Los Angeles herald., 1906-03-12
COAL OPERATORS
REFUSE MINERS
PROPOSITIONS OF ANTHRACITE
MEN REJECTED
Will Not Enter Into Agreement With
Union, Nor Reduce Hours or
Establish Uniform Scale
of Wages
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
NEW YORK, March 1.-the propo-
sitions of the United Mine Workers of
America for a readjustment of wages
and conditions in the anthracite coal
fields, as whole, have been denied by
the committee representing the anthra-
cite operators. AS a counter PROPOSE
! ton the operators suggest that the
awards made by the anthracite coal
strike commission, the principles upon
which they are established by the COM
mission and the methods established
: for carrying out their findings and
awards shall be continued for further
term of three years from the first day
ef Arril, 1905 The present agreement
Terminates March 81 of this year.
Announcement of the anthracite
operators decision and their counter
proposition was made tonight in a long
formal statement, which was given out
for publication. In this statement,
which inelddes the correspondence on
the subjects at issue between President
John Mitchell of the United Mine
Workers, acting for the miners, and
George F. Baer, president of the Phil
adclphia and Reading Coal and Iron
company, for the operators, discusses
the miners propositions in detail. In
every instance the contention is made
by the operators either that conditions
in the coal fields do not warrant the
change proposed by the miners or that
the questions at issue already have
been passed upon by the strike commits
sion.
The demand of the miners that the
operators enter into an agreement with
the union is declined on the ground
that the anthracite operators stand
unalterably for the open shop and again
decline to make an agreement with the
United Mine Workers of America, an
organization controlled by rival in
dustry."
No Reduction in Hours
OF the demand for an eight-hour day.
the statement says the operators know
of no change in conditions that can
be used to sustain the renewed demand
for reduction in hours; declares that
the expectation of the strike commit
tee that the reduction from ten to nine
hours would not result in any decrease
in the output of, the mines has not
been realized.
The proposition that a uniform scale
of wages be established in the authra
cite fields is met by the operators with
The reply that this would be impracti-
cable by reason of the varying capaci-
'
conditions existing in the region and
at the colleries.
The operators decline to agree to any
change in the board of Cancellation as
established by the anthracite coal strike
commission, taking the ground that the
system proposed by the miners will
simply involve the creation of a series
of minor boards, whose. decisions might
be conflicting and from which appeals
would have to be taken to an arbitra-
tor thereby creating more delay than
now exists. The complaint of the
miners that the board of conciliation
does not act promptly the operators
declare to be not warranted by the
facts. The demand for a new sliding
wage scale is denied on the ground that
the sliding scale fixed by the authra
cite coal strike commission covers prac-
iieally all the propositions in the pro-
posed new scale.