Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-13

1906. It Is expeetee To be the most In,
pcrtant wage confidence ever held by they
mine workers orsanszation.
The joint conferences with the operat tors
ana mine owners will take place after tkes
miners have transacted their business. pre-
pared their wage propositions and selected
the men upon whom will rest the RESPONSE
bliity OF reaching an agreement with the,
operators committee.
The sessions of this joint scale committee,
an equai number OF operators and miners.
VIII re held al indianapolis. After they
ieath an agreement. or admit their failure
20 90 SO the subcommittees report back
TO their respective organizations and final
action Is taken
The general public awaits the outc,,,,,, ne
these conferences with more Interest than
at any previous time, because ts,e wage
SORES IN the anthracite and bltuninous
heids all expire on April l. and unless new,
acts are welded before that date s,ls-
pension or work viii prove difficult 10 avoid
certain feeling of an Impending ont
oreak mas pervaded the mining regions for
months. However, the leaders of the r,Ine
workers, from President NitrhaIi 6nu,n -
the sahdistrict officials have earefI,lly re
framed from making predictions of any sort
~, . au1S nave been quoted to say that
ene! VIII resist any demands for higher
Sases' union recognition or shorter hours
S some nave been quoted to say that they
stand Tor wage reduction
oohn Mitohelfs only positiya dacIara.to,
mas been that he will never sanctfn,, an,,s.
nse ,euueuon as to the miners Further
.aah that he has not committed himsaIf
The lamplighters of Ros,o, 49,.
i@ed union One of the OFFICERS az -
. ; meeting declared that their occur-,
,.o. was as much entitled to organized pro
lection as the alligator ca.chars ar Eiaris
ana Louisiana or tht. lobster fSbar,nnr -
me New England coast y,
pro,ba a.. Molrissey, grand master of the
nfotherhood of Railroad Trsfnr1en H.
cures tnat railway employees are cononsiIa5
20 WORK 100 many hours to insure SAFE
aiie ca the roacs. In a speech on the
saoJect recently he said:
rhere Is other occunation today, g.
winch men are forced to be more alert ana
acdVe ana yet are expected to remain ",
ssrVlce so many hours al time Laws
Shouid zoe enacted to protect the railroad
men. We should work unitedly In an eff
lott 10 procure the enactment of measures
providing for the maintenance of the fam
HES of railroad men who meet nitb mis-
fortune If railroad comIya MES can he
forced by legislation to install safety an
pliances for the benefit of the patrons op
tne road. 1T would be no more than fair
that the employees themselves and their
lainiiles should be taken care of We hear
about the shipping rates and what BEN
ehls passengers should receive from tho
ROADS they patroniZe, but all the time tho
vast army of our dead and the train of
mourners who follow the victims OF tho
mereiless railroad march past unheeded
1here should be provided by law a com
vide an annuity for the family equal to the
earning power of the injured man"
Julio Aybar. organizer of the Federation
of Labor in Porto Rico, reports to tho
headquarters in Washington as follows
Organization is gradually gaining ground
although the progress is slow. During the
month the following unions have organized
Two unions Of carpenters two of bakers
womans label league and three unions OF
agricultural laborers. Have under way
three agricultural workers unions and CEN
trail labor union of Yauco."
At the recent anniversary banquet of the
striking pasterers' union of Wilkesbarre
there were several contractors present In
addresses to the strikers some of the con-
tractors declared that they were willing to
pay SI2, day in wages for more union
plaSterefs. This Is more than the scale
The increase is due to the great rush OF
work and the scarcity of union men.
Thirty fishing tugs and their crews. num-
bSring about 30 men, went on strike at
Dunkirk, n. Y. because four fishing COM
panies buying Lake Erie fish reduced their
purchasing price from SEQ to $50 a ton.
Besides the fishermen, the strike will affect
about 3GC persons employed at the docks.
President ]. O'Connell of the International
Association of Machinists has started
organization campaign in the Pittsburg dis
trict and declares that while the macnin-
lists We're fifteen years ago the best organ
lied craft of the metal trades. they are
now the worst, and that the members are
receiving the lowest pay of any of the af-
filiated trades.
At the recent bakers Internal ional con-
vention 1t decided that no union baker
join the militia.
Reports of, the trades unions affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor
show an aggregate expenditure for benefits
during the past year. ending November
last, OF over S1.5tD CO.. as follows: Death
benefits. ST61. 22l2i: sick benefits. S5s2.
s74.13 travelling. S629S97l; unemployed
$50. $50. -: tool insurance. S51S94I
In death benefits the Brotherhood of Car
penters lead, with S2l3, OBS. 40: cirgarmakers
next. with S151. T52 9i. In sick benefits the
iron molders lead with Sl15.69i.5o; cigar
makers second. with Sl63, 226 Is; they lead
in travelling and unemployed benefits with
SOS, 2S.71 and 500 So 80. respectively