growing. 1t will not result in
any great hardship to them, even if the
mines are closed down during the sum-
mer, when little or no coal is being
shipped. When fall comes, however,
they Of course would be anxious to
have the mines opened. Even if they
failed to gain anything by the strike
they could grant some of the conces-
sions now demanded and settle the
thing Immediately, as it is highly i'm
probable that, after being idle all sum-
mer, the men would not be ready and
anxious to resume work.
To many it looks as though the min
ers have little or nothing to gain and a
lot to lose, while the opposite is the
!, case with the operators.