Omaha daily bee., 1919-10-18
OPERATORS and
COAL MINERS TO
MEET TUESDAY
Secretary Wilson Secures An
. other Conference After
Days Meeting Ends
in Failure.

Washington, Oct. l7.-Falling
after an all-day conference to avert
a strike of nearly 100000 bi.uminous
coal miners. called for the very eve
OF winter, Secretary of Labor Will
son invited miners and operators to
send their full scale committees to
Washington next Tuesday, when an
other effort to bring about peace in
the industry will be made.
Both sides accepted the invitation.
This did not offer any great hope,
however, for representatives OF the
operators stood firm in their de-
termination not to negotiate any de-
mand for six-hour day and not to
deal with the unions unless the
strike, set for November l, was
called off.
Union Head Agrees.
John L. Lewis, acting president
of the United Mine Workers of
America, showed that he was labor
ign under a terrible strain when he
left the meeting. Speaking to
group of reporters. he said he had
told Secretary Wilson that the 81
members of his wage-scale commit
tee would be here Tuesday to meet
an equal number from the other
side, but that it would be useless to
reconvenE the joint interstate wage
conference unless the operators
change their stoncwall attitude"
and indicated willingness to frame
another agreement.
No Reason for Advance.
Indianapolis, Oct. l7.-That there
10 no cause for reported movement
70 increase the price of bituminous
coal is the assertion made in a
statement issued from the lnterna-
tional headquarters of the United
Mine Workers Of America here to-
day,
bituminous coal miners was issued
by Acting President ]. L. Lewis,
Of the United Mine Workers of
America, to become effective on No
vember !, press reports show that
there is movement on foot
throughout the country to increase
the price of coal to. consumers" the
statement reads. ut has come to
our notice that in many places an
nouncement is made that the price
of coal will be advanced ST a ton
this week. It will be we'll for the
public to bear in mind the fact that
the strike does not take place until
the LIST of November and that the
strike order directs all soft coal
miners to remain at work until that
date. There will be no suspension
Of operation in soft coal mines be-
fore November !. Therefore, we
wish the public to know that there
is no reason why the price of coal
should, be increased at this time.
Any such increase can only be
viewed as plain, everyday rrofteer-
ing on the part of those who raise
the price, and that its only pur-
pose can be to put greater profits
IN, the pockets Of those who profit
from the advance"
Ask More Profit.
."Rituminous coal operators, who
WC9S WCA tOHtCut Will plOIlC VI
not more than 10 cents per ton in
prewar times, are now and have
been for the past two or three years,
making . profit ranging as high as
81 per ton. The public should hold
that in view Of this fact there is no
justification for a further increase
in the price Of coal. Surely the
operators cannot charge that the
miners are responsible for the pro-
posed increase, because the oper-
ators have refused to increase the
wages Of the miners"
!. Local coal dealers declare that,
since the strike order was issued
the price of coal has been increased
at the mines from Is to 50 cents
a ton and say it will likely 60 even
higher. One local operator said
that retail dealers and industrial
concerns were offering higher prices
in order to get coal.