Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-12
DOIAN'S STATEN EN- T
SAYS PRESIDENT MITCHELL
NEVER WON BIG COAL STEIKE.

President Patrick Doian issued his prom
Used statement at Pittsburg yesterday to
the miners of the country concerning the
possibility of a coal strike and the troubles
which have arisen in the Pittsburg district.
He Is severe on John Mitchell, president OF
the miners national organization, telling
his constituents that Mitchell has invari-
ably led them to disaster, and that he
never won great strike All of the soft
coal strikes were failures, Doan declares,
and the two anthracite strikes were settled
by third parties He says Mitchell is help
less to make contract with the hard-coal
operators In New York. and his visit to
that city will be futile.
"In the joint scale committee, before the
matter was submitted to the joint conven-
ton, the Illinois miners and operators got
into a deadlock over the shot frers bill"
says President Dolan. The operators of
Illinois stated positively that they would
never sign any agreement which did not
compel the miners to pay the wages of the
shot firers President Perry of the Illinois
miners Immediately replied that there
would not be any agreement II that were
the case, as the Illinois miners would never
agree to allow such provision to SO into
the scale. This once local issue i'll the state
of Illinois, therefore. prevented further
progress scale in the scale committee,
ana we were forced to report 10 the cOnNen-
ton without any agreement.
Miners In Ridiculous Position.
"As soon as the miners officials of the
state Of Illinois saw that they could not
get an agreement on local issues in their
own state, Secretary-Treasurer w. D.
Ryan Of the Illinois miners presented
resolution in the miners convention declar-
Ing that no district in the United States
would be permitted to make settlement
unless they all settled at one time. This
resolution was passed. I voted against it
and tried to talk against it, but was Kissed
and hooted down.
This resolution puts the miners of the
country in ridiculous sition One little
district In Michigan or British Columbia
can bring strife and woe to more than six
hundred thousand miners just because these
little districts have some local grievance
to settle. John Mitchell Is going down to
New York to ask the anthracite operators
for contract which he has not the power
to enter into because the national conven-
ton has him tied hand and foot.
with these facts in mind, l voted for
reaffirmatioil of the present scale. l knew
that nothing but a miracle or a complete
backdown on the part of the miners would
avert tremendous strike, the end of which
none can foresee, but which threatens us
and the country with terrible loss.
Asks Miners to Be Honest
Let us be honest about these things.
Our wages have been increased more than
100 per cent, and our hours of labor de-
creased from ten to eight hours since 1897.
Is it right under this Ryan resolution, to
jeopardize all these things? And let me
tell you the miners have never won a prom
inent soft-coal strike under the direction
IF President Mitchell. Mark Hanna settled
the first anthracite strike and President
Roosevelt settled the second Nobody has
settled our big soft-coal strikes, because
we have lost them.
President Mitchell's first big strike was
In the southwest. 1t lasted seventeen
months, and was a failure. The second
was In Maryland. In Kentucky. also, our
people were beaten In Colorado our or
ganization spent over 100000, and was
wiped off the earth. In the Cabin Creek
district in West Virginia. where we spent
over 100000, we lost. In the Myersdale
region we spent over 100000 and were de-
feated. We now have a strike on in Ala
bama against a 10 per cent reduction Tn
would have to concede to the miners, and
of 1912 cents, a difference of 22la cents
Mitchell Failed to Get Audience.
This district has been criticised because
it has not more than $4,000 members Pres
,dent Mitchell came into the non-union II
win district to hold the widely advertised
meetings. AT one we had fifteen men. The
other we postponed because nobody came.
When Mitchell can't get a meeting, what
nap fa1l