The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-11-29
COLONEL WALL ON COAL STRIKE
10 The salt Lake Herald:


Your comments Of Friday morning upon
my communication Of the day previous
seems TO suggest that / should beg in
diligence Of some further words of eX-
PLANTATION. Referring 20 the meeting lot
the board of arbitration at the office of
GoYerhor Wells an enron IN type mace
me say 'mutiny" instead OF meeting"
an uIterance aIIogeIher embarrassing as
well as confusing Of my meaning.
1t was not, and Is not now my purpose
to criueise The Herald's expression Of
views upon this or any other subject i
may choose 10 discuss. and. moreover. I
am pleased 70 say that / think IL is usual
~ right and always. honest in its treat
ment OF questions Of pubic concern, but
i thought YOU could not have been cor
rectly informed as 20 the status of az
fairs at the coal mines as they were pre-
scented to the board of arbitration. and,
therefore, we're in error in pressing arbi-
trauOn after that eXpedieHt had failed
absolutely, And after, by reason Of which
which failure troops were upon the
ground TO restore order by the only
means left to the state. As to methods
of the fuel company-like all similar cor
porations-it may not he questioned that
ii draws from its employers every avail
able pound OF energy. yielding I'm return
ton, and will eXtOrt from the consumer
OF its products every cent the trade will
bear, and that Il will never submit 70
arbitration or any outside influence, the
pr0priety of any of it's methods, which IL
can maintain by force. AS TO the public
il must burn much or little coal accord
At the time the strike was ordered j.
was stated IN the local press that there
were in the employ Of the fuel company
some 1000 men, of which less than 800
We're members Of the United Mine Work
ers' union; less than IS per cent of the
whole. John Mitchell speaking through
local No 15 Of Colorsdo0 ordered This az
per cent to strike, and they did strike,
and thereupon in effect demanded Of the
SSS company B that ca If qisehsPgs the re
alternative given 20 these non-union men
being Join the union or get out of
camp"
The coal company not only refused to
accedo to this demand, but refused to
submit such a demand to arbitration. I
the governor and members OF the board
and, further, that I would not sit in ar
bitration even should both parties re-
Guest IT, Perhaps. as you say, my re-
fusal would be a violation of duty under
the statute creating the board. But you
help ne out Of the dilemma by quoting a
precedent in a very celebrated case. The
Roosevelt commission in the recent an
thracite strike, wherein the commission
announced in effect that no award could
be made affecting the right of employ
ers 70 employ whom they chose nor OF
the right Of men 10 work whether they
belong TO unions or not"
No grievance or other demand was
made by the strikers. and they had.
thereupon, cult the employ Of the COM
pany For this latter reason, II no other,
the board would have been prohibited by
the statutes from entertaining their petit
ton for arbitration hsd they sought its
assistance.
The strike was mainly for an eight
hour day IN Colorado Should this IS per
cent Of the force employed in Utah sue
coed IN unionizing the other IS per cent
the mines must be closed. and remain
cipscd until an eight-hour day Is accord
ed In Colorado. Ii was for the aVoWed
purpose OF bringing about this condition
~ our mines that the emissaTies of Mr..
Mitchell were sent into this state for
which cause I suggested that they should
have been met upon the border and
turned back. Perhaps should have said
hemp and the nearest tree.
The New York Engineering and Min
tng Journal. discussing what IL terms
This Development Of Popular Govern
ment,N saws
Now come the labor union leaders (of
Colorado and request the governor 70
call special session of the legislature
ia order TO pass an eight-hour law. and
If this IS done they promise to send the
men back to work
In Montana. a few days ago a con-
solidation or blind pool Of copper mining
companies suffered BY what it believed
20 be an unfair judicial decision, and
forthwith IL closed it's mines and smell
ters threw 1900 men out of employment
and paralyzed the Industrial activity of
am entire state. Then the copper mining
corporation announced that Il would re-
sumo operations and put All the men TO