The Columbia evening Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1920-1923, 1920-10-19
Earnings Are Behind H. c. L.
though Increased l55
Per Cent Over Pre-
War Basis.
WORKERS CONCILIATORY
Government Represented by Sir
fobert Horne in Refus-
ing to Accede to
Demands.

tne government dates from last July
~nen the Miners Federation, in confer
ehce at Leamington, formulated their ney
demands which was two-fold; a deman,
ior an Increase Of wages TAT present rat,
o' exchangeD Of IS cents per day; AMI
demand Tor a reduction in the price O
household coal by $3.50 a ION. 1t wa,
estimafed that the wage claim wouIt
amount to $94,5O0OOO a wear and III,
price reduction to sl26,OOO.OOO and i
vas Claimed that both these charge.
could be met out of the present surplu.
pron,s OF the industry. said 10 be s23l.
"o'ooo, arising from the high prices now
received for export coal.
Inc miners case for an increase in
wages was based on the failure Of their
esrnings to keep pace with the rising
cost OF living. The latter, according to
INC government statistics, had risen by
iso per cent, on a pre-war basis. by the
end OF July. The next six weeks showed
ioriher rise Of 6 per cent. The total
increase IN mine.workers' wages on the
prc'war average was l55 per cent. But
tne miners pointed out that a certain
proportion of that. viz. the $40 week
eisen as the result of the recommends.
uon OF the Royal Commission. was Civ.
en- explicitly on the ground that the min.
{" pre-war wage was inadequate, and
ior the purpose Of improving his stand
ard OF living, and therefore should be
ieif out of consideration. On that basis
the wage advance amounted to only rs
per cent. which is not of course equiv.
aienf to the percentage increase in the
cost OF living, taking the latter at the
lowest oihcial estimate The miners ar.
gued throughout that their wages claim
was considerably less than the facts
would justify. The average wage per
day for adult workers at present is $500.
WANTS INTERESTS LINKED UP
The demand for a reduction in the
price Of coal arose partly from a sincere
desire of the miners to break the vicious
circle and effect some reduction in the
general cost Of living. partly from the
practical motive of wishing to link up
the interests Of the consumers with those
OF the miners, and thereby enlist their
sympathies on that side. There was.
however, a further motive-a motive of
policy.
The price Of inland coal is controlled
by the government. which has power, un-
der q recent Act, to continue control for
. year or eighteen months. The miners
considered that the increase Of $3.50 on
household coal, imposed last May, was
not demanded by the financial position.
The miners objection to deconirol
was not merely the obvious economic
one: that so long as export prices was
was not merely the obvious economic one:
that SO long as export prices remain
their present height, home prices without
control would tend to rise rapidly to the
same level. Every step towards deconirol
would be a step away from Nationalist
ton Estate ownership with joint con-
troll is the ultimate political goal Of the
miners and is part of the policy Of the
whole Labor movement. Thus. while
one-half Of the miners original demand
increase Of wases) was entirely econ.
omic. and the other half (reduction of
price, was capable of justification on
economic grounds, the political element
undoubtedly entered in.
When on July 26 the representatives
of the Miners Federation met Sir Rob-
ert Horne, the President Of the Board
Of Trade, he informed them that the gov
ernmcnt could not accede 10 their dual
demand. he declared that the advances
IN miners wages compared ia'oraDiy wi'n
those OF other WORKERS sueh as skilled
engineers, to whom the industrial Court
had refused further increase aithoush
fxaf xru m L.