Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-03-31

ening. The committee consists of the
executive boards, the anthracite dis
tricts and President Mitchell.
Robbins Proposition.
Yesterday was Robbins day in the
joint convention of operators and min
ers. The big Pittsburg operator, who
for eight years led the operators of
four states but was deposed ten days
ago for favoring an advance in wages,
declared his intention to vote for the
1903 scale and asked the miners to
permit all who would accept it to run
their mines.
During his speech he was frequently
applauded by the miners. In fact he
is the only operator who has received
such recognition since the convention
opened.
President Mitchell Immediately an
nounced that meeting of the miners
would be held this morning to consid-
er the motion of Mr.. Robbins to adopt
the 1903 scale.
The motion provides that the scale
shall run two years.
The miners are apparently divided
on accepting Robbins proposition, but
many prominent leaders admit that
they may favor 1t. The operators who
are fighting wage advance declare
that no matter what the miners do
they will not pay the advance, and
will close their mines April !. About
80 per cent Of the operators are said
to be willing to pay the scale.
| President John Mitchell yesterday
afternoon held the railroad companies
which control the vast coal fields to be
responsible for the approaching strike.
! He charged the railroads with de-
ceiving the public and the miners into
believing the coal business is not pros
porous enough to permit of giving
higher wages to the miners, while in
reality, he asserted, great conspi-
racy exists to conceal the large profits
on fuel
| 1t was Mitchell's last card before
submitting the strike question finally
to the miners convention.
Mitchelps attack on the railroads
created a sensation. Standing defiant
ly before 600 bituminous coal opera.
TORS ne declared:
"The American people demand to
know what are the relations between
the railroads and the coal companies.
They demand to know if the mines are
not owned by the railroads and if the
profits on the coal are not transferred
to the books Of the railroad companies
and made to appear as rail profits. Be.
fore the strike is over the people will
insist upon knowing why, with the
great prosperity in the coal business,
the railroads could not afford to pay
the miners an advance in wages and
avert an Industrial calamity"
| Attack startIes the Operators.
Mitchell followed this with series
of pointed questions, singing out the
specific coal companies and railroads
which, he asserted, were under one
ownership and one control. He forced
Representatives of the coal companies
present to admit the truth of his
charge. The operators, however, pro
tested that while the stock is held by
the railroad financiers the coal mines
are run independently Of the rail
roads.
"In many states" returned Mitchell
cit is penitentiary .offense for the
railroads to own coal companies, but
do not see any coal operators in the
penitentiary."
| President Mitchell's coup was
sprung at the afternoon session. The
morning session had been occupied
with discussion of the conditions in
Illinois and the average of miners
earnings throughout the country. The
latter topic aroused the miners CHIEF
and led up to his attack on the con
cealment of coal profits.
His Questions Hit Hard.
With paper in his hand containing
a list of questions, he walked to the
operators side of the hall and began
to read them:
81 want to know he began, "what
are the profits of the Vandalia rail
road from the Vandalia Coal com
pany"
The bluntness of the question
caused apparent CONSERVATION among
the operators, but President Mitchell
continued to read the other questions
as follows:
! aWhat is the Relationship between