The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-27

the NTH decade OF tho nineteenth century.
and the cotton famine In Lancashire during
the American civil war. The resent coal
famine in the northeastern section OF the
United States was likewise the outcome
OF war--of civil Industrial war--and OF civil
industrial war in the very country that
suffered. 1t was, moreover. the first time
that organised labor has actually sue
ceeded In forcing an embargo on nsOss-
sary article Of consumption long enough to
secure It's purposes. II was also the first
time that President OF the United States
has transcribed his Constitutional functions
by intervening In q matter over which .
State had Jurisdiction and by practically
compelling the parties TO dispute to refer
their claims TO q tribunal appointed BY
himself Mr. Ashley holds that Il does not
much matter what kind Of pressure was
brought by Mr.. Roosevelt to bear upon the
coal operators. or by what motives he was
Influenced. He has intelligent American
friends, he says, who believe that II was
sheer humanity which impelled tho Presi-
dent to intervene. while others equally
intelligent believe that he was prompted
to act by Q deplorable regard for the in
terests Of his political party. In either case
the step has boon taken and the prece-
dent has been created. Our author sees.
that, il 1t only has an effect a. great a. had
it's nearest parallel-the Intervention OF
the British Government in the Midland
coal strike Of iso2-and opens q now epoch
In the relations between mining labor and
mining capital. a. an epoch was opened by
the creation Of tho Board for the Federated
Districts in England. 1t will have left a
mark on history.
From tho evidence given on both sides
before the recent Industrial Commission
(the report Of which was printed In 1901
one would gather that the sliding scale was
the invention Of the anthracite operators
in 1875. Mr.. Ashley shows that this was
not the case. though he explains why tho
impression has become current. So great
are the changes in American life, 20 COM
plete in particular Ia the cbesm which
divides the present generation from the
preceding one In anthracite mining. that
it Is only academic historical investigation
which brings out the fact that the sliding
scale method OF adjusting minors wages
was originally forced upon the operators
in 1869 by trade union pressure. There
was then in the anthracite region strong
labor union. the so-called Workingmen' 9
Benevolent Association, composed Of miners
of American and British blood. ohfcered
largely by men who had had experience In
English and Welsh unionism. They fol-
lowed contemporary English precedent in
urging the adoption Of the sliding scale
principle. There were tho same DIM
oulties a. to the basis and as to the pro-
portions In which wages should follow
prices-diflcultics which were referred to
arbitration. Attempts were also made In
1871 to found district Cancellation boards,
composed Of three miners and three opera
tors, with an umpire, TO settle local qu"s-
tions. These boards were to be somewhat
like the joint committees In the north OF
England. All this machinery came to an
end in 1875. The 'long strike" OF that year
In the anthracite region ended In the I'M
conditional surrender OF the men and the
destruction Of tho Workiugmen's Benevo-
lent Association. The sliding scale. indeed.
was retained for the convenience OF the
operators, but there was no longer joint
committee to ascertain selling prices in a
way satisfactory to both parties. The
OF the union was soon followed
by an almost complete change In the per-
sonnet Of the laboring force in the anthracite
mines, men OF American, British and Irish
stock leaving or putting their sons into
other occupations from chagrin at defeat,
tssx .la In tk<, World from
indisposition to work by the side OF Tor
eipners and from half dozen other motives.
Their places were taken by so-called
Huns" and Poles. For example, the
chief coal company In the anthracite dis
trict employed in 1890 II per cent. OF Polish
nationality and parentage;' Fl per cent
in 1895, and "a per cent. in 1895. In 1890
it employed nearly 0 per cent. OF Hungarian
nationality and parentage; 10 per cent. in
1895, and H. per cent. In 1890. To-day.
among the employees Of single company
in the anthracite region will be found.
perhaps, half a dozen branch unions, com
posed respectively OF men belonging to as
many nationelities; and proceedings at
great mass meetings Of strikers are some
times carried on in rs many as six languages
English, Magyar, Bohemian, Polish Lith-
uanian and Italian.
It Ia obvious that no continuous union
tradition could survive under such cir
cumstances Moreover, about he time
when the change in the personnel OF the
laborink force commenced, the Reading
and some other railroad companies began
to enter into mining. and the consolidation
Of mining properties began to grow apace
For almost quarter OF century the opera
tors in the anthracite district were practi-
cally untroubled by strikes. the strike OF
1878 having proved failure.
The two great strikes Of 1900 and 1902
should, no doubt. be attributed as Mr.
Ashley attributes them. to the extension
to the anthracite region Of the influence OF
the great union OF soft coal miners--the
United Mine Workers. Flushed with their
success in the great bituminous strike OF
1897. and In the establishment Of the join,
agreement system in the competitive soft
coal area, 1t WAS inevitable that the Unitec
Mine Workers should turn their attention
TO the anthracite field 1t was inevitable
because Of mere fellow feeling: inevitable
also, because Of the love OF national com
pleteness OF organization which Is 80 preva
lent in all directions and among all classes
in the United States; inevitable. finally be
cause there is still some competiction be
tween bituminous and anthracite. In I
rough sort Of way our author finds parable
in the extension to South Wales OF tn
N,rors, Federation OF Great Britain Ate