Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-11-27
Miners and Coal Operators Will
Try to Settle between Them
selves.
COMPROMISE PROPOSED
Ten per Cent Increase In Wages, Nine
Hour Day and Trade Agreements
between Miners and Each Com
pany- Announcement Caused
Sensation.

-
Scranton Pa Nov 21-Thc mine work
erS through their representatives have
ngroed with tho r,inc owners to attempt
to adiust the differences existing between
thon, outside the anthracite coal strike
commission. The proposition was made
ON A compromise basis and negotiations 1t
IL. expectcd will be at once entered upon
with a reasonable hope of settlement with
she Aid of the arbitrators The rough
prouosition which is TO form the basis
of ncrotintions is y ten per cent increase
"A wages, n nine-hour day. and trade
agreements between the miners and the
company by whom they are employed.
The only one of the four demands not
touched unon &c that of Weighing of coal
nv tho legal Ton While both sides have
.xpressed a WILLINGNESS to settle their diff
tcrences among themselves, it is not to
,e construed that if carries with it the
.,ccoptance of the terms proposed They
are mentioned only as o basis, it is UNI
lersto,d from which "A settlement is to be
rnected II is possible that the follnda-
tion already laid can he wrecked by either
,artv holding oLt too strongly against
ONE question and thus leave the whole
matter in the hands of the commissioners.
who. in the meantime. will act as a sort
,r board of conciliation rather than as
:; board of arbitration
Few persons were aware that an at
tcnpt would he made at an outside settle
rlcut until il was practically SO intimated
bv fudge GRAY the chairman of the com
mission who road a carefully prepared
announcement from the Bench The
move. one of the most important in the
whole history of the coal strike. created
q mild sensation when it became known.
The siirnrise uns all the greater when II
will be remembered that numerous Der-
sons from the President of the United
States down and many ORGANIZATIONS from
the National civic Federation to the
small boards Of trade of the mining towns
failed to bring tho two parties together
II Is said II was an brought about by
both sides seeing that the proceedings be-
fore, the commission would be intermin-
.hlo and that in the intermingling of the
LAWYERS for both. sides the outside agree
;nent proposition was preached and taken
ND
II cannot be officially stated which party
made the proposition first. The attor-
news for both sides are averse to talking
hat those who were inclined to say some
thing differ in their statements
An attorney for one of the railroads
SAID IL came from the miners side while
one LAWYER for the miners said 1T came
from the operators. Another representa-
tive of the miners said IL was a "spon-
tancous" pronositlon 1t is generally be-
lieved however, that the oporators were
the trst to make the proposition. WAYNE
IL
liant cross examination of President
Mitchell is given credit for bringing about
the present situation He went TO New
York after he finished with Mr. Mitchell
and had a conference with certain per
sons connected with the coal industry
among them II is reported j. Pierpont
Morgan He was in New York to-day in
connection with the matter
The commissioners were informed of
the new turn of affairs last night and
acquiesced in the proposed Arrangement
1t was learned tonight by the corre-
spondent of the Associated Press that all
the large companies have not vet asscnted
to the proposed outside agreement but
that in all probability they will consent
and continue to work as a unit as thew
ald curing ,he suIhc, THOSE when are
the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western,
the Lehigh Valley, the Delaware & Hud-
son and the Erie company which con-
trolls the Pennsylvania Coal company and
the Hillside Coal and Iron company.
There Is wide difference of opinion as
to whether the proposal to settle differ
enceS among themselves VIII meet with
success. AS a general proposition, 1t Is
believed by lawyers that ii will succeed
but that some of the controversial points
will have to 20 before the arbtrators. 1t
mas peen realized tnat at least two OF the
four demands of the miners-that for a
uniform wage scale and the weighing of
coal, cannot be satisfactorily settled in
the hearing room but must be fixed up
at the mines. There are upwards of 800
colleries and there are hardly any two of
them alike. 1t is urged by the opera tors
that there must be different scale for
each one on account Of the varying con-
ditions and that uniform wage scale is