Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1908-03-17
May Shut Down Mines.

Des Moines.-A complete shut down
of the coal mines in Iowa, worked by
$4,000 miners, is threatened.
The agreement now existing be-
tween the mine operators and the
miners expires March 81 and because
Of the failure of miners and opera
tors in eastern states to reach an
agreement last week it is probable
that the Iowa miners and operators,
who have heretofore followed the eX-
ample of the eastern states, will not
be able to make new agreement be-
fore March 81. This would mean a
discrimination of work in every coal
mine in Iowa and $4,000 men would
be thrown into idleness.
The probability of the shut down of
the Iowa mines was discussed
by John P. Reese, secretary and
commissioners of the Iowa Coal Opera
tors association, with reporter.
Mr.. Reese expressed the belief that
the mines would undoubtedly be shut
down April 1. He declared that he
could see nothing which could prevent
1t In the face of the failure of the
eastern miners and operators to agree.
A joint conference of the miners
and operators of Indiana, Ohio, ILL
nois and Pennsylvania was held last
week at Indianapolis. After failure
to re-establish the interstate wage
conference the conference adjourned
sine die. The miners and operators
were unable to reach an understand
ing.
f1,o nf ho
miners to follow the precedent of the
eastern miners. A joint conference of
the operators and miners of Iowa was
to be held March II. At the request
of the miners the conference has been
postponed to March a. The national
convention of coal miners viii be
held at Indianapolis March j. and
week later the Iowa consention will
beheld in this city. Unless something
is done at the national convention to
relieve the situation Of the eastern
states, the cessation of work in the
coal mines on April / is imminent.
1t is declared by the operators that
only small quantity of coal has been
stocked at the mites. A shut down
would mean a famine for consumers
who had failed to- store at least
sixty days supply. The miners are
relying upon the national convention
for instructions and the postpone.
| ment OF the conference was asked for
that reason.
Passes Are Still Issued.
Practically all of the important rail.
road companies have reported the
lists of persons to whom they have is
sued passes since July 4, 1907, when
the antipass law went into effect.
Only the Burlington, of the princi.
pal lines, has not reported, and it's
report is delayed exclusively because
of the correspondence to discover ex-
actly the information required by the
/, council under the law, the original
| blanks being Slightly ambiguous.
Some of the companies filed full
lists of all their employees; others full
! lists of the passes issued to stock
! men, and others filed no lists of Of
ficers under the impression that the
list of wage earners, which is not re.
CURED By the law, would also include
the officers.
The council required "a statement
showing the names of all persons with.
in the state Of Iowa to whom this
| company has issued, furnished or
| given free ticket, free pass, free
! transportation, or discriminating re.
| duced rate, since July 4, 1907 and dur.
| ing the year, except wage earners in
their ordinary employment, and fam.
| lilies of such wage earners," and a
| note appended to the request said:
"The word wage earners' lin section
| will be construed to mean working
men as this term is ordinarily under
| Stood
Names of very few prominent men
appear in the, lists of pass holders.
Pending the decision in the Schultz
| case some lines issue passes to law.
yers and doctors, but the principal
lines do not
Section 2 of the anti-pass law per-
mits the issuance of passes to EN-.
| ployes whose chief occupation is ser.
vice to the roads, to their families,
to the officers, to sleeping car en-
| ployes, linemen, ETC., to postoffice in.
| spectors to caretakers of live stock,
| ETC., to officers and attaches of homes
| of reform, ETC., to superannuated EN-.
ployes, to ministers of religion, to DO.
licemen and firemer to persons exclu-
sively engaged in charitable and
elemosynary institutions, travelling
secretaries of railroad Y. M. C. A.,
school children. etc. Passes issued to
these classes therefore, named in the
reported lists were legally issued.
For State Mine Inspector.
Examinations for the position OF
mine Inspector have been held this
week by the state board of examiners.
1 Four of the six who took the ex-
aminations passed the required test.
Those who qualified for the posi-
lions are John Jeffries and William
Holland, of Monroe county; J. B. Con
ner, of Appanoose county and William
Abrams, of Jasper county.
To Aid Humane Society.
At an informal meeting of nun.
Der of the physicians of the city II
was decided by a resolution to have
twenty-five physicians of the city of.
fer their services gratuitously to the
humane society. Associated Charities
and the Volunteers of America provid