Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-02-12
IAN HITS UNION.
sident of Pittsburg Mine Workers Scores Mitchell.
Us WHY HE VOTED 'EO STRIKE
Let Us Be Honest, Wages Have Been
 Increased and Hours Reduced, Roosevelt and Hanna, Not Mitchell, Ended Strikes"

Mitchell, Ended Strikes
 PITTsBURG, Feb. F. President
 atrick Dolan of the local district of
 nited Mine Workers of America,
 hose resignation was demanded at
 e convention of delegates from the
 cal union in the district because he
 pted with the operators at Indianapo- to maintain the present wage scale. hs issued, statement in which he
 yes his reasons for so voting. In he statement President Dolan says:
 As soon as the miners officials of
 e state of Illinois saw that they buld not get an agreement on local
 sues in their own state Secretary
 reasurer w. D. Ryan of the Illinois
 iners presented a resolution in the
 iners' convention declaring that no
 strict in the United States would be errnitted to make a settlement unless
 ley all settled at one time. This res
 ution was passed. voted against
 and tried to talk against it, but was
 ssed and booted down.
 This resolution puts the miners of
 lis country ill ridiculous position. he little district in Michigan, Brit h Columbia or some other obscure
 ace can bring strife and woe and lnger on 6O0.OOO miners just because
 ese little districts have some local Inference it cannot adjust. John
 itchell, is going down to New York
 ask the. anthracite operators for a bntract which he has not the power to hter into, as the national convention hs tied him hand and foot.
 "With these facts in mind, when the int convention reassembled and the berators offered to reafirm the pres ht scale. I voted for it openly and bnestly. and sN convinced was l of Ie justice of my opinion that refus- to retract in the face of jeers and Rvilings and threats of bodily harm.
 knew in the face of the resolution to e up all districts until all have settled bat nothing but q miracle or a cOm-
 ete backdown upon the part of the
 iners would avert a tremendous
 rike, the end of which noae can fore ,e. but which threatens us and the buntry with terrible loss.
 "I was alone in my vote, but l was lot alone in my opinion. At the con- ention of the American Federation of Iaborin Pittsburg in November con kllted President Mitchell and W. D. kyan, and they both told me they -ould be satisfied with renewal of he present agreement, but that we Eught to demand an advance as d mat er of policy.
 .Later consulted President Haskins sf the Ohio nlners. He told me the [ame thing. After Haskins had been defeated for reelection and was re- |ieved of all responsibility he advocat- Ia demand of 10 per cent increase in Eages in his annual address, but the convention of Ohio miners refused to |ndorse his position. Is this fact not 
 Let us be honest about these things. bur wages have been increased more han 100 per cent. and our hours of la- TOT have been decreased from ten to light hours since 1897. Is it right lnder this Ryan resolution to leopard ze all these things? And let me tell YOU. the miners of this country have never won a prominent soft coal strike under the direction of President Mitch pll. Mark Hanna settled the first an ,hracite strike for us. and President Roosevelt settled the second. Nobody has settled our big soft coal strikes. because we have lost them. President slitchelrs first big soft coal strike was in the southwest. It lasted eighteen months and ended in utter failure. Hundreds of good men were victim ized. The second big soft coal strike was in Maryland. where our people of Ihe entire state were utterly defeated. His other disastrous soft coal strike was in Kentucky, where our people were beaten.
 "In Colorado. where the organization spent over $J0O.O00. our union was wiped off the face of the earth. In west Virginia central district we were defeated. In the Cabin Creek district. In West Virginia. where the organiza- lion spent S300,0O0. we lost. 7 In the region we spent s400.0O0 and were defeated.
 "The Pittsburg district has been crit Iclsed because 1t has not more than ,s. 900 members. President Mitchell is as much at fault as any living man. ue refuses to help us"