Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-22
strike. which will call for economy Of the

strike. which will call for economy of the
most rigid description.
Naturally, the merchants of these cities
do not relish the prospect of a strike. Some
of them are just again getting on their feet
after the disastrous experience of 1902.
Failures occurred frequently then. Some
men were ruined for all time. Others were
wise, and curtailed their credits and strug-
gled through, without profits.
One of the most significant statements
that came to the ears of The Stars repre-
sentative was heard at Susquehanna, which
Is one of the northern gateways to the
hard-coal district. There the commercial
travellers going into and out of the anthra-
site region often stop to make connections.
Lately these men have been unusually dole
full
MY last trip into the mines,'' said one
recently to the hotel proprietor. my house
has ordered me to notify the retailers
down below that 1t will not carry them
through another strike No goods on
credit, and all that sort of thing That
means short sales for me-
Nothing much doing in the mine town."
said another his way out. "The mer-
chants are getting afraid, and are asking
for longer credits than usual which they
cant get They're all afraid of a strike"
This Is the prevailing belief, and yet the
fact that the wholesalers are cutting off the
credit of the retailers, makes for peace in
the mines. For the retailers, wise in their
experience, are today quietly notifying their
whole retail business of the hard-coal region
will be put at once on cash basis
Ihus the light may be waged most fiercely
this winter between the pockets and the
principles of the miners.
Are the men ready for a prolonged strike ?
This is hard to answer; but the belief of
the best informed is that the strike fund
is not large. This brings up an interesting
condition. After the settlement of 1902,
when the men began to feel "easy in the
boat and the wages were paid regularly
and the bank accounts of the better-paid
men began to grow, many of the low-waged
workers, feeling the value of a coin more
acutely than the need of membership in
the union, quietly stopped paying monthly
dues-twenty-fye cents month-and were
dropped from the rolls. Estimates of the
number thus dropped vary from 10000 to
10000 in the Wyoming valley alone 1t IS
confessed by the stanchest unionists that
the locals were seriously depleted during
last year, and that the first Of the past
July found the union membership very
thin AT that juncture John Mitchell went
into the hard-coal district, took off his coat
and set to work. His speeches there were
intended for home effect alone. He was
not talking to the public at large but to
his immediate hearers. He was working
them back to their own union allegiance
His eloquence did a great deal and some
thousands returned to the fold. But the
initiation fee of $40 stood in the way of
many who were drawn but did not have the
price for a return. So on the 1st of July
this fee was cut down to 50, the reduction
to last until August l. Some more thou
sands returned to membership. Still many
were outside the lines, and Mitchell made
more speeches and the reduction of the fee
was extended to September. The result of
all this agitation and financIar maneuvering
is that today the union ranks are well
filed
1t is the prevailing belief, even among the
operators, that by the December convention
the union will represent practically every
mine worker, certainly every man of an ex-
pert qualification. The expectation today
is that the operators will not undertake to
work the mines If strike Is called unless
the state law requiring coal cutters-the
class known generally contract miners
to have had at least two years experience
in anthracite mining before employment is
declared unconstitutional by the courts
Such decision may come at any time. A
test case was brought some months ago
and it is claimed by the union men that the
miners whose cases were taken to court
were imported by the operators from Chi
cago, without experience in hard-coal work,
for the express purpose of securing de-
cision upon the constitutionality of the
statute of 1897.
Il
This claim, as to the character of the test
case is not especially to the point, al
though it Is now exciting considerable in
terest in the mine districts. The fact is
that the lower court has already upheld the
law, and that an appeal was taken by those
prosecuting the case. A decision by the SUI
perior court of the state will follow shortly
but the possibilities of appeal win not then
be exhausted, and 1t Is difficult to see how
the operators hopa to relieve Them