Omaha daily bee., 1903-02-13

today and Clarence S. Darrow began sum-
ming up for the men. Mr.. Baer concluded
by Offering to pay contract miners by slid
ing scale, their wages to fall or rise with
the market price of coal at New York.
Mr.. Darrow devoted his attention chiefly
to the wage statements presented, which
he says could not be relied upon.
Necessary to Combine Capital.
President Baer said:
In the development of the natural re-
sources Of the earth it is necessary for
men to combine their capital and their
energy. Railroads, steamship lines, great
steel plants and workshops of every kind
capital.
The profits made in any large business
carried on by a firm, consisting of one
family. or a very few persons, are dis
tributed among these few, but a success
full business carried on in corporate form
distributes its profits among the many,
and therefore necessarily tends to a greater
distribution of wealth.
In general, no one denies the right of
men 10 organize for any lawful purpose,
but the right to organize and the power
OF the organization when organized must
still be governed and controlled by the
general law Of the land under which our
individual and property rights are pro-
tected. We concede to organized labor the
same rights that we claim for organized
capital. Both must keep within the law.
There cannot be one law for citizens and
corporations and another for labor organi-
cations.
The lawlessness in the coal regions was
the direct result of mistaken theories as
to the rights of mine workers. 1t will not
do TO say the leaders have not encouraged
violence and crime. II is true, no doubt,
that they did not advise. They may, at
times, have counseled against 1t, and ex-
pressed regrets for II; nevertheless, they are
legally ard morally responsible for the
situation they created and from which this
violence and crime necessarily resulted.
The leaders intended to enforce. their de-
mands by the threatened destruction of
the mines. They well knew that If the
stroyed. They thought the operators would
yield rather than see the "u!n of the mines.
The operators, did no. yield. Every at
tempt to supply men to work the pumps
was met by mobs, pickets and all the de-
vices that labor organizations commonly
use to prevent men from working. With
the cessation of mining for five months
and the destruction, for the time being, OF
a number of coilierles, the public Is now
suffering for want of an adequate supply OF
fuel. Think what the result would have
been had the efforts of the mine workers
to drown out all our collieries been sue
ceSsful.
Uniform Scale ImpractienbIe.
Many good men have found fault with us
for not making an agreement with the
United Mine Workers Of America. You will
recall that the demand made upon us was
Tor a uniform wage scale, covering the
whole anthracite field. All Of the operators
were asked, to meet in convention with a
view. 10 adopting q uniform scale. The
conditions of employment are not always
the same, and. therefore, a uniform scale
would not be Gust.
In addition to the fact that the miners
union was controlled by a hostile interest,
we object to ii because we cannot delegate
to the miners or any other labor union the
right to determine who shall be our en-
charter OF the Philadelphia & Reading Coal
and Iron company, in express terms, give
to the president and directors the power of
appointing all such officers, agents or en-
ployes as they may deem necessary.
We have the right to employ any honest
nationality or membership in labor organ
i~zations. This is a right we will not sur
render. We do not object to our employees
agree to turn over the management of our
business to a labor organization because
some Of our employees belong to it.
employees n was acting exclusively for
them, there could be no objection to deal
zafion having for its object some Gtopiar
scheme of uniformity in wages and condi-
tons in the mining of coal all over the
considering only the questions at issue be.
tween our employees and ourselves, he is
considering a general proposition which re-
lates to all the coal miners in the United
States.
Union n Monster Monopoly.
We are not left to conjecture. The facts
are before us. The United Mine Workers
have created a monster monopoly. They
1 QlQ 6nuN uU TIC 4 IAiAN III AAltA
than five months, They taxed tn
bituminous miners and all laborers owe
whom. organized labor had control to -up
port the strike. The owners or
mines, some in self-defense, others in tn,
hope OF gain, contributed to the strike fund
With what reeult2 The price Of both an
thracite and bituminous coal more thar
doubled. The supply was inadequate, tn
public was suffering. not onlyNfrom a higl
price, but from a scarcity of coal! Indus
trial operations closed down and men wer
thrown OUT of employment, All over tn
land, except In districts that could be sup
Piled by the great anthracite coal compa
MES, tho poor, the honest workmen and III
well-to-do suffered for want of fuel,
The record shows that an honest cffor
was made TO convince the. United Min
Workers that their demands were unjust
Who now will say, in the light of tn
testimony. that the demand for a uniform
rate OF wages extending all over the an
thracite regions. was reasonable. The diff
ference in conditions between the anthra
cite operators and the bituminous operator
I was clearly pointed out to these labo
2 leaders.
: AS to wages:
First-The testimony clearly shows tina
: the wages now paid are fair; that the
= compare most favorably with the genera
. wages Of the country, and that men willin
= to work honestly and exert themselves d
\ earn annually sums in excess of the aver
e age.
Of labor In the anthracite regions confirm
I our theory that the WAGES are alread
high as compared with the general wag
- I sN8A1 - NAAE ~ 70 49, VI
knows that labor is. attracted to the plac
where wages are the highest.
. Eject of Higher Wages.
II the wages are again advanced. the
I instead OF diminishing the existing exces
OF workmen II will be increased BY ne
e workmen coming to this field. Somethin
has been said about the operators import
: ing foreigners. l never heard OF IL. III
foreigners come here because of the r,
t ports made by the men already here of IN
n conditions, and they will continue to CON
SO long as such exceptional advantages al
offered.
The demand for an eight-hour day is onl
n duction. 1t must be apparent to everyor
that restricting breaker operations TO elgl
n hours a day must necessarily limit the on
put of the colltery, and TO that extent muI
not only decrease the wages payable TO II
miners, but IL Will decrease the supply
the public and tend to increase the price
n coal.
Makes n Propagation.
After reviewing the old sliding scale wal
II system, Mr.. Baer presented this prOpS
n sition:
That the rate OF wages now paid mu.
be the minimum basis for the next thr,
years; that from the LIST of Novembe
=, 1892, TO the LIST OF April, 1903, employees 9TH
Z than contract miners shall be paid an a.
ditional 5 per cent. That on and after ApI
/, 1893, for each 5 cents In. excess OF 81.
10 per ton on the average price realized II
y white ash coal in the harbor of New Yor
- on all sizes above pea. wages shall be a.
- Nauced / Der cent. the Wages ~ rise