Mexico Missouri message., 1909-03-18
AGREEMENT IS PROBABLE
IMPORTANT CONFERENCE covEH
ING ANTHRACITE FIELDS HELD !
President Lewis viii Present the De
mands Of the United Mine
Workers.

Philadelphia. Pa. With q
keen desire to reach an early decision
and thus avoid a suspension OF work,
Mine Workers OF American and the
presidents of the coal.carrylng rail.
roads met In the office OF President
Baer of the Reading in the Reading
Terminal building and began negotia.
ton for new agreement. to go into
effect at the expiration Of the present
working agreement on March 81.
Not since the present organization
Of miners became active in the an.
thracite region OF Pennsylvania have
the workingmen and the employers
entered upon negotiations with n bet
ter feeling and understanding and with
better prospects Of reaching a settle
ment without resorting to radical &C
ton.
Thomas l.. Lwls, national president
OF the miners union. who met the
hard coal operators In formal confer.
ence for the frat time, arrived from
the west, and before going to the
Reading Terminal held final meeting
with the officers and executive boord
members OF the three anthracite dis
trictB.
Most OF the presidents Of the coal
roads and Representatives Of the indie
pendents had arrived before the meet
ing began.
Demands Of the Miners.
The demands OF the anthracite min.
ers, as drafted at a convention in
Scranton last October and approved
by the national convention at Indian
apolis In January, are as follows:
l. That an agreement shall be ne
gotiated between the representatives
Of the miners 'and the operators OF
the anthracite region and all disputes
arising under the contract shall be ad-
justed as provided for in the said
agreement.
2. We demand the complete recog-
milton of the United Mine Workers OF
America as a party to negotiations in
wage contract, and the United Mine
Workers Of America shall be recog-
nized in the right to provide any meth
cd necessary for the collection of rev.
enue for the organization.
3. We demand an eight-hour day
with no reduction in wages.
4. That all coal shall be mined and
paid for by the ton Of 1000 pounds.
Increase In Wages Asked.
s. We demand definite and more
uniform scale OF wages and prices for
all class Of labor at all colleries In
the anthracite region and that all en-
ployes paio $3.50 or less per day shall
receive 10 per cent advance. and al!
employees paid more than $3.50 and
less than go per day shall receive a
per cent advance.
G. That the system whereby n con-
tract miner has more than one job on
employs more than two laborers be
abolished.
Z. That the employers be required
TO issue uniform pay statements des-
Ignating the name of the company,
the name of the employee, the coilIery
where employed. the amount OF wages
and the class of work performed.
s. That the contract shall be made
for period of one year.
When the above demands became
known TO the operators several months
ago they made public statement
through their New York agents that
the demands would not be granted,
and strongly intimated that they would
ask that the present three-yeara'
agreement be renewed. The present
agreement is the same as tn working
arrangement made by the anthracite
coal strike commission In 1903.