The Columbus journal., 1903-01-14

Year Of the Nest Far-Reaeh.
;nt importance Public Sea-
timeat Thecou9hty Aroused
Over The Contreversy.
The year OF .soe opened with the a.
sured certainty Of the early coming q
peace In the Philippines and South AZ
rica, and with the date for the establish
ment Of IN independent government In
Cuba already determined: the Congress
Of the United States was rapidly ap.
preaching the favorable determination OF
its great problem of the construction OF
an tsthmian ship canal, and abroad Ger
many and England were almost reany
for combined action against venezueia
In the matter Of those same debt claims
which in the concluding day of the year
have been the cause for q new strain IN
the Interpretation of the Monroe. doctrine.
But as the outcome proved. not even
the greatest of these matters possessed
for the people Of the United States sucn
vital importance a. another event. wn'cn
was far from being f0reseen at the time.
and which. when 1t came. gave at the
start little reason to suspect what us
was the great strike In tho anthracite
coal mines Of Pennsylvania. which lasted
through the summer and fall.
1t was not merely that this was one OF
the greatest strikes in the history OF the
La.ted States for the number Of men en-
gagged. the length Of its duration and the
obstinacy with which 1t was fought; nor
was It because Of the mere fact Of the
Inconvenience and loss occasiOned BY 1t
to the public: nor yet because in securing
it1 settlement the President Of the United
States was forced to take control Of the
situation BY acting In q manner for which
there was nothing In the constitution or
customs of the land to give justification.
Beyond all these things the strike was
the most pregnant event Of the year. be-
cause Of the way 1t crystallised sentiment
on the part Of that great body Of the
American public-the c0nsumers-who
were concerned in Il neither as employ
crs nor rs laborers. but who were forced.
by the jeopardizing Of their own inter.
ests a consumers. to intervene for their
own protection.
1t was the approach Of winter. with
coal-yards empty and the mines un-
worked. that caused the public to lay
aside all old prejudices on one side or
the other. penetrate directly to the heart
Of the problem As to which Of the op-
p0nents was the ono responsible for the
lack Of settlement. and then bring pres
sure to bear that could not be disregard
ed. Dating from the year 190z 1t is safe to
say that not even the most significant
strike will be contested without q more
real recognition Of the rights Of the long
suffering third party. the consumer. than
has ever been accorded before. The wide
spread sentiment that manifested itself
for government ownership Of the coal
mines and the still wider demand for the
strtctest government regulation Of them,
In default Of ownership. are other things
to be numbered among the permanent
results Of the strike.
The strike began May Il, and the min
ers did not yield an inch in their resolu-
ton until they voted to return to work
Oct. q, after arbitration had been ar
ranged for. The number of men involved
was IL. .000 The price Of hard coal in New
York. where the factories were accus-
toned to no other fuel. rose from 8 to
as high as so ton, with often no sup
plies to b. had. The demand Of the min
ers was in part for higher wages. but
stil more for regulated and fair meth
Cd Of weighing and recording the product
OF the men. by which the union. acting
as an organization. could protect its
members interests.
The mine owners. organized In the most
thorough monopoly In the Country, and
represented b. the presidents Of the coal
carrying railroads. seemed to welcome
the strike. and c0ntemptuOusly declined
all proposals Of arbitration, from what
ever source. Whether their attitude was
dictated by desire to obtain larger hold
ings Of stock In a demoralized market or
to make possible permanent higher prices
for coal. or from a deep antagonism to
1nA 0n1 1>Ce
speculation on the part of outsiders
Through the strike there has risen as
one of the greatest among the great fe.
ures Of Americans of the day, that Of
John Mitchell. the young leader Of the
Mine Workers Union, who June II, at
Indianapolis. prevented the bituminous
coal miners from striking in sympathy,
who carried on the strike with less ac-
companying violence than was ever
known in so great industrial disorganiza-
ton before. and who. despite great rer-
sonal aggravation from his opponents
methods. maintained a serenity that
helped not a little in the c;ear-sighted
progress which he made to ultimate vic.
tory. With the finding Of President
Roosevelt's commission of arbitration
next spring will come the end. as far
as its immediate incidents are concerned,
Of an industrial struggle that would new.
er have begun had the representatives Of
capital showed themselves a. true to
their agreements and as intelligent in
their views as did the representatives of
labor.
Independence Of Cuba.
OF the two great events Of the year In
connection with the treatment By the
United States OF the islands that fell
under It's influence As q result of the
Spanish war. the first was the Inaugural
of &~A t. CS,.A
The Cuban independence day. when Pres
ident Palma took control of the execu-
tive Office. was May 20. just three days
after young Alfonso attained his ma
jority and became king Of Spain in fact.
The popular election had been held Dec.
81. 1901. ard the electoral college had
chosen the islands president Feb. -.
Leonard Wood. lowered the American
nag and left the island to its own re-
sources.
Even in the first days of the Cuban |
government the task Of administering
It with the islands poor financial re-
sources was No easy one. and the prob |
lem became vastly harder when the |
having given Cuba any aid In the form |
OF tariff differentials. to the enactment |
Of which along general lines OF reci- |
procity the faith Of the country had been
pledged through President Mckinley. a. |
nearly as was IN his power.
Peace In the Philippines.
The Philippine Islands were declared |
by proclamation of the President July |
I. to be In state Of peace and quiet and |
worthy Of the establishment of the civil |
in place of military government. for |
which Congress had provided. With this
went q proclamation Of amnesty to po-
1ffical offenders and civil a6vnfnjef ~ f1on