Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1906-03-30
TWILL AFFECT NEARLY HALF
MILLION UNION MEN
National Convention Will Be Held
Today to Decide Whether Min
ers May Work Where
Advance Is offered,

indianapolis. Mar. 20.-The Joint
meetings of the bituminOus coal Opcr-
ators and miners of the central COM
pctltive district, composed of western
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and IIli-
nois, and of the southwestern district,
composed of Missouri, Kansas, Texas,
Arkansas, Oklahoma and Indian Ter
rltory reached final disagreement
tonight on the wage scale TO go into
effect at the expiration of the present
scale ON April I, and the conference
of the central district adjourned sine
die, while the Joint scale committees
of the southwestern district decided to
report disagreement TO the joint
conference of that district tomorrow.
II Is expected that tins conference will
at once adjourn sine die without an
agreement. The action of the two cOn-
ferences VIII directly cause the sus-
pension of work after saturday Of 49,
900 miners unless something unfore-
seen, like the submission of the differ
enccs TO arbitration, should Intervene
and indirectly will affect 2O6,5OO more
miners, not including It's effect on
$50. 900 miners in the anthracite field,
who were tonight ordered TO suspend
work Monday.
national convention of the miners
will be held tomorrow TO decide
whether the miners will be allowed
to sign the advance scale demanded
by them and today refused by all the
operators with few exceptions, and go
to work where the advance Is offered.
Opera tors employing $4,000 miners In
the central competitive field have OPP
enly offered to pay the advance during
the Joint conference sessions.
The wage scales of all miners both
anthracite and btuminous will expire
Saturday except those In Tennessee
and Alabama, where the scale will ex-
pire in September The national Of
ficials of the United Mine Workers
said tonight
1T foregone conclusion that all
miners whose wage scale expires Sat-
urday will quit work unless some ar
lrangement is effected In the mean
time"
The Miners Affected.
The bituminous miners affected di-
rectly and indirectly by the disruption
Of the conferences number 3S4500,
distributed as follows:
Pennsylvania, 100, ,000: Maryland.
5000 West Virginia, $4,000 Virginia.
Is, 900; Ohio, 10000 Indiana. $4,000:
Illinois. $4,000; Iowa, $4,000; Michi-
gan, $500: Kentucky. 1000. and the
southwestern states, 10000. OF these
10000 are unorganized.
All districts have in the past based
their settlements on the result in the
central competitive field The sltua-
tion in the other districts is as fol-
lows:
The Iowa district has always await.
ed the action of the central field be-
fore signing It's statement has been
postponed awaiting action taken to-
day
The Michigan district is usually gov
erned by the central fields action and
has awaited the result OF this meet
ing,
The West Virginia state convention
is In session awaiting the outcome
of this conference.
The Kentucky Operators assocla-
tlon has representatives endeavoring to
get Mr. MitchelFs consent 10 hold
their joint convention with a view tn
negotiating settlement without any
reference to basis The consent nd l
not been given this evening.
Central Pennsylvania is governed
largely by the central district and or
ders have been given to cease work
Saturday night pending a settlement
The southwestern district has here
tofore followed the central district. as
1t did today In falling to agree upon Il
scale.
End of Ten Days Struggle.
The disagreement came after
struggle lasting ten days, and not only
disrupts the Interstate agreement
which has existed since 1898 between
the operators and miners. through
which wage scales and other din, -
ences have been adjusted. but Il af-
fects $4,000 bltuminous and anthra-
cite coal miners who viii suspend
work after Saturday unless something
not anticipated or foreseen lntervents
In the interest OF peace
The final vote In the conference of
the central competitive field. on which
the other districts blse their settle
ments, was upon a motion offered nv
President Mitchell of the United
Mine Workers TO adopt the wage scale
OF 1908 which would have been an
Increase in wages OF 5.55 per cent. The
operators OF Illinois. Indiana and Ohio
voted against the proposition. which
defeated Il, and the disruption OF the