The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-08-16
MINERS RAISE
OF 81 REFUSED
BY OPERATORS
Bosses Side Of Scale Body
Turns Down Demands;
Offer IS to 72 Cents,

Cl0VelAuQ, OnIOs aug. AV'
bituminous coal operators Of the
central competitive field. in refus-
ing the miners demands for a ~ .
day increase for day and monthly
men and 10 cents . ton for PICK
and machine mining this morning
offered the miners q proposition
agreeing to correct the seeming in
equality Of the present contract by
advancing the wages of the day and
monthly men the equivalent of the
coal commissioner award to the
pick miners, giving the day and
monthly men an increase estimat-
ed at from IS to 72 cents day.
An increase of 81 a day for min
ers paid by the day or month in
and around the bituminous mines
and 10 cents an hour for tonnage
men, retroactive to Aug. ! were de-
manded by the miners as we'll as
the abolition of the automatic pen
atty clause fining miners 81 a day
for illegal strikes and settlement
Of differentials by the districts
affected.
Affects g. S. and Canada.
The demands apply directly to
only the central competitive field
western Pennsylvania, Illinois,
Ohio and Indiana-but the industry
throughout this country and Can
ada is affected because all con-
tracts are based upon the scale in
this field.
There are approximately 100000
bituminous coal miners in this
field. About q per cent are day
workers who receive $6 day.
FayOrs Penalty Clause.
II have no statement to make
before the conference as to what
our answer will be to the Miners"
said e. c. Searles, an Illinois oper-
ator, this morning. 1T is a diff
cult problem, however, to keep the
mines open when contracts entered
into with the miners can be repu-
dated and broken at will.
1T should be remembered that
the obligation to mine the countrys.
coal supply rests equally on tia
miners as on the operators" i
The operators will consider no
other demands made by the min
ers, including the 10 cents per ton
asked for pick and machine mining.
The miners received the operat-
ors' reply in a joint conference of
the scale committee and unani-
mously rejected the proposition.
Hold Conference.
/ A subcommittee of two operators
and two miners, from each of the
four states was then named and
went into joint conference to con-
slider the situation. John l.. Lewis,
president Of the United Mine Work
ers of America and, William Green,
secretary-treasurer, attended the
subcommittee meeting as ex-oficio
members. The other members of
the joint scale committee, were to
await the call of the subcommit-
tee.
Under the award of the bitum-
inous coal commission pick min
ing rate was advanced u per cent
over the then existing contract
The day and monthly men were
advanced but 20 per cent. This in
equality the operators agreed to
correct by advancing the wages of
the day and monthly men the equiv
alent Of the pick miners.
Offer IS to y Cents.
Vice President Miller of the Illi-
nois Operators association said the
operators offer would give day and
monthly men an increase estimated
at from IS to 72 cents a day, de-
pending upon the district taken as
a basing point The Hooking VAL
ley district has usually been taken
as such.
Using the Hooking Valley field as
q basing point, the operators prop
osition would mean an increase of
an average Of SO cents a day to the
day and monthly men. he said.
n n 0ln0u ARuU