Arizona republican., 1912-04-06
COAL AND |lS PRODUCTION CAUSE OF FOUR
 DISTURBANCES IN LAST TWELVE YEARS

up the negotiations for the men. This time the miners did not stop after the compact had expired but agreed to continue operations pend ! ing the negotiation of working ar rangement After conferrng until 1 twenty dlys after the agree ment entered into in 1906 had ex- pired, the commission award was again put into effect for another 1 three years. with the addition of five ! stipulations adjusting matters that
 had come up during the life of the award.
 The anthracite miners began to
 preplre for the present trouble last fall, when they held a convention at Pottsville, Pa, and formulated these demands:
 IA one-year agreement. Flight hours day for all classes of men.
 3.-Recognition of the union in ne
 gotiating wage agreements and the right to provide a method of collect
 ing revenue for the organization. A more convenient and uniform system of adjusting grievances within a reasonable time limit
 5.-A 20 per cent increase in wages
 GA minimum of $3.50 a day for
 all miners and $2.75 for laborers for
 consideration work
 That the system whereby a contract miner has more than one working place in the mine or employs
 more than two lahorcrs shall be abolished.
 Shat the right of check weigh men and check docking bosses shall be recognized and that they shall not he interfered with in tine perform ance of their work
 9.-That all coal be mineC Id paid for by the ton of 2.240 pounds wher- | ever practicable.
 During the winter efforts were i made to strengthen the union which 1 met with considerable success. and | then came the negotiations The op- orators committee, whose personnel { remained about the same as in all !! the former negotiations. found am . other new man leading the miners. 1 John P. White !
 Three meetings between the oper- ators and a committee of the union | miners were held in New York At the first the miners presented their demands: at the second conference the demands were refused, and at the third session the miners made a reply regretting the action of the coal companies. The operators in n | that the profits would not admit an without an increase in the price Of coal They proposed an other renewal of the strike commis- sion award for three years. declar- ing that it had worked satisfactorily and had brought peace and prosper ity to the region.
 One feature about a suspension this year is that it would come for the second time in a year when a presidential election is to be held settlement if the tieup should con tinue for any length of time.
 The anthracite mine workers in their strikes have been aided by q law on the statute looks of Penn sylvanil providing that mine work CTS before they can become miners, that is, men who actually cut or blast coal. must have miners cer- tificates In order to obtain these they must have. under the law, at least two years experience in an anthracite mine. The law Wls en- acted primarily to safeguard life and property and in times of strikes it operates against the importation of miners from other fields who have lot worked in the hard coal fields.
 With the exception of small luantity in Colorado and New Mex co, which yields less than 100000 Ons d year. the only deposit of true l anthracite coal in the United States, f not the world, is in the north eastern part of Pennsylvania. It is 'ound in only ten counties and is I confined within an area of ASA square miles. In the event of all he anthrlcite miners going on strike { would be difficult, in the face of he miners certificate law. to find sufficient number of men outside he anthracite regions to break the strike