Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-05-03
MINERS IN CONFAB
Operators Issue Statement of
 Their Position.
NENNUSTNOW STRIKE OR BACK DOWN
Anticipating Mine Workers Cenven. tion, Owners Place Their Case Be- fore Public, Who Are Inter-
 ested In Price of Coal.

! AhtncIpaunB Ninc "OrAcrs S0hSeus
 ton, Owners Place Their Case Be- fore Public, Who Are Inter- l. ested In Price of Coal.
 NEW YORK, May 3.--Anticipating
 the convention of miners, which open
 sd at Scranton, Pa.. today, the anthra-
 cite coal operators have issued state-
 ment outlining their view of the nego- | tiations in the anthracite field up to date.
 The object of the statement is ito
 prevent misunderstanding of the situa-
 ton which has led to the convention of
 miners assembled at Scranton" It de-
 clares that in the summer of 1905 the
 leaders of the United Mine Workers found their organization rapidly dwin- l ding; that, having obtained a large
 wage increase as a result of the arbi- tration award of the commission ap- | pointed by President Roosevelt in
 1902, the men apparently saw no req
 son to continue to pay union dues. It adds that on June l last the total union
 membership was 3SS1O out of some i 110,000 employees. President Mitch ellis tour of the districts. which. the statement says, resulted in increasing the union membership to S0,487, is re- 1 viewed, and portions of some of the | miners leaders addresses are quoted.
 Baked by the results of this cam | paign," the statement continues, and disregarding the fact that the anthra- cite commission had settled the funda mental principles which should govern 1 the relations between the operators and their employees, the miners rep resentatives came forward on March 1 with an extraordinary list of new de- mands. The operators took the posi- tion which they have consistently maintained, that on all questions which had been definitely settled by the coal commission its findings should be con- | tinued"
 Then. the statement declares, there
 began the playing of one industry against another. MT. Mitchell went to
 Indianapolis and with the suggestion | that strike might be called in the an- thracite fields demanded large wage
 increase from the bituminous opera l tors.
 "The situation now before the people is a most serious one. Every claim of the miners was duly considered by the coal commission appointed by Presi- dent Roosevelt That commission was
 universally recognized as able and i'm
 partial. President Roosevelt in ap- pointing Its members specifically in- | structed them to endeavor to establish
 the relations between the employers
 and the wage workers in the anthra-
 cite fields on just and permanent | basis"
 A Scranton special dispatch says the
 tridistrict convention of the United Mine Workers. which opened there this
 morning. will declare a strike through
 out the hard coal fields is the opinion I of every one in touch iwitii tAe kiraa-
 tion. It seems that there is no way
 out of a strike unless the mine workers
 back down. and all of the delegates
 are very far from favoring anything approaching backdown. President Mitchell will give no intimation of the
 course he will take. but admits that he
 has determined what to do and is as- sured the mine workers will stand by i him