Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-02-19
DOLAN WRITES TO MITCHELL
Miners President Charged with Playing to
the Galleries.
SAYS OPERATORS CALLED HIS BLUFF
Pittsburg Leader Says OrRanixation
IL Beaten Because of Biunders
of It's Executive
Head.

PITTSBURG, Feb IS-In a statement
he made public tonight President Dolan of
the local district United Mine Workers OF
America scores the methods of John
Mitchell. national president of the mine
workers, and charges him with trying to
shirk the responsibility for the position in
which the mine workers are at present.
Dolsn also accuses Mitchell OF playing to
! the galleries" by threatening the operators
with a national strike but that the opera
| tors called the bluff" Mitchell is further
charged with sending organizers into the
local field to defeat Dolan and that money
belonging to the organization was used.
Mr.. DoIan's Statement.
The statement says;
President Mitchell is trying to shirk the
responsibility for the mess he has gotten
| the miners of this country into by saying
that | evidently trying to divide the
miners forces. ] am not. am trying to
save the miners from the dangers which
| threaten them because of Mitchelis lack
| of courage. Mitchell and Mitchell alone
is responsible for the serious situation
! which confronts the miners. He got started
| wrong I'm the joint convention and did not
| have the courage and common sense to
make a temporary retreat when he saw ne
was worsted and should take up the hght
| along other lines.
He led the argument for the miners by
| claim that prices of coal were higher at
that time than they were two years ago.
The operators immediately took him at his
word and offered to bring in the books OF
| all the companies I'm the country. large and
small. and have them examined II the
miners would agree to take a reduction If
the price were shown to he lower the
operators to pay an advance If the price
were shown to be higher.
Operators Call BLUM.
T. l.. Robbins asked Mitchell to accept
that offer. Mitchell never let on he heard
the question. Robbins repeated the ques-
ton a half dozen times and Mitchell sat
the chair and the chair ruled that Mitchell
ought to answer the question Mitchell
| then arose and said:
81 decline to answer.
From that time on our cake was dough.
| Mitchell may say that | am not smart
enough to write an intelligent statement,
but a man does not have to have college
education to know when he is whipped. and
the operators had us whipped from that
, moment.
When Mitchell saw what mess he was
in he tried to scare the operators from
following up their advantage by making
radical statements and playing to the gal
leries He thought he would scare the
operators by the thought Of a national
strike. but the operators called our bluff.
After this blunder of Mitchell we were in
nice shape to ask the public 70 smut smut ,di! OF
and then have the newspapers make public
| sentiment for us by telling everybody how
From the time Mitchell made that first
blunder he went from bad to worse until
the Ryan resolution made our situation
hopeless and we came without an agree
ment. Mitchell has always lacked cour-
age. He IS more careful OF his own rnepu-.
tation as a successful leader than lle is OF
tho interests of his people Never In his
career has he fought against the popular
tide. no matter whether 1t was right or
wrong. Two years ago when the operators
whipped him into line for a reduction he
disappeared from the convention with an
attack oe what he called nervous pros
tration.'' and after he got out OF the Turk
ish bath he made all the miners leaders
fight to have the delegstes accept the re-
duction before he would do so.
Not Unfriendiy to Mitchell.
Mitchell says | was always uniriendly
to his administration. ! was not although
to be a candidate for national vice presi-
dent against him in 1898 and ne never
field and issued orders to spare no expense
to have me defeated for district president
money and not his own that ne was willing
to be so lavish with TO vent personal
spite. =. ...
hody connected with the labor movement
that Mitchell is suffering from common
ing ali the time toward one-man power and
the truth of the matter is that he Is not
in touch with his own people or with the
made him The tide has always been in
his favor until lately and now he does
| measure
thing besides a Prince Albert coat and "a
carna ton In the button hole to make real
labor leader. !, takes common sense and
| courage and the man who lacks either
ought to hire somebody to tell him of his
shortcomings and retire from his j9n,,
work on Anthracite Scale.
NEW YORK Feb lS.-John Mitchell and
his associates on the anthracite miners
subconmittee today finished their work of
preparing proposals for agreement and
will probably meet with the coal operators
subcommittee Tuesday or Wednesday.
II was stated that no formal document
would be submitted but that the miners
would notify the operators that they were
ready for a joint meeting of the subcom-
mittees and would then state I'm general
terms what they expected the operators to
grant them in the new agreement. II Is
> expected that several meetings will take
place before final agreement or disagree
ment would be reached. It is practically
, certain that the miners will make firm
. demand for the eght-hour day for all men
employed about the mines One OF the
miners representatives said today that the
eight-hou question was more important to
the men than any other demand that had
been mentioned.
II at the meeting with the operators this
week no agreement should be reached, the
miners would have to go back to Pennsyl-
vania and the whole matter would be sub
mitted TO a tri-dstrict convention. that
being a convention OF the three big anthra-
: cite districts which control the entire coal
held No matter what may he the result of
the conference here II will have to be rati-
= fed by the convention TO be called in Penn
; sylvania.
The present contract between the opera
tors and the men does not expire until
March 81. so In case of disagreement i'm
= New York the miners will have Ave weeks
to consider what course they will take. and
$ TO make preparations IL they decide to
e strike.