The Oskaloosa herald., 1906-04-12
OPERATORS OFFER
TERMS TO MINERS.
WILLING TO ARBITRATE ON
WAGES AND COMPLAINTS.
CONTRACTOR THREEYEARs
Anthracite Coal Commission to Be
Asked to Consider Whether Modi-
fication of 1908 Award Is
Justified.

1NeW 1OTh, April LA counter
proposition was made by the anthra.
cite coal operators at their meeting
Tuesday with the representatives of
the United Mine Workers Of America.
This proposition rejects the arbitra.
tion plan offered by John Mitchell,
president Of the United Mine Workers,
and suggests the following instead:
The anthracite coal commission or
1902 should be requested to reconvene
and consider whether any circum-
stances have arisen since April /,
1903, which would justify modifica-
tion Of its award Of that date, in re-
spect only to the following subjects:
1. Wages.
2. as TO adjustment OF complaints
through the conciIiation board or
otherwise.
Any new award Of the commission
shall be binding for period of three
years. The joint conference adjourned
after having been in session about
half an hour, to meet again on Thurs
day at 1:sO p. m.
President Mitchell would not COM
ment on the answer of the operators,
but said there would be a meeting OF
the scale committee at night to con-
slider It.
Independents Oppose Surrender.
At the close Of the meeting a copy OF
a letter from Independent operators
who held a meeting at Wilkesbarre
Monday to the operators committee
was made public. This letter ex-
pressed the conviction of the inde-
pendent operators that any agreement
to arbitrate with the United Mine
Workers would be an unjustifable
surrender to anarchy and mob vio-
lence. The letter contained the fol-
lowing:
1--WE contend that It would be bet
ter that our mines shall lie idle for
years than that we shall accede to
the highwayman-like demands OF an
organization that lacks either the wish
or the ability to restrain its members
from act of violence that would dis
grace the much-despised Russia" The
independents wrote that If the opera
tors committee could decide, in defer
ence to public opinion upon some OFFER
of arbitration that arbitration should
be by the same body that met in 1902
and 1908, and that there should be
no submission Of questions already ad-
Indicated, like the closed shop, coll
lection OF dues, or the suggestion of
any term less than five years during
which the award shall be binding.
The Independents also suggested that
any increase in the cost of production
could be added at once to the market
price OF coal. On this point the let
ter said:
"If consumers (naturally perhaps
thinking only of their own comfort and
convenience are so Indifferent to the
demands of law and order as to COM
pei us to abandon a contest for right
and decent government that we are
ready, If necessary, to undertake, they
should pay the cost of the surrender
that they compel"
May Reduce Wages.
After the proposal had been read,
President Mitchell asked whether, un-
der the plan the anthracite operators
would have the privilege of asking the
commission to reduce present wages,
and he was informed by one. of the
coal presidents that they had In re-
ply to another question he was told
that if the operators plans is accept
ed, the first offer of the coal companies
to renew and continue for three years
the award of the strike commission
would collapse. WI