Rosebud County news. [volume] (Forsyth, Mont.) 1901-1906, 1906-02-22
The Threatened Coal Strike

The Threatened Coal Strike
The country is facing the posssibil-
ity of another disastrous coal strike,
which may drown out the memory of
the calamities ended by the interven-
ton of President Roosevelt in 1902.
The struggle of 1902 was confined to
the anthracite field, which produces
less than quarter of the coal output
OF the Union. In that distressful
year there was actually more coal turn
ed out in the United States than in
the year before. There was much in
convenience, because the people of the
East had become accustomed to the
domestic use Of anthracite, but the
great industries of the country, which
were based on soft coal, went OH as
usual. At that time it was under
stood to be the policy of the United
Mine Workers to play off one field
against the other. Keeping their
men at work in the soft coal region,
they could raise strike benefits to sup
port the anthracite miners in idlenss,
and vice versa. But now the plan is
to stop work everywhere at once and
see which will come first-starvation
for the miner or ruin for the nation
sitting idle among it's paralyzed in
dustries. If ruin, then it's belived
that desperate people may force the
operators to surrender. The lines of
battle would extend not only over the
whole United States, but over Can
ada. The idea of war on this gigantic
scale is not popular among the anthra-
cite workers, and their reluctance to
be drawn into it offers the best chance
!, of peace that now remains. Mean.
| while the authorities Of Pennsylvania
are preparing for trouble. A new
State constabulary was organized
: recently for dealing with just such
situations, and it is expected that be-
: fore April the whole mining region
will be patrolled by specially trained
mounted troops. Both sides are laying
up 1CSVI NOS-UIIC ulIlC1S vi llOuCy
the operators of coal. Consumers are
S beginning to prepare famine stocks as
: we'll, and the price of soft coal at
: Chicago jumped sharply upward on
: the first news of the impending con.
o flict.
The conference between the United
Mine Workers and the soft coal opera
tors at Indianapolis in the first week
in February failed to agree. The
u miners demanded an increase il
:, wages, which the operators positively
. refused to grant, President Mitchell
: of the United Mine Workers told how
= prosperous the country was, ano
~ asked: "Why should not the miners
. enjoy some of this prosperity?'' Thu
= operators held caucus, in which
:, they decided not to yield, and thei
leader F. L. Robbins of Pittsburg
said: II stand positively and deter
. minedly against any advance wha
! ever. There is nothing to warran
=, it,"
) With these conflicting ultimate til
D. joint conference dissolved on Feb
ruary 2 without agreeing upon ney
u wage scale to. take the place of tina
y which will expire on April /. Til
. National Convention of the Unite
y Workers of America, in session at tn
)" same place, adopted a resolutio
10 pledging the miners to act as uni
:, in refusing to sign an agreement 70
- any district until all districts wer
= satisfied. That means that if tn
~" miners of any single district fail t
- come to terms with their employers
. all the $50, 600 men controlled by tn
. Unitde Workers. both in the soft an
~ hard coal fields, will strike and tie u
the entire coal mining industry of tn
- country. The men have about $3, 900,
!, 600 OH hand already. and are prepar
:" ing to increase their srike fund to Sc,
'e 1000, by the LIST of April. There
- much opposition to strike among til
anthracite workers, whose memorie
~ OF the distress of 1909 are so fresh.