The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-30
B|TUM|NOUS COAL
 MEN AND MINERS
 REACH AGREEMENT
Formal Order Is Issued for Suspension in Anthra-
 cite Fields
WAGE BILL RECEIVES
 THE ROYAL ASSENT
Becomes Law of the Land-Miners Are Balloting on Question Of Whether to Return to Work.
 Optimism Is Felt

oPhAhhaP.'a @
 Cleveland. O, March e9.-Settlement of the hituminous coal miners wage dis pute on a basis satisfactory to both sides was announced late tonight as having been practically arranged.
 subcommittee to which the opera tors and miners conference had referred compromise offer by the miners, said it had agreed to the settlement and the terms were being drawn up.
 Terms Accepted
 The terms. as given out, provided for increases in pay to the miners, as fol- lows:
 Five cents ton for mining lump coal
 Three cents ton for mining all other coal.
 For men paid by the day 5.26 per cent increase
 E. A. Cole, representing the Ohio opera tors, and H. M. Taylor, representing the Illinois operators, said shortly before midnight that all the operators of west ern Pennsylvania. O.. Indiana and llli- nois had agreed to grant the increases. They said the agreement would be the basis for making new wage scales of bituminous miners in other states
 Suspension Not Improbable
 A short suspension in the bituminous field. however, was thought not improb- init the compromise agreement 10 ref erendum vote of the union, pending which. 1t was said, it was unlikely the men would work without an agreement.
 May Meet Again
 The first step toward stoppage in coal production in the United States as result of the miners wage disputes was taken today when the union ordered TO- GOO miners in the anthracite regions of Pennsylvania to quit work next Sunday at midnight.
 The suspension was ordered because of the operators refusal to grant the union demands for increased pay.
 Shutting down the mines, union of ficials say. will cause a loss in the coal production of the country of 7,oS3 900 bushels of anthracite a month and will entail a loss in pay to the miners of not less than s350,00O for every day they remain out.
 1TeSluenl N Hllt OI lne uulon dl illlu night said a meeting between the antarctic miners and operators had been definitely decided on. The mem bers of the operators committee of 10 will meet with the anthracite miners committee In New York, he said. at a date which probably will be fixed tomorrow.
 Facts Summarized
 Summarized. the facts about the an thracite miners are:
 Number of miners to quit. 10000 in Pennsylvania, as follows: Lackawanna and Wyoming valley, 10000; Hazelton an l Panther Creek valley, 40,000; Pottsvlle and Lykens valley, 60.0oo
 Demands: Twenty per cent increase in pay, eight hours q day instead of nine; complete recognition of the union; adop- ton of a system whereby the operators would deduct from the pay the union dues each month and give it direct to the national union; modification of the con citation board created in 1902 to enable employees to deal more directly with em- ployers; one year instead of three year contracts.
 Demands rejected by the operators in New York on March 13
 Offer of the operators to continue the present scale rejected by the miners.
 The suspension order was signed by the presidents of the three anthracite dis tricts and the executive board of the United Mine Workers of America after they had decided the lack of wage agreement within two days of the expir- ation of the present one made il imper- ative the men should be officially in- formed whether they were to continue work.
 New York, March 29.-The statement re- iterated by the operators In the anthra- cite region that they are ready and will ing to grant immediate hearing when the mine workers should desire to com municate with them again, may result In another conference between the miners and operators looking to q settlement of the wage scale and other questions today