Evening journal., 1903-06-16
MITCHELL AVERTS
ANOTHER STRIKE
His Counsel Wins and the
Miners Will Make Plans
for Peace
VIEWS OF THE MINERS LEADER

Says Appointment Of Cancellation is
Legal, and Don't Propose to Allow
Operators to Be Sole interpreters Of
Commissions Award.
Scranton, Pa, June 16.-The special |
convention of the United Mine Workers |
Of the three anthracite districts. called |
for the purpose of dealing with the re- |
fusal Of the operators to recognize the |
conciliators appointed by the joint ex-
ecutive board. opened here with Ma
tional President John Mitchell presi-
ding and GAO delegates in attendance.
The Cancellation matter and all other
grievances the different districts want
to have considered were referred to a
committee on resolutions. composed OF
seven delegates from each district and
the three district presidents
This committee met last night and
presented a report for revision or adop-
ton at today's session of the conven-
tion. The sentiment almost unani-
mously expressed in the motions and
speeches is in favor of the convention
l contenting itself with endorsing the
action of the executive board and leav.
ing it to the operators to accept the
three district presidents as concilia-
tors or take the consequences of their
refusal Not few Of the delegates de-
clared openly for a strike to enforce
acceptance Of the district presidents
credentials as they now stand.
Several delegates spoke in favor OF
having the district presidents report
what had been done at the conciliation
board meeting, but this was voted down
as unnecessary, the convention call
having outlined all that the presidents
would have to report.
President Mitchell said: what the
district presidents have to report can
be told in a nutshell The operators
, refused to recognize your representa-
? tives on the conciliation board, on the
. pretext that the commission didn't
mean what it said The commission
said that if there was majority or
/, ganization existing in all reedlstricts,
such organization should appoint. The
word appoint is used twice. No mem
, tion is made of the word elect The
) operators say they meant something
, else. As / understand it. the three
representatives of the operators are
not agreed as to just what the commits
sion did mean. We don't propose to
, allow the operators to be the sole in
terpreters of the commissions award
IL was written in plain English, and
! we understand the English language
{ quite as Well as they. Besides, we have
a an authenticated Interview from Judge
Gray in which he says that the APP
pointments might be made by the regu-
] larly constituted officers of the majority
organization, and that certainly means
the three executive boards"
Secretary George Hartlein followed
with a spirited speech, in which he pro-
voked resounding cheers by declaring:
Il can see a siX-months' strike in every
y one of your faces to get what we are
r entitled to-" He declared the conven-
y tion had nothing to do about selecting
e conciliators, as that had already been
e done and the only business before it
was to formulate this and the other
# grievances and proceed to have them
a redressed. Let us get our grievances
o properly before us, so that if we have
10 to fight we will know what we are
fighting for"
A colored delegate, William Tarr, OF
= Shamohn, arose to protest against
Secretary Hartlein talking strike
We've had enough of strike. We've
u had our belly full of It," he declared
n what we're here for is TO avoid strike
"a We're not looking for bother"
10 Tarr was interrupted frequently witt
l- cries of "Put him out" and the like
RS and when he had been induced to sub
m side a delegate arose and formally
le made motion to eject him from th'
hall. President Mitchell smiled anC
y went on with the business. A Schuyl
= kill delegate favored a fight on th'
M conciliation question as II stood. l
49, the operators have their own way il
M this, he said, they will want their owl
%. way in everything, and at the end o
IS: the three years the miners will be en-
joying none of the things they wer
awarded by the commission. Tim
and again motions We're made which
ty though differing in form. were all sub
al stantially in favor of having the con
on vention endorse the action of joint eX
ri- ecutive board in selecting the concil
iators. but President Mitchell each tim
STAYED off a vote by one ruling or on
other.