The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-12-05
Prominent Speakers Make Ad- dresses on Arbitration In
 Mining Congress
E, H, HARTMAN SENDS 4
 TRANSPORTATION LETTER
Railroad Magnate Takes Up Subject of Handling Minerals By Rail- roads and Says Great Pos
 abilities Are Ahead.

Pittsburg, December 4.-Arbitration was the theme at tonight's session of the American Mining congress.
 President T. L. Lewis of the United Mine Workers of America made the open ing address, taking the stand that arbi- traitor in which a third party or out sider had to be utilized was unsatisfac- tory and failed to bring about permanent settlement, but that arbitration in which the employer and employe get together and between themselves adjust their diff ferences, had done more for the better ment of the mining industry than any other agency.
 letter on arbitration from Judge George Gray of Delaware was one of the interesting features of tonights session. Carroll D. Wright, president of Clark college, Worcester, Mass, former United States commissioner of labor. prepared an address to be delivered tonight, but was unable to be present He sent his ad- dress however, which was given to the public through the secretary of the con gress.
 The convention late today adopted a res olution introduced by R. R. Greer of Mis- souri opposing the free importation of zinc ores into this country and recommend ing a duty sufficiently high to protect American producers. Another resolution adopted expressed sympathy for the sur viving dependents of the victims of the Marianna mine disaster and also for the
 fo make it's mine safe.
 There was general discussion of con- servation and the present general waste. G. w. Trser. a Chicago delegate, said that it had been his observation that Eng lish-speaking miners more often disobeyed orders or disregarded mine rules than do foreigners.
 Harriman's Letter.
 Unable to be present in person. E. H. Hartman forwarded a letter to be read before the convention on Transportation of Mineral Productions" After referring to Pittsburg in glowing terms and as the appropriate place for the discussion of problems connected with the transporta- tion of the products of the mines, MT. Hartman says the mineral production Of the United States during the past year had an aggregate value of more than s2. .O0O coo eco, and the crude and manufac- tured mineral products of the country gave an aggregate tonnage of more than BPS. GOO GOO tons. The letter continues
 ''The products of the mines constitute the heaviest freight and are charged the lowest price. This is because they are non-perishable and their quick delivery is not urgent Also as a rule mine products are more constant in their production.
 Many of the original investors in rail- roads lost a large part of their capital. The risk was greater than they thought But while these investors lost the coun- try profited. The early trans-continental railroads and the lines that were built after them have transported coal ana other heavy mineral products for dls- tances so great and at rates so low as to be inconsistent with economic manage ment of the roads but for the fact that at those distant points these crude materials had developed new industries, which nave in turn been the means of increasing traffic of a higher grade.
 Pioneer Railroad Work.
 Tn many parts of the country new ter- ritory is being opened and its develop ment made possible by the construction of railways. But even while this pioneer work Is still in progress in the lower part of the country, the struggle on the part of the railways during the past few years has been, and Is now, to keep pace With the rapid growth and the rapidly inoreas- ing needs for larger, faster and in every way more ample transportation facilities. q am not writing to make or deny any specific charges as to freight rates re- alize the fact, as do you, that inequalities may sometimes get into the freight rates as well as into other forms of business, but these are being eliminated as fast as The situation in each case is realized
 .'The miner and the railroad have been the two greatest advance agencies in opening up and developing the country.
 .'rhe managers and the stockholders of railways in this country realize that they must make rates that will enable the :n- dustries located along the railroad line to compete with those located along other railroad lines They also realize, and vou will admit the justice of the claim, that the freight charges must be such as to permit the railroad to do it's work properly and yield fair returns to the men and women of this country whose saV- ings have helped to build and improve the railroads.
 Country Is Developing.
 Let me call your attention also to the fact that as the country is developing, and as the railroads are developing, 1reignt rates have been diminishing
 "The impression exists that the rail- roads are owned by few rich men; and it is contended that because these menare rich they can stand restrtc- ton to a small return on their invest ment But the fact is that the rail- roads are not owned by few rich men.
 ..In 1900 the farmers of this country received the return of per cent on the values of their farms in that year i; the manufacturers enjoyed in the same year net return of 19.4 per cent, while the average net return upon rail- road investments was scarcely per cent. As a. single additional basis of comparison. I may add that during the last 40 years the dividends of national banks in the United States have aver aged SN per cent. In no year has fhis average gone below per cent. Dur ing the last few years these national bank dividends have averaged 10 per cent.
 Let us not forget that we are just