Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-04
The Operators and the Award.

The decision Of the hard coal leaders to
call a convention of the miners to meet at
Pottsville Pa. week from Monday to con-
slider the ACCESSIBILITY Of going on strike II
the operators do not recognize the men
named by the union for the board OF con-
Citation, gives the owners a chance to re-
consider their untenable position and TO
meet the terms of the Presidents commits
sion's award in spirit and In letter. Inc
miners are thus far strictly within their
rights and have deserved well or the coon-
try up to the present time by their accept
ance of the award. The operators, on the
other hand have not shown proper spirit
of acquiescence and the action Of the Read
ing in locking out its men In fragrant de-
fiance of the award has served as noti-
fication to the country that the operators
are anxious for a chance to evade the re-
sponsibilities which that finding put upon
them. They are not talking fair In this
latest case. as witness the interview with
President Truesdale Of the Lackawanna
road, in which he says:
THE commissions award provides for the
appointment of an umpire by one of the
circuit judges of the third judicial circuit
of the United States to decide just such
points as the one which has now been
raised and 1 am sure all the operators Will
be entirely willing to have this questions
referred to such an umpire. or better STILL
they will be entirely willing to refer it to
the chairman of the commission. Judge
Gray, and let him decide 1t, and have no
doubt Judge Gray would be entirely willing
to do So"
The commission did nothing of the kind
1t fixed a certain sliding scale of pay rates
based upon the price of coal at tdewater,
and said further:
These average prices shall be computed
monthly. by an accountant or commissioner
named by one of the circuit judges Of the
third judicial circuit of the United States.
and paid by the coal operators such COM
pensation as the appointing judge may fix.
which compensation shall be distributed
among the operators in proportion to the
tonnage of each mine.
Such an accountant or commissioner
could have no Jurisdiction whatever over
the question of whether or not the con-
Citation board members named by the union
shall be received. The award of the COM
mission leaves no room to raise a doubt
as to the manner of the appointment of the
miners representatives. 1t provides that
If there shall exist an organization repre-
senting majority of the miners in each of
the three districts into which the anthracite
region is divided such organization shall APP
point the conciliator for the miners for that
district The operators cannot scrutinize
the method of such appointments. especially
so long as neither the union nor the nom
union miners have entered protests against
their recognition of the men who are
ma med.
If this clause of the commissions award
constitutes a virtual recognition of the
union, we'll and good. The country, the
operators and the miners stood pledged in
advance to accept that award when made
The country and the miners have accepted
it, capitals and commas, big provisions and
little 1t is now the plain duty of the oper-
ators to do the same and not fret and fume
and play tricks because OF the incidental
and evidently unavoidable recognition OF the
fact that the best method of securing direct
representation of the miners upon this con-
Citation board is through the organization
which. whatever else may be said of it,
represents the vast majority Of the workers