The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-26
MINERS TURN ON MITCHELL.
DISTRUST OF HIM GROWS AMONG
OFFICERS AND MEN.
His Attempt 10 Make Deal with Robbins
Arouses Workers In Other States AZ
Well as in PennSylyania-Talk OF Open

Arouses WORKERS In Other States az
Well rs In PennSylyania-TaIk or Open
Shop in the Competitive District.
INDIANAPOLIS, March 25.-Whether there
shall be concerted action among the btu
minous mine owners of the competitive
district in support Of the open shop principle
in the event Of a strike of the miners Is q
subject that is engaging the attention Of the
operators here. There Is a strong senti-
ment in favor of it.
h operators say that the organization
Of the miners in Indiana, Illinois and Ohio
is practically perfect as it now exists, but
there Is a largo percentage of the most in
t~elligent miners who are opposed to a sus-
pension and who would not hesitate to work
regardless of the orders of the United Mine
Workers if coal mined by union labor In
Pennsylvania should come into the mar
kets of the three other States in which they
were idle,
In the interim between the adjournment
of the convention in February and the re-
assembling in March, the operators sayI
many Of their employees expressed them
selves as favorable to the readoption Of the
present scale, as offered by the operators,
and in a great many cases the locals re-
fused to send any delegates to this oon-
vention because they wanted it UNDER
stood that they were satisfied with existing
conditions
Many of these miners, it is said, have
grown restless under the assessments OF
the organization, and when making better
wages than ever before can see no good
reason for disturbing present conditions
and going on a strike.
Out Of this we'll known attitude OF the in
telligent class of miners has come, accord
ing to the operators, the opposition within
the organization to President Mitchell and
the feeling among some of the officers,
notably Vice-President Lewis, former Dis
trict President Dolan and other district
leaders who are members Of the executive
board, that Mitchell is becoming untitled
for the important office which he holds.
In the discussions which have marked
the conferences of the joint scale commit
tee Mitchell has proved no match for the
operators, and his compact with Robbins
to accept the scale Of 1908 when a demand
for a l2L per cent. increase was pending
and his desire to make terms with the BIZ
luminous operators in the face of the Ryan
resolution, which inhibits an agreement
with any unless with all, have bred in the
organization something like distrust that
has taken q firm hold upon many of the
delegates
Among the miners at the hotels here
there are vague hints regarding MitcheH's
vacillating attitude in the scale conferences,
and there are those who believe that he Is
not at all times so completely in control of
his faculties that he sees clearly What he lie
doing or realizes the full of
his words and acts.
There is no longer any doubt in the minds
of the miners that Mitch ell would make a
separate agreement with President Robbins
of the Pittsburg Coal Company if he be-
lieved hat the convention would indorse it.
He has been told that such a thing would
be suicidal and that the miners who would
be out Of work would resent the incoming
of union dug coal to prolong their idleness
and go to work themselves upon any terms
presented by the operators.
Mitchell refuses to look at the question
in this way and is still considering tina
Robbins proposition, which is to accept the
1903 scale and let Robbins run his mines
in western Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois.
The Ohio miners and the Illinois miners
are a unit against this plan, and the western
Pennsylvania delegates will vote against
it in convention. Mitchell knows a majority
is against him. but he still refuses to con-
cede that such a settlement is not feasible.
There is a growing feeling that Mitchell
has utterly failed to display the tact and
adroitness in this fight that gave him such
prestige before be entered upon it, and his
power over the miners is at the lowest ebb
that it has ever reached. The operators
recognize that he is losing his hold upon the
organization, and they are satisfied that he
cannot conduct a strike successfully and
that he knows it. They believe he is try
ing to get up such a public interest az will
attract the attention OF President Roosevelt
and bring some kind of request from him.
but the operators say that public sympathy
is with them and that no interference 10
expected from Washington one way or the
other,