The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-27
STILL DECLINE
 TO TREAT WITH
 MINERS UNION
tCoNTrNUED FROM PAGE l.,


 --~>~~~~-~~>~-~-~~~~~-~ ~-~>~~~~~~r~~->~~>~----- Alabama district No. 20 to acknowledge that they are whipped and quit. In the meantime the strike has collapsed and is therefore practically ended.
 Anticipating the formal action of the executive national board of the miners union many of those who had been on strike have applied for work and in a majority of cases they will be reinstated. It is stated to be the policy of tho operators to take back all the old mine workers except such as are worthless or morally objectionable.
 Surrenders His Charter
 President w. H. Shaffer president of local union No 2565, located at the Sloss- Sheffield company's Drifton mines, brought his charter to Birmingham yes- terday and surrendered it in person to President J. c. Maben of the Sloss-Shef- field. All the members of that local havs applied for reinstatement on the eom- paHys payrols.
 Presidents of quite number of other locals have given notice that they will surrender their charters before the end of the present week. The disintegration of the United Mine Workers organza- tlO%l OtSdn III lHlS ulSlilCl MODudy, ana the demoralization spread fast
 A well known striker said to an execu- tive officer of one of the big companies yesterday:. T have had enough of the union. l am out of 1t now for good. and all and l feel like free man once more l am ready to go back to work
 When White and Fairley ''intimated that negotiations for a settlement of the Alabama strike were in progress but they ,Ji 4, II evident that they were not in the con fidence of President Lewis; for nothing was in progress between him and the operators except his efforts for confer ence and the operators flat refusal.
 It is recalled by MT. Maben that three days before the last strike in this district was called off, John Mitchell, then pres ident of the United Mine Workers of America, left Birmingham, after an in- vestigation of conditions, with the an- nouncement that the strike would be continued. It was stated then that the union would raise $3000.00O to put new life into the fight and maintain the strug- gle That turned out to be- as intelligent observers felt 1t must, only a conventional bluff: and when, on Mitchelrs return to headquarters, the strike was ordered off the operators expressed no surprise what ever.
 put as ilopticoS oS tiidt SliIht was, tllS one, it is insisted was far more hopeless from the start. It is said to have been against President Lewis Judgment, and now that it has collapsed he will be in position to say to Fairley and others who are known to have urged it, q to-. you so.'
 Had the union signed up with the com mercial coal companies July 1, on the operators terms-471a cents a ton maxi mum as the bass-they could have kept the organization in moderately good shape; for the commercial operators were employing about 3500 men. But the union miners demanded 55 cents Only Il small concerns have signed and these operators employ not more than 600 men: and so few to pay dues will raise scarcely enough revenue to pay office rent; to say noth- ing of official salaries