The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-08-18
EXPENSES ARE HIGHER HERE Don H. Bacon Says Cost to Mine Coal is High. BOARD NEARING END Miner Says Estimate Of 0per-
 ators too High. Two Main Questions Amount of In- crease and the Eight Hear
 Day-May Finish
 Aug. 2s.
BOARD NEARING END

Birmingham. Ala. Aug. i7--The second
 week of the hearings of the Board Of Ar
 bitration having in hand the adjustment Of the differences between the AfHhMfizn
 miners and operators, began this morn Ing An unusually large crowd was pFes- ent indicating that interest in the peo- ceedings was increasing rather than Gi- minishins. Don H. Bacon, President of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad
 Company was the first witness today. He gave q lengthy statement of the op-s erations of his company. telling of it's possessions, annual output. etc. Tae re- ferred at length to the conditions ana methods prevailing In the Lake Superior District. drawing comparisons and con duction and handling is greater in. Ala bama.
 He also compared the soutiefn plants of the Tennessee Company to the moro modern plants of the North. showing that the material could be handled much cheaper in the North Mfr. Bacon spoke of the heavy expenditures which hiA company is making at this time in order to put it's mines and furnaces in better condition Something like million d0l- lars. is being expended, he said. He also made statement showing that it wouia cost vast sum to completely modern ire the possessions of his compauy.
  timony tended to show that the South ern producer Is at dfsadvautaGe ih many respects. but still must competn with producers more faverabiy hltuatea
 When President Bacon had finished hia testimony. J. M. Franklin. superintend- ent of the Tennessee company's mines. was called Ills testimony dwelt upon the question of differential pick and ma chine mined ceaI Mir. Franklin said that he had bean in fila Northern coal fields and had viaitea many of the niinA4. In his opinion IT cents would be tic proper diiEeyential feE Faaehlne taineA ' conmisslonsF LswiA f1an snads < asiaifs ment on the differensial question and h@ said that a good scale had been prepared for Ohio, Pennsylvania. Illinois ana fft- diana. He was in hopes thia would event. ually maintain in Alabama.
 William Fields. q miner from the New Found mines at Brookside, operated by the Sloss- Sheffield Steel and Iron Com pany. was the next witness. His evi-t dence was mainly intended to show the earnings of miners in Alabama. He said that the averages presented by the oper- ators were incorrect in many particulars and that the miner did not earn nearly so much as their figures would indicate. the commission adjourned immediately he had concluded. s
 It seems to be the general impression now that the Arbitration Commission la bors will be ready to make an award by August 25 Though none of the commits sioners will discuss the matter, the ina precision also prevails that a .senhi-month- ly pay day will be granted. This is com sidered the most important question to be settled as the operators had already practically agreed to an advance in wages before arbitration was resorted to. The two main questions to be. decided now hour day. N Nf