The Cairo bulletin., 1906-02-06
PLOT TO CAUSE A
BIG COAL STRIKE
ACTION PROMOTED BY WALL
STREET JUST TO GOUGE
THE PUBLIC.
TRUST ADVANCES PRICE
or Anthracite 80 Cents Per Ton With
An Enormous Stock Of Coal on
Hand--Bituminous Sup
ply Short

| PlttSburg, "a, FeD. o.--FfepaTdtloNS
are under way in earnest for the great
est coal strike in history. The price
of coal was advanced so cents ton
Saturday. The United Mine Workers
| of the Pittsburg district will meet to.
morrow to take action on President
| Dolan's vote at the wage conference
! leld in indianapolis last week, and it
! will be the hottest session of coal
miners ever held There are the pend
ng features of the situation which
rave upset calculations of nearly every
industry.
Up to date nearly every interest,
Yhen warned that general strike wa
BENDING, refused to believe the ru
nors which have been current here
since last September.
One of the largest coal operators in
he Pittsburg district today, while dis !
,ussing the situation and the causes |
eading up to the coming fight, said
Wall Street Wars on Miners.
early in the year we began to find |
hat Wall street interests were anxious
0 break up the powerful United Mine
Workers of American. While ii may
je to the interest of the anthracite |
,oal operators TO rid their mines of
nion labor. we in the bitumnous field
# the Pittsburg district would rather
work in harmony with the union min.
rs. There is an overproduction of |
lituminous coal and now mines can |
re opened so rapidly that we would |
re glad of a complete shut down, so |
Us to keep up the prices. We do not
want TO shut down our mines at the |
iame time that The anthracite opera. |
ors do, but from the position the coal |
miners are taking We are forced into |
inc and the miners at their eonven- |
ion did exactly what the Wall street |
lnanciers wanted them to do-just as
( some of the leaders had been paid
do So The anthracite operators
'arly in the fall made the boast that /
hey would force us into strike
whether We wanted to or not. 1t looks
vs. if they knew what they were talk
ng about, but we did not believe L
1T that time
More Profit With Mines Idle.
The price of bituminous coal, which
advanced so rapidly before the holi-
lays. declined with the beginning Of
he year. We had been selling run of
mine coal at 80 cents to 81 ton at
he mine. The price advanced to $3.50
and declined TO 81 two weeks ago
Saturday the price jumped again TO
e1.30, and il will go higher. The coal
operators will make more money
through the idleness than in the opera.
ion of their mines. because the price
If coal has been too cheap to the con.
sumer."
Dolsn Refuses to Talk.
President Patrick Dolan of the Pitts
burg District of United Mine Workers
Who is under fire from his constituents
or voting to accept the IS cent mining
ate at the Indianapolis convention, to-
1ay said.
I'm not going to say one word -
he public about my stand at the con
ference until after have met the min
ers in the district convention tomor-
row. don't know what will be done |
1or can I say whether there Is going {
o be a strike. tried to avoid one"
The state constabulary. recently '
sworn in. numbering 240 men. and di-
vided into four companies. every man
a former member of the United States
army. United States navy or the Ma &
iional guard. had its inception in the J
n'nd Of lawmakers who are alleged to s
be governed by the anthracite coal a
operators. The four companies will be {
armed, and will by April 5
/ be ready TO begin active duty a
Believe Troops Unnecessary.
II is expected that with this body !
having more authority than any police "
force Of the state, that It viii be un c
necessary TO call out the National
guard to protect property. as has been $
he case in the coal strikes OF the {
last two decades. {
Pittsburg coal operators counted on
he support Of John Mitchell to aid
hem against the anthracite coal opera
ors in forcing them into shut down .
John Mitchell is believed TO have v
leen carried awav by the radical ele- 7
nent headed by Tom l.. Lewis Of Ohio n
md NJ d. RYAN of Illinois and that r
hese men viii be the real leaders in q
he coming strike. t.
There has never been very cordial r.
citations between the miners of the s.
district and those Of Illinois v
which have assumed the national lead II
.rship Of the unions affairs.
s2.ooo.ooo Limit Of Fund. il
The fund which the miners hope D
o raise for the pending strike cannot i
.mount to over $4,000. 900. according e