The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
ARBITRRTORS ARE
 NOW WORKING HARD
They Put in Two Long Sessions
 Each Day
WILL FINISH SATURDAY
The Award Will Be Made Last of This or First of Next Week-The Questions Which Are
 Involved.

Yesterdays was perhaps the hardest days work that has yet been performed by Judge Gray and his colleagues on the miners arbitration commission.
 They began at 10 o'clock in the morn ing and the session lasted until 1:3o They reassemhled at o'clock in the afternoon and did not finish their joint labors until after o'clock. and the judge stated, when seen early in the evening. that he and Dr. Neill, the recorder expected to continue their work until late bed rimc. They are, indeed, leading strenuous life just at present.
 The Sessions.
 The commission has been holding ses- sions almost every night since the arbi- tratlon began. and they will hold morning and afternoon sessions from now until their labors are completed
 The members of the board expect that they can get through with their work and arrive at a decision on all mooted points by Saturday evening" although 1t may Ee that It will be necessary to go over into next week, but in any event the award will be made not later than Monday next.
 Principal Points.
 The principal points to be decided by the arbitrators are:
 l. The wage scale. and that involves the basis on which the sliding wage scale is fixed and it's maximum and minimum limitations.
 ?. The number of hours a day that will be considered a days work. This ques- ton involves the further questions as to whether the number of hours per day shall apply to all employees alike, miners, drivers, outside men, like engineers and pump men-in fact all company men, It also involves the question as to whether the time shall be computed from the time when the men start for their work or only the time that they are actually engaged in it-for example, shall the miners day begin when he enters the mouth of the mine or shall it begin when he gets to the face of the work on which he is engaged.
 semi-Monthly Pay Roll.
 8. The two weeks or semi monthly pay day, and this question will undoubtedly involve the question of the transferability or non n-transferability of time checks for labor done. It may involve the question of whether or not the companies will maintain commissaries and whether or not they will issue time checks of any kind.
 4. The question of how many days a month a man must work to keep his job. 5. The question as to the scale or rate to be paid for narrow work and yard age and the exact relation, as to price. that this class of work shall bear to room work.
 6. The differential that shall be made in the scale between machine mining and pick mining.
 '. The question of the readjustment of the differentials between the Pratt mines and others in the district, the Pratt seam being tbe basis on which prices for min ing throughout the district are fixed.
 Question of Boys.
 Since the arbitration began there has another question arisen and that is as to the matter of the employment of boys in the mines. Thanks to the manner in which Judge Gray pinned down both sides as to the responsibility of the 12-year-old boy miner, an agreement was entered into in open court to the effect that o..t f the findings of the award should provide against the employment of boys under IA years of age.
 Apart from this last question: all of ths important issues, and in fact all of the  ken are stated above.
 Every man who has followed the .esti- mony and the proceedings of the com mission has made up his mind what the award should be.
 Prize Offered.
 Anyone who thinks that he has a head of the same shape and corresponding bumps to Judge Gray's can send his fore cast to the Industrial Editor of the Age Herald The person making the best guess as to what the findings will be will receive as a prize a piece of real estate, be the same more or less"
 Personal Notes.
 Judge Gray and pr. Neill expect to 7leave for home either on Monday or Tuesday morning.
 Many complimentary comments are heard on the manner in which the re- spective sides to the controversy were presented by MT. Percy and MT. Flynn.
 Every one who was in attendance at the hearings of the arbitration commis- sion remarked on the dgnifed yet friend ly bearing of the two parties toward each other There seems to be a mutual re- spect and confidence existing between the operators and miners" said gen. tleman prominently connected with the arbitration, which should prevent any serious clash In the future, especially as they have now started on arbitration. Probably nowhere else in the whole coun.- try could a parallel be found for the con- ditions existing here.
 On all sides are heard expressions Of sympathy for Edward Flynn in the loss or his son Wallace, who died from cholera infantum after a brief illness. The child was between and years old.