Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1919-11-14
DENOUNCES
TYRANNY
Senator Frelinghuysen Denounces
Demands Of BtuminOus Coal Min
0rs as Tyranny-Facts with Which
Public Should be Acquainted.

The following extracts from Sena-f
tor Frehnghuysep talk IN tne Sen
ate in regard TO the coal situation
are worthy of careful reading ana
thoughtfu consideration:
"Mr. President" a few weeks.
since / offered in this senate a reso-
luton authorizing the Interstate Com
marce CommiGGee to investigate the
coal situation. ! was made chai man
OF a subcommittee whlcn IS engaged
in making th.s inquiry. At the pro-
per time we will, through the general
committee, report our findings to th-s
body. III
~lc was while in the prosecution 9t
the work OF inRestigaClOn assigned
to me that certain tacts were brought
TO my notice with winch IN my opin-
ion the senate and the people we rep
resent should be made acquainted.
ask unanimous consent TO present to
the senate Tor publication in the
Congressional Record, certain papers
relating to the existing bltumlnous
coal sicuaton, chiefly official cOrre-
spondence passing between the Unit
ed Mine Workers of America and the
assoc ated coal operators.
Beiore proceeding further, how
ever, | should state that the daily
papers, within the past forty-eight'
hours, indicate that the officials rep
? resenting the anthracite miners have
lust reached an agreement with the
coal operators, continuing until
March 81, 1929, the existing wage
scale. All honor to them for that
decision.
But the officials representing the
bitummous miners have pursued
radically different course.
Correspondence which / am about
10 otter presents an ominOus sitaa-
ton. Affecting n the hignest degree
tde prospellt lty, peace, happiness ana
healsn oil the American people.
1 have been a friend OF labor, OF
organlzed labor, throughout my pub
ne career, both in the senate OF my
native state, and In the senate OF the
United States, but | am not a friend
OF tyranny, whether 1T be the tyranny
of the capitalist OF the tyranny OF
the professional labor agita.or.
believe that the laborer is worthy OF
his htre, rut | do not believe tuat any
man or set of men is entitled to
wage that will mean the placing OF
All nlto.sraDie burden upon tne great
mass Cf our population already weigh
ed down by mgiFtaxes and Gne h'gn
cost of living.
Oniy man Of impaired intellect
viii fail to see that this Is not a con-
troversy which aione affects the coal
operators and their employees. 1t IS
one that affects and seriously affects
every house in the iand, and espsc.aliy
the nome Of the humDlest citizen, who
depends upon coal Tor tuel purposes.
over a hundred million of our citi-
zens ewho have never owRet a dollar
of coal stock and have never been
near a mining town are vitality con-
cerned IN the controversy, for, Il
the United Mine Workers of America
shall have their demands granted, 1t
would add from $500 to $3.50 to the
price OF every ton of bituminous coal
marketed and billion dollars wOul'
be taken from the pockets of those
VINO can in afford any such tax, in
view Of the innumerable other de-
mands made upon the family purse.
What are these demands? The
pubic should know. | shall not re-
produce taem in detail. They are
set forth in the correspondence ! am
submitting herewith. | shall, how
ever, present a few of them in non
techn cal language:
',1-That the present wage agree
ment between the operators and MIN
ers, which ii. was generally under
stood would not expire until Aprll, L,
1920. shall be considered as null and
void alter Nov. 1, 1919.
3 Hereafter the miners shall
work only five days a week and only
SIX hours a day.
3-Wages shall be increased six
ty percent.
A. for overtime there shall be q
80 per cent additional compensation,
and for all-yprk on Sunday and holt
days, the extra pay shall amount to
100 per cent.
l shall not particuarize the other
demands, though these are on par
with those cited.
We must not, however, lost sight
of the final demand, the crux of the
matter, to-wit:
We recommend that in event a
satisfactory wage agreement is not
secured for the central competitive
field before November l, 1919, to re-
place the one now in effect, that the
international officials be authorized
to and are hereby instructed to call
a general strike of all bituminous
miners and mine workers throughout
the United States, the same to be-
come effective Nov. 1, 1919.
!. These demands were presented to
the bituminous cpal mine operators
assembled in Buffalo, Sept. 20, 1919
who made reply, inter ALA, as follows
Acceptance Of these demands will
the indirect increases inherent to othel
items of your demands, would more
than double the already high cost ol
producing coal, with consequent large
direct and indirect additions to th'
cost of living of every citizen anC
decentralization and prostration o
the industry. Such wage increases
are impossible and their attempted
enforcement would react with grea
harm equally on the nation and oil
the, individual miners you represent
The operators, moreover, eX
pressed a willingness to negotiate
new contract, but insisted that 'sucl
negot alton be entered into in spiri
Of reasonableness and that the up
reseutatives of the miners be veste
with their usual discretionary powe
to really negotiate
This power, however, the repre-
sentative miners Indicated that the
did not possess. The exact terms Il
laid down by the convention Of tn
United Mine Workers of Americ
must be met, or the strike would tak
place on Nov. l. 1919. In effect the
declared that there was nothing
negotiate.
What is the situation which W
face? Here we are on the thr rashoi
of winter There is, comparativel
speaking, but scant supply Of CO,
in the nations bin. If these me
have their way, state Of famine wi
be precipitated upon the land {