The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1905-11-25
MITCHELL Gets BUSY
WITH EASTERN MINERS
Takes Advantage Of Every 0p-
portunity to Address Men .
=. About Pittsburg.
Bituminous Men in Ohio, Ind;
lana and Illinois Hold Key
to Situation.

PittSburg, Pa, Nov. 23.-(Special.
President John Mitchell Of the Union
Mine Workers is addressing meetings
of miners daily in the bituminous dis
trict while he is attending the cons
vention Of the American Federation
Of labor here. He runs out to th6
mining camps in the evening. It .
part Of his plan to get q big stick
with which to travel through the wil:
ter conferences with both the bitum
ineus and the anthracite Operators. ~
The Pittsburg bituminous miners ars
Indiana and Illinois districts, which,
with it. are parties to the interstate
agreements on wages which have head-s
ed off strikers for ten years.
Sensational reports are current for>
telling a great strike. Mitchell said
a few days ago in Terre Haute that
he supposed these reports probably
sold some COAL" implying that they s
created a fear Of reduced production &
and consequent higher prices. In the
last few days the reports had it vir-
tnally determined that the miners
would demand an advance at the in-
terstate joint conference In Indian
apolis in January.
Pittsburg No Longer Dominates.
1t should be noticed that in all his g
speeches go far Mitchell has said only
that he would oppose reduction in the
scale. As for that matter the weak
Pittsburg district is not likely to bo
dominating in the conference. More
over the present indications are that
the local operators will drop out Of the
conference.
Frank Robbins president Of the Com ].
solidated company, the hoor leader Of
past conferences, has said recently
that he would not be in Indianapolis s
Formerly his company represented ~
per cent of the output of the Pittsbure
district: it now represents about 50 s
per cent, owing to new developments
in the field. But the other operators
will not be represented If the big
company is not. -
At the last conference RoA1fns
served notice that unless the miners
brought West Virginia, his competi-
tor, up to the, interstate standard of
wages he would drop out. The limited
Mine Workers have found the VISIT
inI1 held
Up 70 As,thsaeits ops1 8 d.
: The annual convention Of It's
tional organization Of the United Mine &
workers is to meet in the middle ol /
January In indianapolis, and the in.ia
terstate conference of Illinois, Indiana,
Ohio and the Pittsburg district should
meet two weeks later. 4
When President Mitchell was asked.
If the situation in the anthracite feida
is likely to affect the bituminous cons ].
ference no replied that he believed.
that the anthracite problem win hav6
been solved by that time.
The anthracite miners will hold tlisis
convention December II and immedi-
ately afterward it will be known if
the anthracite operators will enter INTO
negotiations with the miners organte
zation. II the settlement there has not
been male by the time set for tho
Indianapolis joint conference the latter
will BE- postponed.
Expect oompromiss. -
It can be said that the miners ex.
pect the bitum1nous interests to use,
their influence with the anthracite OPT
orators, something much more ,read1ly
done now that the bituminous -
has oeen taken over by merger conn-
panies, backed by sIch people as tho
Rock Island crowd the Illinois Cen
trail AMI other big railroad systems
with influence in Wall street and who
do not want a suspension of mining
in the. biiuminous field.
Tho ,ooinors' Ion 6aro ra IL "a ~ ..,..!s fSSs
hedent that the anthracite interests
will be willing to negotiate with the
labor organization, and in the end will
concede the eight Ecur day, both of .
which concessions were made by the :.
western operators some years ago.
The purpose Of organising the min
ers in the anthf6cite field. to which
Mitchell has devoted himself in the iaat
two weeks, is to remove the delusion
which it is held, caused Baer and
others to accept strike in 1908. At .
that time Baer had canvass Of his
miners and as they, were Represented
in the miners organization by q small
minority, he thought enough would re.
main at work to defeat the strike. $ IS s
The miners officials say that With
only 20 per cent organized the strike i
would be general, but they claim now
70 per cent and expect to have 90 Per
cent by the time Of the shanokin ccAa E
venttOn.s -s.-z : +&ssss...
even-twenty-n
Pass the ball and buck the line;
Someone hollers, Down." and thea
: Each aide counts it, wounded men.
.------- -. =. S
Central Labor union fof
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