The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-10-11
Miners Have Reached an Agree
 neRt With That Company
M'CRERY MAKES STATEMENT
Says Tennessee Company Has No De- sire to Wage War on Organized Labor, But Will Maintain
 It's Position.

A committee of the United Mine Work ers headed by w R. Fairley and Edwin Flynn, called on President J. c. Maben of the sloss-sheffield Steel and Iron Go. yesterday, and after a conference of over an hour. an understanding was reached by which union miners will continue to work for the sloss as usual. It is said that large majority of the 400 men at the sloss coal mines in the Brookside- Blossburg districts have signed orders for the deduction of the $1 assess ment for the benefit of the anthracite strikers, and the sloss-Sheffeld company. like all the other companies. make the. deductions willingly when signed orders l are presented. But MT. Flynn, district president of the United Mine Workers, declined to make public any particulars of the agreement between his committee and Mir. Maben: and all MT. Maben would say was that the understanding between President Flynn and himself was entirely satisfactory
 No Conference.
 Asked if there would be conferences with any of the other companies now at work an official of the United Mine Workers repned "There is nothing to confer about. The Tennessee Co. and the ss-Sheffield com. were the only ones with which we had any issues about the assessment matter. Every thing out l side of the Tennessee is now going in l smoothly"
 There was nothing new in the strike 1 situation in the Tennessee Co.'S mining camps. The only mine at which work is being done is at Johns. Tennessee of fcials report that about sixty or seven ty men are employed there. At United Mine Workers headquarters 1t was ad- mitted that some men were digging coal at Johns, but Secretary Clemo placed the number of mines at not over fifteen. 1 The best of order has prevailed at Johns ever since Friday when certain of the negro miners returned to work.
 Mccrery Makes Statement. Vice President and General Manager Charles McCrery of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company gave out the following reply yesterday to National Board Member w. R. Farley of the 1 United Mine Workers, which appeared
 
 l ing:
 MT. Fairley's statements (so called) in reply to President Bacon while contain 1 ing some truths, are not based on facts.
 "It is true that on October l was in- 1 te.viewed by MT. Farley and commit- tee of the district board The subject presented was whether we were going to l arbitrarily deduct and pay over to the | miners union officials the assessment 1 levied by the Indianapolis convention for the benefit of the anthracite strikers of $t per week from such of our employees l as had objected to the deduction being , made by refusing to legally authorize us to do so. MT Fairley and associates were advised that we could not collect from | those who refused to authorize the col | lection, and further, that the collection l of this assessment was matter within l their own organization. which was not | provided for or contemplated in our con 1 tract. and they were not justified in ex- pecting us to have any connection with it whatever.
 Threatened Strike. "Mr. Farley then proposed that we l discharge from our employ all such men as they (the union officials) saw fit to l expel from the union, stating that Tn l event of our refusing to do so, they tthe union offJclais) would order all our Fnin- i CTS out on strike. This l refused to do, l stating that we had no right to discrimiI- ate against non-union men; that our coIi- 1 tract contained no provision whatever l that only members of the United Mine Workers should be employed, but, on the l other hand, that both union and non 1 union men were to be employed-this question being one of the principal issues of the settlement of July, 1901.
 ",rhere is no desire whatever on tho l part of the Tennessee company to delude | the public The equities in this matter are clearly in our favor, and we shall l endeavor to maintain our present posi- ton.
 "The action taken by the local 1 miners officials in calling our men out l on strike is unjust, unwarranted and in direct violation of the contract entered into with them on July Il, in which we had only their moral obligation to keep 1t inviolate. Their recent actions have, l however established the value of their moral obligation.
 Position Unchanged.
 ''The position of the Tennessee company 1 has not changed in any particular. The l question of paying or not paying the as- sessment is a matter for our men to de- l termine individually. l do not believe 1 that any of our Blue Creek miners were advised by any of the officers or the Ten nessee company to pay the assessment under penalty of being discharged, as 1 such action on the part of any of our | representatives was absolutely unau- l thorized.
 ''The Tennessee company has no desire | to wage war on organized labor employed 1 in its various industries, neither has 1t l displaced union with non-union men at | lower wages. In recent labor troubles
 Alabama Brewing Go.