The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-28

crime.
 Outsiders Views.
 I was talking today with a man of good judgment, infinite wisdom and long ex- perience in the district, but who is not directly interested in this dispute and he expressed the opinion that there will never be an amicable adjustment of the present difficulty if such adjustment hinges upon recognition of the miners union. He does not believe that the op- orators in Alabama can afford to. submit ,, to the customs, rulings, and mastership of that organization; or that it will ever do so again. Said he:
 "It is not so much a fixed or perma nent wage scale that the union de- maj nds as 1t Is mastership of the mines; and so long this is the case opera tors will not submit. Contracts sus- gested or proposed by the miners union cannot be called real contracts because they are one-sided. For in- stance, the operator is asked to sign a scale and adopt rules fixed by the union He has done this and after af- fixing his signature finds his property rights signed away. He makes con tracts with consumers for deliveries of products, passing his promises upon the strength of his working force. This force goes and comes at pleasure; and when complaint Is made that time is being lost by absence from the mines the answer Is made that the mining of coal is paid for by the ton and there is no loss to the employer; whereas the loss is immense.
 Again, if substitutes be required to take the places of miners who do not steadily work, but who, under union rules, must be given work at their pleasure, then the operator must doubly equip his premises with houses for reg uars and substitutes, or fail to meet his contract for supplying consumers. MastershIp Wanted. q say the real question is not the wage scale. It is mastership. As ali illustration you will remember that when the Tennessee company and other operators declared the open shop they adopted the same scale as that paid the union miners"
 Continuing this gentleman said: "The old and well established law of supply and demand Is going to control the mining industry in this district now and in future. Labor and capital are valuable proportionate only to current demand, and compen nsation of both is based upon the needs for each and so it will ever be. All wise business men value labor and know that it must be fairly compensated in order that 1t may be retained. There Is always competi- tion in the labor field just as there is in the field for capital"
 The man who gave utterance to these views presented many other suggss- tions of interest on the subject under discussion, among which is the opinion that this strike will continue for many weeks yet to come and will find an end when the provision supply of the striking man has exhausted and cold weather shall have arrived and made necessary fuel supply and warmer shelter for the idle men.
 He finds the prime cause of the strike in the arbitrary demands of the miners union, and believes that the paid agita- tors, and not the real working miners themselves, are responsible for the present deplorable conditions.
 Matter of Explosives. One cause for dissatisfaction ex- pressed by the striking miners Is that one of the largest companies, at least disallowed the use of dynamite as an explosive In it's mines and ordered car bonite as a substitute therefor; thus in- curing heavier expense to the mine Asked as to this point the head of this company informs the writer that he reason that it has caused the death of thousands of men and the distructicr of numerous property values. That he uses carbonite as protection to the lives of men, and will continue to do so notwith standing the rulings of tre union. -
 These points of disagreement are nresented with a view of presentins causes which led to the strike.