Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1914-03-12


tricts in Ohio, also went to Nlinois
and Indiana, to get information, also
visited the Coal Docks at Toledo and
Milwaukee. Part o fthe COMMITTEES
visited mines in West Virginia Ne
also visited the plant of the United
Railways Company in Detroit, Mich.
where they use approximately 100000
tons of slack per year.
After an exhaustive and complete
study of the question, and after sew.
eral days argument by the Miners
, and Operators before the Commission
for and against the evidence found by
j their investigation, the commission
,, made their report land / presume You
are all more or less familiar with that
'report) that the only just way to pay
"a miner for his work was upon the
Mine Run basis
They also placed in the law certain
restrictions regarding the loading of
dirty coal, and the question of fine
coal in order to answer the only argu.
ments put up by the Operators against
the Mine Run system.
| There seemed to be some uncertain
ty in the minds of the Miners in re.
gard to these restrictions Some think
ing that the Industrial Commission
would have the right, if, after we had
contract signed and in few months
the per cent of fine coal increased
to come in and reduce the price per
ton. This caused considerable agita.
ton and / think it was well that II
did, for on this point rested the vel
fore of the Miners over the entire
State, and of the Industrial Commits
sion had such right, then for one
would rather fight out the question
on the industrial field.
The contention came UP at a eau
Gus of the Ohio Delegates who v ere
attending the Indianapolis Conven.
ton and there a motion was passed
for Mr.. Moore, Mr.. Green and a Com.
mlttee that was to be selected to 90
to Columbus and confer with the At
torney General and some good Con
st1tut1onal Lawyer on these two sec.
tons of the law. There was REPRE-
sentat1Ves present from all the differ
ent scale Districts in Ohio Our Sab
District being represented by Pres.
Albasin, Charles Fisher, George
Kinds, Jerome Watson and Myself
After arriving in Columbus we in
tervleWed the men designated by the
motion in Indianapolis, also Judge
Crow who had written the law and we
found the Industrial Commission had
no right to change prices and that the
organization had the right under the
law to establish by contract rule
and penalty for loading dirty coal, we
also learned if those restrictions were
not IN there it would mean Glass Leg.
lsIatlon, as it is termed among the
law makers and law Interpreters and
would be unconstitutional. and while
believe every Miner in Ohio would
have rather had straight mine ruin
law yet think it was the consensuc
on opinion that we had better get the
law as it was written, than none at
all and If anything unusual comes out
OF IT, that we could take care of the
matter intelligently with the aid of
our organization the same as we do
anything else that confronts us. AL
ter Delng reasonably satisfied i've
would be able to take care of any con.
troVersy that migHnt originate with
the passage of the law. we went be-
lore both branches of the law making
bodies and fought for it's passage:
me Operators most bitterly fought
and done everything in their power
10 defeat the passage of the bill but
1t was finally made a law by large
majority in both branches of the
General Assembly. / understand the
operators are threatening to petition
Tor a referendum vote and if it car
nes in our favor to attack the con
sututionality fthe act, SO it behooyes
every miner in the State to be on his
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2.