Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-03-12
ACCOMPLISH LITTLE
Miners Contend for Agreement
Based on Mine Run System.
OWNERS THINK IT INpRACTlCABLE
Operators Claim That Quality of Iowa
Coal Makes Scheme Unadyisable-
Neither Side Anticipates Any Trou-
BEGINNERS Hold Executive Session.

Coal Makes Scheme Unadyisable-
Neither Side Anticipates Any Trou-
BEGINNERS Hold Executive Session.
Des Moines, March 11.-(Special.)--
The opening meeting of the joint
scale committee representing the coal
miners and operators OF Iowa, yester-
| day afternoon, was barren of results,
but it brought ont the fact that the
| miners are intent upon securing from
the operators an agreement based upon
| the mine run system of mining coal
| This has been bone of contention be-
! tween the two great factors OF lowas
coal industry for several years, and
| teh miners nave insisted upon the rec
ognition of their claims at every an.
nual convention during that time, but
each time they have given away to the
operators on the question. However
this year the say they will not do it,
| but will stand their ground and compel
| the operators to come to their way OF
| thinking.
Operators Claims.
The operators contend on the other
hand, that the quality of the Iowa coal
makes mine run system impractic
able. Although such a system is in
vogue in Illinois and Missouri, they
claim that in those states the output
is clean, that is, freer from impurities
| than is the Iowa coal. 1t is well
recognized facts so they say, that the
Iowa coal contains rock, slate and 9th
er impurities which have TO be separ
ated from the coal before it is market,
able, and if this were paid for by the
owners of the mine, as it would be I'm.
der mine run system, they would
say that they could not afford to run
many of the Iowa mines which are pay
ing today on screened coal basis.
Miners Claims.
The miners assert that the Iowa coal
| is such that it can be produced on a
mine run basis and sold at a profit,
the statements of the operators to the
also that they have a right to dictate
as to the manner in which their coal
shall be weighed, while the operators
claim that this matter concerns only
the owners of the mines, and that the
wage question alone is an affair of the
miners and operators Jointly.
Motions Made and Lost.
Yesterday afternoon at the open
I ing of the convention of the scale COM
mittee, the president and spokesman
I OF the miners side of the house, Ed
win Perry, moved that the mines in
4 Iowa, or more properly in district No
tr,,, hoe ic
er much discussion the vote was ia,
ken and the operators voted against
the motion, while the miners voted for
lit. Under the rules of the joint con
vention the notion was lost, as all
questions relating to the scale reGnire
an unanimous vote to be carried. Then
4 Hen. Fl. l.. Waterman, the spokesman
for tho operators. roved that the pres
ent system be adopted for the coming
year. There was more discussion
along the same Ines, and the motion
when voted upon was lost, the opera
i tors voting for it as one man and the
miners standing out against it. The
entire afternoon session was spent in
discussing the matter, and finally
Frank Cameron of Hiteman, one of the
miner representatives on the scale
committee, presented Mr.. Perry's mo
ton again, and the vote resulted the
same as at first. 1t being O'Clock
then. the time for adjournment, the
session came to an end with the mine
run question still unsettled.
Nothing Serious Anticipated.
Although to an outsider the situa
: ton looks like one bordering upon ser
: Gus trouble. neither side anticipate
anything of the kind. judging from
the expressions of the members o
both organizations. The first one o
two days OF the joint convention ar
usually taken up with the question
/ which though important are governe
! by the other matters to be considered
and no one connected with the coal II
dustry expects the question to caus
serious trouble.
Miners in Executive Session.
The joint scale committee adjourne
shortly after it had convened thi
morning. The miners stated that the
, had overlooked some points in thei
scale at their previous meeting and in
mediately upon the adjournment of tn
committee they went into eXecutiv
. session for consultation with regard
the scale. The miners stated that the
would be ready to resume the col
ference this afternoon, and at 2 o'cloc
the joint scale committee was Gale
to order.
Des Moines, March 12.-(SpeciaD-
The first great obstacle to the Pre-
gress of the convention of the sea
committee was overcome yesterda
afternoon when the miners gave i
their fight for a strict mine-run sy
TEN all over the state and accepte
i the same conditions as to weighir
coal that have existed for sever
years. Yesterday morning they wei
in session as a separate conventic
until almost noon and when the sea
committee met in the afternoon tt
operators again moved that the doub
standard be observed; that is, tn;
both the screened coalaand mine-ru
system be followed, anu there were 1
votes in the negative.
c Trouble Over Percentage.
C The real trouble commenced whe
c the question of the raise to be give
c the miners of Putnam county, Mo