The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-30
WAGE SCALE IS NOT SIGNED Final Disagreement at
 Indianapolis. BITTER FIGHyN CONVENTION
 . F. L. Rotssns Offers to Pay the
 Wages of 1903. ID Aas Declares That Los. of Proat wni Net he as Disastrou.
 to the Operators as
BITTER FIGHy IN CONVENTION

indianapolis, March 29.-The joint meetings of the bituminous coal operators and miners of the cen- traI competitive district composed of western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana | and Illinois and of the Southwestern ! district, composed of Missouri, Kansas, Texas. Arkansas, Oklahoma and Indian Territory. reached final disagreement today on the wage scale to go into | effect at the expiration of the present scale April 1, and the conference of the central district adjourned sine die. while the joint scale committee of the Southwestern district decided to re- port a disagreement to the joint con. ference of that district tomorrow. It Is expected that this conference will at once adjourn sine die without an agreement
 The action of the two conferences will directly cause the suspension from work after Saturday of 17S,000 miners unless something unforeseen, like sub mission of the differences to arbitra- ton should intervene and indirectly will affect 20e,500 or more miners. not including it's effect on 15O,000 miners in the anthracite field who were tonight ordered to suspend work Monday i,
 A national convention of the miners will be held tomorrow to decide wheth- CT miners will be allowed to sign the advance scale demanded by them and today refused by all the operators with few exceptions. and go to work where the advance Is offered. Opera tors employing 25.000 miners in the central competitive field have openly offered to pay the advance during the joint conference sessions.
 The wage scales of all miners both anthracite and hituminous, will expire Saturday, except those In Tennessee and Alabama where the scale will ex- pire in September. national oficial of the United Mine Workers said to- night
 All VIII Quit work.
 "It is a foregone conclusion that all the miners whose scales will expire Saturday will cease work until ofii4 cialiy notified by the national and dis trict officers that contract arrange ments have been made governing their scales"
 The miners affected directly and in- directly by the disruption of the cons ferences, exclusive of the anthracite district. number 3s4.5Oo distributed as follows
 Pennsylvania, Ie0, ,0Oo; Maryland. B. O0O; West Virginia, 35,00o Virginia. l5.0oO; Ohio, 10000; Indiana, 15.0OO; Illinois. 53.0o0; Iowa 14,000; Michigan, $500; Kentucky, 1000 and the South nEStCFh koldNGSy 9VgUUUs UT L1eS0 lEUs- 900 are unorganized
 The disagreement came after a strug- gle lasting ten days and not only dis Pupts the interstate agreement which has existed since 1898 between the ope- rators and miners through which wage scales and other differences have been adjusted, but 1t affects 3s4.000 bitumin- ous coal miners, who will suspend work after Saturday unless something not anffNinatad a nr g4ta t~ the interest of peace.
 The final vote in the conference of the three central competitive fields on which the other districts base their set- dement's. was upon a motion offered by President Mitchell of the United Mine Workers of America to adopt the wage scale of 1903, which would have been an increase in wages of 5.55 per cent.
 The operators of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio voted against the proposition which defeated 1t and the disruption of the conference followed. Operators of Western Pennsylvania and the miners of the four States voted for 1t.
 Following the adjournment. National Secretary W. B. Wilson of the mine workers said
 Nothing Further to Be Done.
 There Is no likelihood of anything further being done. This means sus- pension of work. The national conven- tion of the miners will meet tomorrow morning. The principal business will be to determine upon a general policy. The question especially to be consid- cred is whether the organization will permit miners to work in districts and mines where the advance demanded Is offered"
 F. L. Robbins and other operators representing about one-third of the coal production of Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, offered to pay the advance and urged the miners to accept this advance and continue work in their mines. even though the other mines in the four States should be idle.
 The convention of miners tomorrow will take action on this situation and decide upon the question whether to permit, or demand that all miners sus- pend work until all operators have paid the advance.
 As soon as the miners convention to- day formally indorsed the demand for the 1903 scale, the miners cast their final vote in joint conference for this demand as their ultimatum. The Illi- noIs, Indiana and Ohio operators ad- hered to their position not to pay any advance.
 The debate today was marked by con- siderable feeling. One of the dramatic events was a dispute between PreSi- dent Mitchell of the miners and Clar- ence Parker, President of the Madison Coal Company, which terminated after a misunderstanding had been explained by w. D. Ryan. Secretary of the Illinois miners organization.
 Mir. Mitchell discussed at length the alleged evils resulting from railroad ownership of coal mines
 One of the earnest pleas to the opera tors to pay the advance in wages asked was made by D. c. Thomas, General Manager of the New England Coal Company, who urged that even a loss of profit was better from a business standpoint than strike
 Mitchell Feels Hurt.
 Mir. Mitchell said the debate should not be closed until either the. charge was withdrawn or his reputation was vindicated before the country. He said 1t was the first time in his life that statement had been made re- hections upon his personal character. He demanded that MT. Parker admit that so far as he knew Mir. Mitchell had never been granted any personal