The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-28
PLAN REJECTED
 BY OPERATORS defuse to Modify Position Htfe-
 t0fOfe announced STILL WANT ARBITRATION
Favor Arblti lion Only In Case Miners Refuse to Renaw Award of Strike Commission for a Period
 of Three Years.

New York. April 27.-The anthracite mine operators through their sub-com- mittee of seven. at a meeting here today drew up a reply to the latest proposi- tion of the mine workers for an adjust ment of the existing difficulties In the anthracite fields. in which they refuse to modify their position heretofore an nounced. The operators call upon the miners to renew for a period of three years the award of the anthracite strike commission, or else to accept the oper- ators' proposition that the strike com mission arbitrate the question as 10 what changes. if any shall be made in the scale of wages fixed by the commission in it's original award
 The miners have heretofore declined this offer.
 Addressing President Mitchell and other members of the subcommittee, the oper- ators in their reply today say:
 "We observe that you reject our propo- stion of arbitration by the strike commis- sicn You speak of 1t as suggestion that we first arbitrate to ascertain whether there is anything to arbitrate, and then restrict within narrow limits the scope of the investigation.
 Statement Is Erroneous.
 This statement of the proposition is erroneous. Ours was to submit to the members of the strike commission the question whether any changes in condi- tions have occurred since the award of the commission requiring that the award should be so modified as to wages and adjustment of complaints, and if so, how 1t should be changed
 'It is clear that this procedure would tend to dignify and strengthen the pro- cess of arbitration rather than as you suggest, bring it into disrepute and ridi- cule.'
 eThe latter r.fsult would follow d or- bitratio should never be regarded as final, but simply as a basis for further endless controversy.
 "we observe that, as you suggest, you have abandoned all the various demands contained in your original eommunica- ton, and that your present propositions differ entirely therefrom, and concern merely the matter of wages. These propo- sitions seem to be based upon the impress sion that wages in the anthracite indus try are unduly low. Even before the ad- vances, which were made by It's award, the strike commission found to the con trary"
 The operators, after giving figures in detail, say that to accept the sliding scale of wages proposed by the miners would mean an increase in the price of coal to the public of 36 cents ton The present profit of the operators. they say, is but 20 cents a ton. The letter continues:
 Increase of $6,1oo,ooo.
 But if we disregard the sliding scale and assume that you simply mean to add 10 cents per ton as the final increase in cost, this would result in increasing the wages of our employees S6100,000 per an- mum; that is, 10 cents per ton on 61,00O,0 900 of output You say 1t will not result in imposing additional burdens upon the coal consuming public How can this be done? Where Is the s6l. OO0.O0O to come from? We have shown you that in the largest com panies the profit without interest and royalty has yielded less than per cent on the capital invested. The operators, therefore, cannot afford to pay this large annual increase without imposing addi- tional buioens upon the coal-consuming public.
 In view of all the circumstances, we are satisfied that the true course was in- dlcated In our original proposition This was that existing conditions should be continued for period of three years.
 We trust that on Thursday next the deliberate judgment of the anthracite workers will result in an acceptance of that proposition. but if not that. they will join with us in the arbitration we have offered.
 Failing to meet us on either proposi- tion, tho responsibility of a strike must rest upon you.
 The letter was signed by George F. Bear. E. B. Thomas, David Wilcox, w. H. Truesdale. Morris Williams, J. B. Kerr and J. l.. Cake.