The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-11-15
Proposals Made to Conference
by Secretary of Labor Wilson
Will Be Considered at Today's
Meeting.
PEACE IN SOFT COAL
MINES is OBJECTIVE
Demands of Miners and Unyield-
ing Position of Operators
Alike Declared Impossible by
Wilson i'm Opening Conference


Washington, Nov. 14.-Demands of
coal miners for .thirty-hour week and
so per cent increase in wages and the
unyielding position by operators alike
We're declared Impossible by Secre-
tary of Labor Wilson today in open
ing the conference called to bring
peace in the soft coal mines of the
nation. The secretary asserted that
the Washington wage agreement was
still legally in force, but that the peo-
pie of the United States are. not
Shyloclxs and do not want to exact
conditions are changed.
Secretary Wilson offered three pro-
posals. First. negotiations through
joint wage scale committees repre-
senting all districts. Second. negotia
tions through concurrent sessions of
committees from all districts. Third.
negotiations first of agreement in CEN
trail competitive field and then of
agreements for other fields with that
OF the central. as a basis. The con-
ference adjourned until tomorrow to
permit miners. and operators to dis
cuss separately the plans offered.
The demands of the miners num-
Der twelve and are in part the result
of definite grievances Of the miners
which the rank and file have for more
than year been pressing for action
In part they are copied from the
program Of the British miners, which
flew across the sea like sparks tol
light the tinder OF unrest.
In part they are the renewal OF poll
ical maneuvers of factions in the Uni
ted Mine Workers union, each faction
seeking to gain a following by hoist
ing a banner inscribed with radical
demands which they secretly hoped
the other faction would have to bear
the burden of delivering.
As whole the demands are theI
most drastic and far-reaching ever put
forward by any American trade union.
Number one merely provides that
the demands as formulated supersede
all previous resolutions.
Number two demands so per cent?
wage increase for every man Employed
in and about the mines whether paid
on tonnage or day rates. The demand
for increased wages finds its basis,
in the fact that from April /, 1916,
to date the tonnage rate of pick miners
has increased only about 80 per cent?
and the tonnage rate of machine
miners has incresaed about 40 perl
cent while the cost of living has adj
vanced during the same ptriod aboutl
so per cent. The wages of day menl
have advanced about 10 per cent, but
they constitute only about one-fourthi
of all the employees and We're. admittedly
underpaid before the war. During 191Sl
steady work enabled the miners to get /
out large tonnage with fair earnings
for all, but during the early part Of
1919 when the demands were formu- |
lated the mines operated so irregulartyt I
that their earnings fell far behind the |
1918 level and many of the miners
We're undoubtedly hard pinched
No one appears to be able to ex-
plain just why so per cent increase was |
demanded. AS nearly as 1 can make
out after repeated questioning the in
volved reasoning was something like
this
Men in the building trades who work
about the same number of days get a |
dollar an hour; therefore, the miners
ought to get a dollar an hour. or SIS
for an S-hour day instead of the $5l
they now receive. or an increase of 60
pre- cent. But whether the miners ex-l
pect er hope to get s6 for a 6-hour
day or IS for a six-hour day, nobodyi
seems to know definitely.
The plain fact is that some of the
miners, particularly those badly Local
ted, deserve an increase in wages, and
should get it without quibbling, butt
there is no basis for a flat general
increase such as is sought, for many
of the men favorably located are max
ing S10 a day or more
Number three demands a six-hourt
day from bank to bank, with five days
work per week
The demand for a 6-hour day arisesl
large from the fact that the miners
operate on an average only four days
or 32 hours week. The miners ask
why il is not fair to work six hours
spread over five days or 80 hours a
week in all. The official argument L
is that it Will stabilize the rationI
of the industry.
The demand for five days a week.
does not amount to much, for the mines
hardly ever cut or hoist coal on Sat
urdays because of the necessity forl
re-timbe bering and development
fNo. 1-continued on Page Three.) Il