Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-11-24
TO SAY
WHATBURDEN
PEOPLE Bear
Miners Get 81 Per Cent
More if Coal Users
Pay the Bill.

Warrington, Nov. A.-Operators
and miners Of the central competi-
tive bituminous coal field marked
time today in their negotiations n:
. new wage scale while awaiting :
decision by Fuel Administfator
Garfield a to what portion Of any
wage advance should be passed op
to the public.
When the wage scale committees
met this morning the operators OBJ
tained an adjournment until to-
morrow 1t which time they expect
DR.. Garfield will be prepared 70
make q statement based on further
Investigation Of facts connec1ea
with the coal industry.
Have Two Prspesals.
Two separate proposals are h.
fore the committees. One 10 tho
offer Of the operators for an Ia
crease Of 20 per cent for day vofh
and Is cents . ton for mining and
the other u the. demand Of the
miners for = wage increase Of ~
per cent and . 7-hour day.
Three Plans Rejeotel
Negotiations promiaed to Hnege
today to . climax. d coal opsfar
tors, miners and government ollc-
ials participating. rssumsd coaeld-
GRAFTON Of the deadlock In the h.,
dustry. FAeash ~ 1t sse1oelx
of three separate proposals Tor IN
creasing the compensation oe min
ers which were presented IN turn
by the operators and miners. and
finally by Secretary Of Labor VIII
son, LEFT the conference facing Z
possible break. hopes wsre held out
that Fuel Administrator Garfield
would settle the controversy by iix-
ing q definite limit on the advance
SSess. s'il ''''" IN ''''n''0'' ''@'
Operators have challenged sharp
ly the correctness Of Secretary
wilson's compromise suggestion
for a 81 per cent advance in wagea
| as necessary to meet cost Of living
! conditions. However, the miners
I have accepted it, provided their
working day can be shortened to Z
hours, instead of s hours, the pres
ent standard.
Situation Grows Worse.
Chicago. ILL.,, Nov. 34.-Indas-
trial plants all over the middle
west continued to close down to-
day, fuel supplies to public utili-
ties were curtailed further and
regional coal committees advised
individuals to save coal a. the
nationwide strike of bitumfnous
miners entered its 24th day.
The only large producing center
reporting an improvement during
the last "a hours was West VIZ
ginia, where the output in the NM
union fields of the southern part Of
the state was said. by the operators.
to be normal. The operators Also
asserted that additional organised
mines In the New River and
Kanawha districts in that state
were expected to open today.
| Keep Out Of lihes.
In the great bituminous fields cf
Pennsylvania, Ohio. Indiana aud
Illinois, the miners apparently
weer determined to remain idle
until q settlement Of the contros
iversy over wages and hours d
reached by the conference at Wash
ington Of operators and onicials Of
the United Mine Workers Of Amer
1 lea.
/ At Indianapolis, manufactures
iagreed to close their factories three
days . week. beginning today, until
the coal shortage 10 relieved. In
Chicago heat was shut on in street
cars. s
Five hundred Virginia ,state
troops today reached st. Charles. o
mining town near the virginia-Ken-
lucky border, where 1t was report
ed radicals had threatened to shoot
any Of the striking miners. who At-
tempted to return to work.