The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-01-13
WILL "MoVE ON WAsHINGTON''
FOR RELIEF.
MABuRy BlAMEs KNOX
Claim Attorney General Has Failed
to Grant Relief Law Made
Possible.

Chicago, Jan. ia national con
vention at Washington for the purpose
of impressing upon President Roose-
welt the urgent need for relief from
the stringency of the coal situation
was decided on Saturday at a con-
ference in the Grand Pacific hotel
The call for the gathering will be is
sued by Mayor Maybury of Detroit,
acting as chairman of the permanent
committee of the Detroit coal conven-
ton. It was this committee which
agreed on the necessity for a national
meeting at the capital.
The conference opened at 10 o'clock
and at an adjourned session it was
voted to re-convene the Detroit con-
vention at Washington at the earli-
est practicable date. This decision
followed a series of speeches in which
Attorney General Knox was censured,
it being alleged in the meeting that
he had not enforced the laws by which
it was averred redress could be Sc
cured
There was much divergence of opin-
ion at first as to the most effective
method to be pursued to obtain relief
from the present prices of coal. Sug-
gestions were made that an open let
ter addressed to President Roosevelt
asking tina: a convention be called at
Detroit or Chicago, or that congress
be appealed to for action. The pro-
posal to "moye on Washington in a
body" finally prevailed, it being argu-
ed that the enforcement of existing
laws offered adequate means of relief
Following an executive session
Mayor Maybury explained the action
of the conference in formal state
ment
"It was the order of the conven-
tion at Detroit" he said, "that this
committee should call the convention
to reassemble whenever such a course
was deemed necessary. The decision
of the committee is that the conven-
tion be reassembled. 1t was decided
to select Washington as the place to
meet, the gathering to assemble at
the earliest practicable date.
"rhe convention will not be con-
fined to the delegates who attended
the Detroit session, though the gen
tlemen accredited to that meeting will
be members of the convention at
Washington by virtue of their Gre
dentials to the first convention. In
addition it is the purpose of the con-
vention to ask the chambers of COM
merce, the boards of trade and other
civic organizations of the country to
send delegations in such numbers as
hey see fit. In addition the govern
ors of all the states and the mayors
of all the larger cities will be asked
to designate representatives to attend
the convention, it being the desire
to make the personnel of the gather
ing as widely representative as pos
sible"
Charges Against Knox.
In conclusion Mayor Maybury ex-
planned that the date for the gather
ing at the national capital would be
fixed according to the developments,
that telegraphic correspondence would
evoke with relation to the convenience
of those expected to take a promi-
nent part in the convention. The
speeches made by Senator Mason, Mr..
Tarsney, Rev. R. A. White and Mayor
Maybury indicated that the conven-
ton at Washington would be devoted
largely to the presentation of charges
that Attorney General Knox had fail
ed to grant the relief that the laws
make possible.
In fact, more than three hours of
speech making were consumed chiefly
with arguments to that effect.
Milwaukee Appeals to Congress.