The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1908-04-17
OPERATION INDEFI-
NITELY SUSPENDED.
Coal miners and Operators
Fail TO Agree.
And Mines Will be Closed Pend
ing Settlement Be-
tween Them.

Louisville, KY, April 14.-Unless
the operators, members of the Western
Kentucky Coal Operators Association
recede from their position and agree
to pay the wages OF the "shot firers,"
whose employment is provided for by
the Wright bill, passed by the last
Legislature there will be a strike of
the union miners of Western Kentucky
This fact was made plain to the oper-
ators by President w. o. Smith, act
ing for the miners, in executive session
late yesterday afternoon.
Mr.. Smith to-day reiterated that
this is the position of the miners, and
that they would not recede. He said
that the scale of wage and conditions
if signed must be for one year, and
not for two years, as demanded by the
operators.
On these two questions an agree
ment hing. If one side or the 9TH
er does not recede strike will be call
ed and 5000 miners and mine laborers
in Ohio Muhlenberg, Butler, Mclean,
Daviess Webster, Henderson and I'm
ion counties will be involved.
To consider the ultimatum of the
miners an executive session OF the
operators is being held to-day at the
Old Inn. Before the meeting was call
ed to order one of the operators de-
clared that under no circumstances
would the operators pay the wage Of
the shot firers."
at appears certain now that a strike
will be Called said this operator,
for an agreement is impossible I'M
der the circumstances. The miners
must recede, or we will close down our
mines and keep them closed for the
summer. We have plenty of coal it is
immaterial to us whether we operate
the mines or not"
Louisville KY, April 16.-On the
surface at least and there was no
apparent undercurrent of a different
nature the operators of the Western
Kentucky Coal Operators Association
and the delegates of District No 23,
of the United Mine Workers Union,
reached an amicable agreement yester-
day afternoon at 4:10 o'clock in the
city hall to suspend work in the coal
mines of Western Kentucky for
an indefinite period pending the sign
ing of a wage scale agreement to sup
ersede the old agreement which expired
March 81.
The decision to suspend opera
tons temporarily shuts down about fiji
ty mines, employing union labor. and
throws between $500 and 1000 miners
out of work. The call for the joint
subscale committees to reconvene is
excepted to be issued around April %
and the resumption of the conference
is looked for about May l. Until that
time only enough men will be at work
in the mines to keep them in godd
shape, look after the pumps and en-
gines and mine enough coal to keep
these pumps and engines in opera
ton.
This action seemed to be perfectly
satisfactory to both sides. The opera
tors did not seem inclined at this time
to accede to the demands of the miners
that they pay the wages of the shot
firers" and the miners could not see
their way clear to signing any other
kind of a contract.
The situation is anything but in the
strike stage as both sides are friend
ly and no attempt will be made to
operate the mines with nonunion la
Dor. A truce was taken with both
sides awaiting further developments
before signing new agreements. All
over the country the situation is
about the same. Texas and one small
district in Pennsylvania alone being
the only places where new contracts
have been signed between the opera
tors and the miners for the next two
years. The Kentucky employers and
employees will watch developments in
other parts of the country, learn the
trend of affairs and then make anoth-
er effort to come to terms.