The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-02-07
AGREEMENT is in SIGHT
OPERATORS AND MINERS WILL COME
TO TERMS TODAY.
Nothing Has Arisen to Throw Obsta-
cles I'm the Way of Harmony
Two Main Points.

The coal mine owners and the workers in
their mines, in conference in Indianapo-
lis to determine and adopt a scale of wages
to govern employment of miners for the
year following the Inauguration of the new
scale, April /, 1903, have not allowed their
hope of a roseate end to the conference
to-day to be dimmed. While no public
announcement has been made and nothing
positive to indicate it, has developed since
the situation was reviewed yesterday,
there is nothing on which to base con-
tradiction of the conclusions of the re-
view. The miners are anxious to end the
conference. as they feel that their locals.
while reposing the utmost confidence in
them, will expect action soon; and the
operators would much rather be back at
their offices administering the affairs of
their business than in Indianapolis trying
to find out how much money will have to
be expended on the pay rolls to operate
the mines during the coming year.
MEETING TO-DAY.
To-day the joint scale committee will
meet in English's Hotel, and at the meet
ing a reference of the matter to the SUBJ
scale committee will be ordered. In this
subscale committee an agreement may be
reached. Both parties of the subcommittee
have instructions, not positive on the min
ers' side, but discretionary, and these in
structions will be such that harmony may
prevail During the session it is expected
that the subcommittee will reach some sort
of an agreement in general and with the
exception of minor details will report back
to the scale committee with something that
will provoke unit vote. which is neces-
Sary to an agreement. After the unit vote
the new scale or an agreement OF its rat
ings will be ready for presentation TO the
conference at a meeting which Will be
called later in the day.
There will be little difficulty i'm getting
the conference together when the scale
committee can report, said an. operator
last night. and this was taken to indicate
that if nothing prevents it the delegates
to the miners convention and the opertors
will be leaving town by tonight after hav-
ing adopted a scale for the coming year
The subcommittee of the scale committee
was in session most of the day yesterday.
What il did is kept secret, but IL is assured
that the discussion in the committee room
did not present any new phases to the situ-
alton that will block the way to harmony.
After the subscale committee had adj
journed many of the miners met in the
Hotel English TO discuss the Indiana issue
that the miners are half-heartedly with
drawing their support from this BILL now
pending in the Legislature.
SHOT-FIRING BILL.
The bill is to be the special order of busi-
ness in the State Senate Monday, and then
amendments will be presented to it, sup
ported by the miners union. that will re-
move the Objectionable features. The
miners can hardly back down from sup
port of the bill, it is said. Organized labor
i'm Indiana secured the introduction of the
bill and has fought for Ii because of the
help they wished TO offer the miners union.
which il affects solely For the miners 10
officially withdraw their support and fight
the bill would be breaking faith with the
Indiana Federation Of Labor. and the meet
ing yesterday. IL is thought, taught the
delegates these facts.
The questions still unsolved and causing
troubles are the advance in pay and the
differential. Nothing more can be said OF
either of these questions by miners or OPP
orators The differential will always be a
troublesome issue. 1t is said. and will prob
ably be sidetracked at this conference, the
same as IL has been previously. Ii is GER
tain that the Illinois miners will not relin-
quish their claim TO the differential as es-
tablished. and the fact that in this State
an arbitration commission on this question