New-York tribune., 1919-10-10
Leaders, Who Will Meet
Operators To-day, Conf
dent a Settlement of
Demands Can Be Reached
Willing to Compromise
Assertion Made That Shorter
Hours Need Not Curtail
Supply or Boost Price
Special Correspondence

Special Correspondence
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 9.-Leaders Of
The mine workers in the central com
petitive bituminous field felt confident
to-day that an agreement would be ar
rived at between the operators and
themselves when they 60 into confer
ence tomorrow morning at the Belle
vue-Stratford Hotel. While the work
ess' delegates would not admit they
would compromise rather than call a
strike on November 1, they said they
had come to the conference for the
purpose of drawing ~ contract, and
they felt sure that an amicable agree
ment would be reached.
Members of the operators executive
committee said that unless the workers
modified their demands they could see
no hope for the situation. They clung
to their former positIor-that the only
thing they could offer was renewal
of the present contract until April l.,
1920.
The conference was to have been
held this morning. but after the taking
Of the roll the meeting adjourned until
tomorrow morning, The Pittsburgh
operators, part Of the Illinois and Ohio
operators and some Ohio miners had
not yet arrived.
Miners Demands Radical
"The demands made by the workers
are extreme and we cannot possibly
gran: them,' said a member of the
operc .ors' executive committee.
Tley want a sixhour day, q five
day week and a 60 per cent increase in
their pay This would cut the produc-
Of half RI
would double the cost tnof each ton to
the operator. 1t would result in about
twenty-five hours of work week, for
from the hour dav must be sub
tracted the time which the miner takes
to go to and from work.
"The demands were formulated by
the international Committee of Mine
Workers and represent the most rad
ica1 tendencies of the organization.
"The only position we will maintain. y
continued the operator. "is that we will
renew the present contract until April
1, 1920 We are willing to get together
again before this time and formulate
new contract based on industrial con-
ditions as we will find them then. The
average miner now earns from So to
S12 a day. They have a period of great
earning power ahead Of them. The
cost of living will come down, too"
Editor Predicts Settlement
When told of the attitude of the op-
orators, Ellis Searles, editor of the
Mine Workers Journal" said that he
thought contract would come out
of the conference. He said that he
knew the operators came prepared to
grant a twenty-five per cent increase
II necessary. He said that the work
ers' delegates had come to arrange a
contract, and that ne felt hopeful.
workers have never gotten all they
asked for he said. "This applies not
only to the miners but to the railroad
men and every other body of organ
lied labor. do not want to say that
we will compromise, but we are here
to arrange contract. The only way
to settle these things is to get together
around table and talk them over.
There will not be any curtaililng Of
production, and there need be no in
crease in the price paid by the con-
sumer," continued Mr.. Searles.
Can Produce All Needed
in 1918, 685, ,0O0, 900 tons of coal were
produced. and there were $4,000 mine
workers in the military service The
normal demands for next wear amount