The Van Buren press., 1902-06-21
PREGNANT WITH TROUBLE.
Call for Special National Conven-
tion of the United Mine
Workers of America.
IT WILL Be HELD IN INDIANAPOLIS,
The Result May he m Entire Sus-
pension of BituminOus Coal Min
ing and n Consequent StagnatiOn
of Industrial and Transportation
Utilities

Wilkesbarre, Pa, June 19.-The
long-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-
,ention will be fixed by w. b. Wilson,
national secretary, at Indianapolis,
who has charge of the machinery by
which 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 on in the anthra-
cite coal fields.
The Five PetitiOning Districts.
Under the constitution of the
union, five districts must request a
convention before the national presi-
dent can issue a call for 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
tine, 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 Uncommunicative.
President Mitchell was extremely
uncommunicative az to what the
probable action of the convention
might be. If the delegates should de-
eide to inaugurate national suspen-
sion of coal mining everybody at
strike headquarters believes it would
have disastrous effect on the indus
tries of the country
The supply OF coal would become
so short that large and small indus
tries would be compelled to suspend
operations and many railroads would
also seriously suffer,
Nearly Half n million Miners.
There are approximately about
100000 coal miners in the United
States. OF these, about 100000, Mr..
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
gates will go into the convention with
142 900 striking hard coal miners at
their back for general strike. The
West Virginia delegates will have APP
proximately $4,000 behind them for
strike, and in Michigan, where the
union has been having trouble, the
delegates will also be instructed for Il
national suspension. Central Penn
sylyania will contribute certain
number of delegates who will want
general strike, as will also Ken
lucky, ...
Where the Opposition Lies.
II remains for western Pennsylva-
mia, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana to OFF,
set this, as 1t is unoflicially under
stood that the miners in those see
tions are not very enthusiastic for a
general stoppage of coal production.
There viii be about 1000 delegates
In the convention. National Secre-
tary Wilson has already started to
send out the call for the convention,
The call is sent direct to every local
union, and does not first go through
| the district offices.