The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-28
Reject Proposition of the Miners.
SLIDING SCALE NOT FAVORED
Contention That the Public Will
 Pay the Increase.
Declared That if Men Fan to Accept the Proposals of the Owners They Must Bear Respsnsi-
 bility for striks.

New York. April M.--The anthracite mine operators through their sub-com- mittee of seven at a meeting here to- day drew up a reply to the latest prop. osition of the mine workers for an adjustment of the existing dificulties In the anthracite fields in which they refuse to modify their position here- tofore announced
 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 orer- ators' proposition that the strike conn mission arbitrate the question as to what changes. If any. shall be made in the scale of wages fixed by the commission in its original award. The mineers have heretofore declined this offer.
 Addressing President Mitchell and others of the miners sub- committee the operators in their reply today say:
 We observe that you reject our proposition of arbitration by the strike commission. You speak of 1t as suE- gestion that We first arbitrate to as- certain whether there Is anything to arbitrate. and then restrict within nar- row limits the scope of the investfga- tion.' This statement of the proposi- ton is eroreous.
 Oner of Operators.
 "Our offer was to submit to the members of the strike commission the question whether any changes in con- ditions 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.
 Tt is clear that this procedure would tend to dignify and strengthen the process Of arbitration rather than, as you suggest. bring 1t into disrepute and ridicule.' The latter result would followed if arbitration should never be regarded as final hut simply as basis for further endless controversy.
 We observe that as you suggest, you have abandoned all the various demands contained In your original communication and that your present propositions differs entirely thefeffom and, copeern merely the matter of wages. These propositions seem to be based upon the impression that wages in the anthracite industry are unduly low. Even before the advances which were made by It's award. the strike commission found to the contrary The operators after giving figures in detail say that to accept the sliding scale of wages proposed by the miners would men an increase in the price of coal to the public of twenty-six cents ton. The present profit of the oper- ators they say it but twenty cents ton. The letter continued:
 Increase of sa,10O,00 a Year.
 But if we disregard the sliding scale and assume that you simply mean to add ten cents per ton as the final increase in cost this would result in increasing the wages of our employees SC, 100000 per annum; that is. ten cents per ton on 6f.oo00o0 of output You say 1t will not result in imposing additional burdens upon the coal con- sunning public How can this be done? Where is the $6.100000 to come from? We have shown you that in the largest companies the profit without interest and royalty has yielded less than three per cent on the capital invested. The operators therefore cannot afford to pay this large annual increase without imposing additional burdens upon the coal consuming public.
 "In view of all the circumstances we are satisfied that the true course was Indicated In our original proposition This was that existing conditions should be continued for a period of three years.
 We trust that on Thursday next the deliberate judgment of the anthracite workers will result in an acceptance os that proposition. but if not. that they will join with us in the arbitration we have offered.
 "Failing to meet us on either propo- sition. the responsibility of q strike must rest on you"
 The leeter Is signed by George F. Baer. E. B. Thomas. David Willcox. W. H. Truesdale. Morris Williams. J. B. Kerr and J. I. Cake.