The labor advocate. [volume] (Cincinnati, Ohio) 1912-1937, 1916-03-11

NeW 1ork.-A1ter a warm debate,
lasting nearly six hours, the interstate
Joint conference of miners and oper-
ators from the soft coal fields of West
ern Pennsylvania, Ohio Indiana and
Illinois, representing nearly 100000 mine
workers, last Wednesday adopted the
new wage contract agreed upon by the
subcommittee of employers and en-
ployes.
The agreement will increase the in
come of the mine workers in those
States about $15,0OO,0OO during the two
year period the contract is to run and
will have an influence on the wage con-
ferences to be held in the bituminous
fields of Central Pennsylvania, West
Virginia, Michigan, Iowa, Kentucky,
Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas,
Texas, Wyoming, Montana and Wash
ington, as the agreements in those States
are based largely on the action taken in
Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana
and Illinois.
The Policy Committee of the United
Mine Workers will meet in Pttsburg.
March 16, to decide on the method Of
ratification by the full membership of
bituminous mine workers. The Policy
Committee is made up of eight miners
from every mining State in the country
and it has the power to call a conven-
ton to ratify the new scale or submit
it to a referendum vote of soft coal
diggers.
Opposition to the new scale, which
will go into effect April /. was voiced
by operators and miners. The chief OBJ
Jectlons among the miners came from
Indiana delegates. who refused to vote
to adopt the scale. When they voted
No., John p. White, International pres
dent of the Miners Union, announced
that the International officers would as
sumo the responsibility of bringing
about settlement in that State.
If the Indiana miners refuse to ac-
cept the scale and go to the extreme of
strike, it was said they would not
have the support of the International
organization. Officers of the Interna-
tional body said, however, they had no
doubt that the rank and file of the In
diana miners would abide by the inter-
state agreement. a@ st
The Indiana miners want the mine
run basic rate increased to the same level
as the Danville (Tll) price and opposed
all offers that did not agree with their
Ind, district president of the Indiana
miners, said he would rather take the
screen coal basic prices than the mine
run rates agreed upon. He was support
ed by other members of his delegation
Stewart, after the conference, would
not express an opinion as to what atti-
tude the Indiana miners would take.
Adolph Germer, a miner delegate
from Illinois, and Charles Abason, a
subdstrict president in Ohio, left the
conference while the voting was going
on, both being against certain features
in the agreement.
Some of the Ohio and Western
Pennsylvania operators voiced their dis
satisfaction with the new scale, and
many of them placed themselves on rec
ord against some of its features. w. II.
flaskins, of Ohio. and w. W. Kcefer,
of Western Pennsylvania, in voting to
accept the agreement, announced that
they were opposed to parts of it. and
gave reasons for voting for the con-
tract as whole.
The international and some Of the
district officers of the union made
speeches, declaring that the contract was
a good one.
There was delay in announcing the
vote after it was taken because there
was confusion as to whether the mega
tive votes of the Indiana miners did not
defeat the whole plan for an interstate
agreement. 1t finally was announced
that the whole report of the subcommit-
tee which drew up the scale was adopted.
A resolution was adopted continuing
the life of the joint conference and pro-
viding that it shall meet to negotiate a
new scale before the one adopted We'd
nesday expires This is the first time
such action has been taken in twelve
years. The subcommittee of operators
and miners met on Thursday afternoon
to sign the contract, subject to the rati
fication of all soft-coal mineworkers.
The new agreement as adopted is as
follows:
THAT all coal in Western Pennsyl-
vania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois be
weighed and paid for on a mine-run
basis.
Advanced 3 Cents Ton.
That pick mine run coal be advanced
3 cents a ton in the thin-vein district of
Western Pennsylvania; that in Eastern
Ohio, the Hooking, Cambridge and Am
sterdam- Bergholz district in Ohio the
pick mine-run rate be the same as in
the thin-vein district of Western Pensyl-
,,op;, -, the other dict rictc of Ohio tho