The Cairo bulletin., 1914-01-03
Solicitor Densmore Striving to Flick
Up Various Angles of the
Situation.
HOPEFUL OF ATTAINING
SATISFACTORY RESULTS
MINI Owners Ncg Opposed to Union
ism But Merely to Kind Rep
resented WC3t. Federation.

Calumet, Mich, Jan The he.
partment OF Labor through It's rep
rcsentativc, ,tSolicitor John W. Deus
more, is working its best to mediate
between the mine owners aai th,
miners who are still ont on str'ka in
tho copper county. The situation
here is most difficult oae ;c
solve. Howeee- Solicitor none-
more is full OF hore, that bciuc tIr
natural conditon. of people who c3wc
into the Calumet region to settle
the strike, during the first two day
of their stay.
Talks VIII Mine Officials.
Mr.. Den moro talked with the
mine managcrs yesterday and with
O. n. Hilton and olhcr officials OF
tho Western Federation Of Minors
this afteeno ana tonight he said:
Il have made prosrcss 1t is pos
sblc that within three or four dass
this strike viii be settled"
The situation here is SO full 5s
contradictions. The strike is ail
unsettled after lasting five mon ha,
and yet 10000 men are at work in
tho mines. Only $500 men are
still on strike, and yet the coppo
country is an armed camp, with
armed guards patrolling almost
cyc~y road in the country at night
and with almost all ablc-bodicd citi-
zcns enlisted rs minute men and
ready to spring 10 arms at the
signal
Undcrcurrent Of Trouble
kll the mines are in operation OF
viii be Friday, and outwardly tha
conditions in the copper country
seem the same as in the uEcvcntfu|
days before the great strike And
yet everybody is apprehonsive and
the stranger. soon gets thc same feel
ing, as though he wn~e 2mblinG
close to the crater Of an active vel
canu.
Tnc striking miners have clo'm-
ed in their very short list Of srica
ances that they want an eight hour
day and minimum wage scale Of
$3.50 day for miners and So for
toamstcrs, the same wages paid IN
the copper mines IN Butte whore the
miners are members Of the Western
Federation OF Miners.
Miners at work i'll the Amygdloid
mine with the one-map drill were
receiving S325 a day, which is rela-
lively more than the miners in
Butte are paid IN some OF the 9th
er mines on the two-man drills
miners received as high as $3.50 a
day, which is higher than the rae
in Butte.
Nobody denies that in regard to
housing and living conditions gen
orally the copper country treats it,
miners probably bette than in any
other mining district i'm the United
States. The schools in the mining
communities are equal to tho best
in New York and Chicago, and every
town has a splendid public library
Some of the companies have built
the clubhouses. bathhousa contain
ing fine swimming pools and other
buildings devoted to social service
Growing More Bitter.
The mines are the last word in
modern mining engineering, and
have every appliance looking to thc
comfort and safety % their en.
poycs.
And yet the strike in the oopuc.
district continues and seems to SroN
more and more bitter. The com.
panies declare that while they will
do everything tor the miners wei
fare possible, they will absolutely
never grant recognition to the West
ern Federation of Miners. This it
Rot an attitude against unionlsm
,ecausa other trades located in tho
mines have their unions. The black
smiths, carpenters, electricians anC
other employees belong to labor
unions, and have not been interfer
ed with.
The mine managers declare the,
are not opposed to unions, but ina
they viii close Up their propertie.