The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-04-04
COAL CONFERENCE ID
 MEET AGAIN To- -L0RROW
NO AGREEMENT REACHED AT YESTLRDAY'S SESSION OF
 COMMITTEES.

entIy Hopeless Deadlock RumOrs Are
 Still Current That n Way VIII be
 Found to Common Ground for Set
 clement of Difrerences-OmciaI State
 lnent of the Meetlng-NO Disposition
 on Either Side to Recede From It's
 Original Position.
 New York, April 3.-The b-commit- tees representing the anthracite opera tors and the mine workers of eastern Pennsylvania held their first joint meeting here to-day, and after nearly three hours session adjourned until l p, m. on Thursday, without coming to an agreement Each side to the con troversy has refused to make the slightest concession, and the whole question is apparently as far from so- lution as it was before to-day's confer ence began, In the meantime the tie up of the anthracite industry remains as complete as 1t was yesterday, with out indication that a resumption of mining will occur very soon. NotWith- standing the fruitless session and the apparently hopeless deadlock between the workmen and their employers, ru- mors are still current that a way will be found which will enable the opera tors and miners to stand on common ground and settle their differences.
 After the conference the following statement was given out by a represen- tatiVe of the operators;
 The conference began at neon with President E. B. Thomas, of the Lehigh Valley company, in the chair. Mir. Mitchell made a long speech, detailing why in his judgment the original de- mands of the miners ought to be grant ed, He was followed by Mir, Nichols, president of the Lackawanna- Wyoming district of the miners union, who sup ported MT, Mitehells argument. There were other speeches by the representa- tives of the miners In fact, that side did nearly all the talking. There was no disposition on either side to recede from its original position or to accept any modification of the original de- mands. MT. Mitchell's attitude indica- ted that the counter proposition made by the operators for a renewal of the working agreement drafted by the an thracite strike commission was not ac- ceptable to the miners.
 "On motion of Mir Mitchell the con ference adjourned until Thursday
 The entire situation remains the same as before the meeting, The sus- pension of work in the anthracite mines will continue pending the nAgo- tiations."
 Newspaper men had made a request that they be permitted ito attend the conference, but 1t was refused MT. Baer saying that it would be better not to depart from the rule adopted. Mir. Mitchells argument 1t was learned, was along practically the same lines as that contained in his letter to MT. Baer some time ago, in which he gave req sons in general way. He said the men felt they were entitled to more pay and the betterment of certain condi- tons and he himself believed they were justified in asking that their situation be improved. The operators did not make a formal reply to Mir Mitchell S remarks, but frequently piled the miners leader and MT. Nichols with questions What prompted an adjourn ment for forty-eight hours was not learned.
 The shamokin scale committee, which numbers thirty-six men, and which was appointed last December, held a session tonight at the Ashland House.
 The scale committee was in session less than an hour. The subcommittee which had been in conference with the operators made its report, after which President Mitchell read the following letter from Governor Pennypacker of Pennsylvania;
 Executive Mansion, Harrisburg, Pa,
 March S1, 19O6.
 Dear Sir: The commonwealth of Pennsylvania expects that every req sonable effort will be made by the par ties interested to accommodate the diff ferences between coal operators and coal miners and to avert the strike which is now threatened,
 CSigneD
 "SAtMUEL w. PENNYPACKER. "To George F. Baer, Reading Terminal, Philadelphia.
 "John Mitchell, Indianapolis.'
 Mir. Mitchell stated to the committee that he had acknowledged receipt of the letter and had notified Governor Pennypacker that he would communi- cate It's contents to the Shamokin scale committee The scale committee will meet again tomorrow.
 After the conference a rumor was current that the question of arbitrating the differences had been discussed but when President Baer was approached on the matter he said that arbitration had not been suggested at the session.
 Reports received from the anthracite fields during the day, according to the labor leaders, were satisfactory to them There were no breaks reported in the ranks of the mine workers and none is expected,
 MT. Mitchell in discussing the situa- tion in the bituminous fields, said he had received a large number of tele- grams during the day from the soft coal fields, which satisfied him that af- fairs in those regions are working | themselves out just as he had anticipa- ted. Thousands of men, he said, re- turned to work to-day under the scale of 1903, which gives them an increase of 5.55 cents over the wages received during the last two years,