Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-04-24
MITCHELL is
RESPONSIBLE
So Declares the Operators is
Holding Up the Negotiations
Letters Unanswered.

The anthracite operators, who have
received a brief reply from President
Mitchell of the United Mine workers
to their letter to Mitchell containing
their formal answer to his last prop
%osition, issued a statement yesterday
attributing the present suspension OF
work and the chaotic condition OF the
soft and hard coal industries to Nit
cbell. The statement accuses him of
plaving one industry against the 9TH
! er. y
Mitchell's letter, which vas receiv-
ed by President Baer, of the Jersey
Central Railroad in Philadelphia yes
terday, is as follows:
indianapolis, April 81, 1906.
Mr.. George f. Baer, Chairman:
Dear Sir: Your favor dated April
II is received. Replying, will say
that ! have called a meeting of the
committee representing the anthra-
cite miners to be held at Wilkes-Bar-
re Wednesday morning, April 25, at
which the communication signed by
you and your associates will be sub
mitted for the consideration of the
committee. At the adjournment of
the meeting | shall communicate with
you further. | am yours truly.
JOHN MITCHELL.
The following is the statement au-
thorized on behalf of the operators:
When Mr.. Mitchell presented his
plan of arbitration on April IL the
operators informed him then and
there that it could not be accepted.
They also notified him that a detailed
reply would be ready on April II.
The affairs of a rival industry, how
ever, demanded Mr.. Mitchell's atten-
ton in Indianapolis on April 16, and
it was not until April 81 that he
could even acknowledge the operat-
ors' letter of the 18th.
1t should be very definitely under
stood that the delay in these negotia-
tons is not caused by the operators.
They handed their formal reply to
the miners original demands to Mr..
Mitchell's committee on March 8.
But in order to take up the contro-
versy with the bituminous operators
Mr.. Mitchell had to leave New York
on March 10, and he was absorbed
with questions relating entirely to
the soft coal fields until March 81.
On March %, without any warning
or further discussion. a strike to be-
gin April | in the entire anthracite
industry was ordered from Indianap-
oils, the soft coal miners h%eadquar-
ters. Not until April 3 was Mr.. Nit
chell again able to meet the anthra-
cite operators.
Now, once more, from April II to
April %, the affairs of the anthracite
region must be neglected while the
bituminous dispute is taken up. Each
industry alternately waits while eff
forts are being made to fix terms with
its rival. Meanwhile the anthracite
mines are idle and some 10000 men
are led to sacrifice their wages. The
strike has been in progress for over
three weeks, and exactly thirty-siX
days have been lost in these negotia-
lions since March 9 by reason of the
demands upon the miners leader by
the competing bituminous industry.
The opinion among the coal deal
ers to whom this statement was
shown was that it left no loophole
for the belief that the operators
would recede a hairsbreadth from
their position. They also said that
the operators had good reason for is
suing such a statement. 1t puts Nit
chell in a position, they said, where
there is no halfway policy, He must
declare a strike or back down. The
coal dealers say that the miners in
case of Il short-lived strike would not
lose much, as they never work TIC
whole year round.