The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-03-30
Miners in the Anthracite
Coal Districts TO Stop Work .
Pending Settlement of
Dispute With Operators.
MAY
BE REACHED SOON
Settlement of the Dispute in
the BltuminouS Fields An
nounced; British Miners
Returning to the Pits.

TLEVELAND, o., March ca.-rh,
nrst step toward stoppaSe in
coal production In the United
States rs q result OF wage dis
puies Was taken today when the
miners union ordered 10000 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.
The shutting down Of the mines, the
union officials say. will cause a loss in
the coal production OF the country OF
I,oSS,ooo bushels OF anthracite month
and will entail loss in pay to the min
crs Of not less than s35o.o0o a day.
Measures TO Induce the miners and op-
orators TO renew negotiations broken of
IN New York several weeks ago already
are talked Of
Settlement or the bituminous coal min
ers' wage dispute on a basis satisfactory
to both sides was announced late today
as having been practically arranged.
Order to Quit.
The order for the anthracite miners 10
quit says;
Suspension order-To all anthracite
niine workers: Your committee to
whom delegated authority by
the Pottsvillc convention 10 neso-
tiatc wage contract. have up TO this
time been unable to do so. and mas
much as the present wage agree
ment expires March 81. all mine
workers, except engineers, pump
men, liremen. sl8bmen. watchmen
and such other men as arc sbso-
lutely necessary for the proper pro-
lection OF property. arc hereby In
structed TO suspend work beginning
April 1, and remain idle until fur
thcr notice.
Summarized, the facts about the sus.
pension are.
Number OF miners TO quit: 10000 in
Pennsylvania.
Demands Twenty per cent increase in
,ay; eight hours a day instead OF nine:
complete recognition of the union; adop-
ion OF a system whereby the opera
ors would deduct from the pay tho
lnion dues each month and give II di-
'ect TO the national union: modification
Il the conciliation board created In 1902
o enable employees To deal more d.
ectly with employers.
One instead OF three year contracts
Demands rejected by the operators on
larch iS.
Offer OF tho operators to continue the
resent scale rejected BY the miners.
Hope of Settlement.
Hope Of an early resumption after n
lort suspension was not abandoned. II
as declared the suspension might help
determining what steps may be taken
bring both sides together.
John T. Dempsey of Scranton. Thomas
enncdy OF Hazelton aud John Fahey OF
IA srnokin. presidents Of the union an
racite districts. sent a telegram IN
Gorge f. Bser of Philadephia. railroad
'csident and operator. outlining the
rms upon which, the miners were will
Z 10 resume negotiations.
Dir. Baer answered that he would agree
a conference. A report that the op-
ators were not disposed to refuse all
c demands. but were willing TO grant
ght wage increase. was thought 10
We done much toward creating desire
long the miners 10 make the suspen-
IN as short possible.
AZ sustaining their demands for In
sased pay. the union gave out this
ltsment:
Our desire for 20 per cent In
,rease in pay VIII not seem unres-
onable when IL is learned that most
II the 10000 anthracite miners work
,nly about two-thirds OF the time.
rhe average working time for each
nan last year was 2t0 days. and the
veragc salary earned by each man
asst year WAS about $500, or less than
10 a week.
our men take greater risk than
hey DO in other countries. The total
lumber OF men killed In mines for
be last ten years was 2i,031. The
early record OF deaths In mines IL
ow about 2So0. la the United States
he death rate FOR 1000 men * 3.si.
; compared with las In Great Brit
in. and II Is more than double that
any other coal producing country
Europe.
r%MEP WITT ODEV