Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-03-26

non-membershtp IN any labor oFgah1A-
ton: n there shall be no discrimination
against, or Interference with any en-
ploye who is not a member OF any LABOR
organization by members OF SUCH organ
iZation.
X. All contract miners shall be required
70 furnish, within a reasonable time be-
fore each pay day, a statement OF the
amount OF money due from them 10 tnelr
laborers, and such sums shall be deduct.
ed from the amount u the contract
miner and paid directly to each laborer
by the company. All employees when PAID
shall be furnished with an itemized state
ment of account.
N. The awards herein made shall con-
tinue in force until March 81, 1896; and
any employe or group of employees, vie,
lating any OF the provisions thereoI snall
be subject to reasonable discipline by the
employer; and, further, that the viola
ton of any provision of these awards,
either by employer or employees, shali NOT
invalidate any of the provisions .hereot'
The commission also makes a number
of recommendations which may be sum-
married as follows:
The discontinuance of the system Oh
employing 1.-THE coal and iron police, be-
cause this force is believed to have an
Irritating effect, and a resort to the reg
ularly constituted peace authorities IN
case OF necessity.
A stricter enforcement of the laws IN
relation to the employment of children.
That the state and federal governments
should provide machinery for the making
of a compulsory investigation of diflcul-
ties, similar to the Investigation when
this commission has made. The commits
sion express the opinion that with a lew
notifications the federal act OF OCTOBER.
1883, authorizing a commission TO settle
controversies between railroad corpora
tons and other common carriers could pc
made the basis of a law Tor arbitratlon
in the anthracite coal mining business;
The commission, however, take a decided
position against compulsory arbitration.
On this point they d a quite lengthy
commentary, which closes In the follow
ing language:
"The chief benefit to be derived from
the suggestion herein made lies in placing
the real facts and the responsibility for
such condition authoritatively before the
people, that the public opinion may crys-
talliZe and make its power felt. Could sucn
a commission as that suggested have been
brought into existence in June last, we
believe that the coal famine might AVE
been averted-certainly the suffering and
deprivation might have been greatly mltl-
gated
These. awards n recommendations
constitute the closing part of the report.
The earlier pages and by long odds the
larger portion of the report are devoted
to a review of the controversy which led
to the presidents action in appointing
the commission, to The appointment it
mission during it's existence. They re-
view in a general way the production of
anthracite coal, refer to the small area
OF country IN WHICH IL Is prOuuCeu, anu
dwell at some length on the market con-
ditions and the prices of coal. They also
refer to the hazardous nature of anthra,,
cite coal mining, and give an estimate or
the losses occasioned by the strike. Those
losses they estimate as follows.
AS to mine owners, SAG, 100, 600; to the
mine employees in wages, $25, 900, 600; to the
transportation companies, SIS, OO; GOO The
commission says that in making their
investigation they have done whatever
1t was practicable to do to acquaint them
selves with the conditions which brought
about the strike, and they make the fol-
have gone through mines and inSpected
the various conditions which the produc-
ton of anthracite coal involves; they
nave visited the breakers, the engine
house and pump stations; they have ex'
amined the machinery by which the
mines are protected from water and foul
air; they nave talked with the miners at
their work and in their homes, and they
have given attention to the economic, do.
nestle, scholastic and religious phases OF
their lives; they have listened to and di-
rected the examination and cross-exam-
ination of 55S witnesses; they have given
free scope to the counsel who represented
the operators, the men and the
miners, and they have devoted an entire
week to hearing their arguments.
The commissioners also say that while
there have been differences of opinion
among themselves, there never has beer
q time during the five months of the eX
istence of the commission when there wa!
an unpleasant word spoken among them
cor AIRY indication whatever of though
or desire of aught save truth and jus
tice.'
Further on they say: 1.-THE present con
stitution of the United Mine Workers o
America does not present the mpst in
vjting inducements to the operators t.
enter into contractual relations with it.
The commission report more than ono
their incapacity to make an award oil
the demand of the miners for a recogni
ton of their union, because. they say
) the union is not a party to the submis
sion. Attention is called to the fact tina
! Mr.. Mitchell appeared before the com
I mission as 1.-The representative of the an
thracite coal mine workers" and not il
! his official capacity. They also call at
, tention to the fact hat the agreemen
to arbitrate was reached between the op
orator and a coal miners convention
The commissioners say hat trade I'm
ionism'' is rapidly becoming a matter o
business. If the energy of the employe
> is directed to encouragement and re
. preston Of the union he need not be sur
l prised If the more radical ones are tn
ones most frequently heard. They ex
press the opinion that differences can hes
be settled by consultations by the I'm
ployer with a committee chosen by hi
| employees" but they add that lin order t
be entitled to such recognition the labo
organization must give the same recogn1
tion to the rights of the employer and o
others which it demands for itself an
} for it's members"
t They add: 9TH union must not under
t take to assume or to interfere with tn
= Management of the business of the EN-
ployer." They also pronounce as unten
l able the contention that "a majority @
the employees of an industry, by Volun
! acquire authority over those who do no
= so associate themselves"