Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-03-22
Cancellation Board
Has Brought Peace
Intricate and Successful Character Of the Plan Of
Continuous Arbitration Established by
Roosevelt Commission.

Unique among the awards Of III.
Roosevelt Anthracite Coal commission
al 1909 was the establishment Of I
board Of cancellation. AZ a court 81
appeals for the entire mining district
the board--conssting Of three men
representing the operators and three
for tho miners--has for three years
been settling questions Of great intri
cacy and importance. The board has
been unusually successful. but The
miners now demand that Its constitu'
ti0n be changed.
Controversies Of deep human inter
est have come before this board.
Take the case Of Thomas r. Kennedy.
engineer. OF Carbonate, When the
big strike OF 1902 wns ordered. he
stuck Ia his post. Besides being a
miner. be was y member of the Mo
xart band and orchestra ~ Carbon.
dale. and for sfteen years had in.
creased his earnings some go a
month by his musical ability. Though
= member In good standing u the mu'
stcians' union. be was expelled and
b0ycotted and this revenue taken from
him 1t the instixstion he nays Of the
Mine Workers because he had fat.
Cd 10 50 on strike.
II Wa : small matter, the little ex-
tra income Tom Kennedy OF Carbon.
dale. might make In footing q horn
with the Mozart band, yet he had no
hesitancy In presenting his case TO the
commissi0n. II received due and pro.
per consideration. just a. II the points
n issue ha1 meant thousands Of
dollars to petitioner Or respondent.
30 the hoard has gone through the
entire 9amut IL forces at play In the
mining regions. The discharge Of an
empl0ye. failure az another To ecure
reinstatement, 4 company asking more
i0s coal than employees consider fair
70 pay, the method Of paying check
weighmen, discrimination In prices
paid contract miners, suspension Of
contract miners for dirty COAL.
overtime for drivers, making the pay
dry 4 half holiday, strikes FOR one
cause or another; there and scores
0f other matters, great and small.
come before the board for adjustment.
A ease. typical of many, was invoDv-
AI IN 4 complaint BY the local union
rf Dunmore Id the effect that while
for years II had been the custom at
two c0llseries U the Pennsylvania
Coal company II lay the road lii the
center hi the chamber. the plan had
been changed VI that the road was
constructed along on. side III the
chamber, necessitating. aa the min
ers said, extra handling or coal to IN
extent that would require d Thrill
more labor III getting out i ton III
coal.
The company, IN the other hand,
sAt nh the fact that, owing to the mar.
rowing III the chambers. tho average
cost III the coal BIZ the miner was
only Il foot more than before. while
this disadvantage was more than
made up In other ways, Here WAS a
condition arising ont of / Joint desire
III increase the working value Of the
plant. The miners complained. pro.
perly enough from their stand points.
perhaps having considered the case
from one angle only. The ains ami
l~iInftAtions u the Anthracite Coal
Strike commission and the Hoard of
Cancellation we're emphasized In the
opinion 81 the umpire. Hon. Carroll
a, Wright.