The Indianapolis journal., 1904-02-02
CLASH OF INTERESTS
IN COMMITTEE TO-DAY
Outcome of the Session Awaited
with Anxiety on Both
Sides.

When the joint scale committee convenes
this morning at 9 o'clock in the Assembly
Hall of the Claypool Hotel. the momentous
hour Of the present interstate conference is
expected to be at hand. Just what will be
the outcome of this mornings session
neither miners nor operators will venture
a guess. but it is said the interstate move
ment will undergo the test of which all
are generally apprehensive. 1t is believed
that after this mornings meeting il Will
be known whether or not an agreement can
be reached or the conference VIII end in
disruption.
The sessions of the scale committee were
unusually brief yesterday and all the time
was devoted TO discussing issues that enter
into the making OF the scale. Both miners
and operators are very conservative about
their action and invariably say that they
have nothing 10 give out. The afternoon
session yesterday adjourned al o'clock.
after preliminary business affecting the
skeleton Of the scale had been completed.
session this morning at 9 o'clock and will
probably not call a meeting Of the conven-
ton until tomorrow morning.
Operators in Indiana and Illinois contsn-
ued 10 express some fear yesterday as To
the SOlidity of the forces of the operators
and admitted that there is some danger
of the Ohio and Pennsylvania men dra wing
apart and accepting no other terms than
reduction Of Is per cent All Indiana and
Illinois operators stated that in such event
they intended 10 stand by their States.
There was some argument yesterday = to
whether IL would be possible FOR the ILL.,
nois and Indiana producers TO sign a scale
different from that Of the Ohio and Penn
sylvania men. One operator said that 10
would not be possible for the Eastern COM
petitive opera tors TO suspend business tenn
porarily while the Western producers con-
tinued to run their mines. He declared
that a suspension OF business would be gen.
eral in the competitive field If such were
the course of action on the part of the
Western men.
DETERMINED IN STAND.
That the operators OF Ohio and Penn
sylvania are determined in their stand
for a reduction is now beyond the
shadow of a doubt. ''It is UP 20 the miners
now" said Mr.. Robbins. 1T is ridiculous
for us TO think of tying our hands by sign
ing the contract demanded by the miners.
There has got 10 be a reduction in the coal
industry or our mines will have TO be closed.
There are reductions in every other line OF
industry, and the coal trade cannot expect
TO remain at the high standard OF wages
and continue its prosperity. ON all sides
of US there are reductions, and unless we do
the same cannot find a market for our
coal at a paying price. The reductions in
the steel industry alone has affected the
coal business 10 a great extent The great
steel corporations are securing coal where
they can get IL more cheaply and conse-
quently we losing their contracts for
the reason that the West Virginia and
Meyersdale companies have cut under our
prices IL is useless 10 talk about Us sign
ing the proposed scale OF the miners. We
would be tying our hands by doing and
would have TO close down our mines before
the year was up" In speaking OF the de-
mands of the miners Mr.. Robbins meant the
present scale existing between operators
and miners In the competitive neld
While the new demands Of the miners
ask for a run-of-mine basis and a Nat r.
ferential of cents. IL is generally inter-
preted by the operators that what they de-
sire Is the reafiirmatiOn OF the present scale.
The extra demands of the miners do not
amount 10 anything" said one OF the oper-
ators. 1t is question OF reaffirming the
present scale or making reduction" Ever
since the interstate movement has been IN
force the miners have made demands for
the run-of-mine basis I'm Ohio and Penn
CONTINUED ON PAGE ?. COL 81