The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1920-07-21
WARRINERREPLlES.
TO MINERS STAND.
Says Attitude Of Coal Workers
is Unfair.
AGAINST E|GHT-HOUR DAY
Operators Representative Declares
Industry Cannot Operate With g.
Hour Day For All Employees.

Scranton, July 21.-In his closing
argument for the operators before The
United States anthracite coal com
mission 5. D. Warmer, president OF
the Lehigh Coal and Navigation com.
pany, stated the position of the oper-
atorS was one of earnest, thourhtfui
consideration of all the points broughf
out by the miners and by their own
study of the situation.
There has ever been before the Cd
orators, he said, realization that
wages and conditions of employment
should be fair and reasonable.
However, in the sensational preSen.
tation Of the other side, he said, the
mine workers attitude has been un.
fa1r. There has never been the least
hesitation in presenting TO any au.
ThoriZed government body the fullest
information as TO prices, or the policy
of conducting the business. These
phases, he added, have been fully
covered by the federal trade commits.
sion and in senatorial Investigations
The present commission, he said, was
lim"ed to consideration of wage
questions, and as the miners advanc.
ed no prOfit-sharing proposal. the
question of profits did not come be-
fore the commission
The only questions, Mr.. WarrineI
said, were the eighteen demands.
which he classified in four parts.
Taking up the demands of ma jon
Importance, Mr.. Warmer said that
the question of extending the eight.
hour day had been taken up with the
secretary of labor and that a spec-
fic recommendation had been made
by the secretary covering those class
es of men he thought required special
consideration, including outside hoist
ing engineers and inside pumpmen
Since that meeting. he said, the
miners had placed a wider interpreta.
ton on the demand so as TO include
not only those men working twelve
hours cross shifts, but all classes
working more than eight hours day.
with demand that pay for eight hours
be the same as now paid for twelve
IIC loVh lllC pOSillVll lildl M III
duStry like the anthracite industry
can operate a full eight-hour day if
there is limitation Of eight hours en-
ployment to all individuals. He said
the men themselves would not be sat
isied if eight hours were the hard
and fast limit. and that there was no
warrant for paying the same money
to the long hour men for eight hours
as they now receive for twelve Punt
tive overtime was not allowed by the
bituminous commission and the secre-
tary of labor had calculated on
straight hourly rates for overtime.
In their demand for the same in
creases as given to the bituminous
miners, Mr. Worriner said that the
anthracite workers had shifted their
interpretations, and even In the clos
ing arguments had maintained that
differentials should be continued on
the basis of a Sc minimum daily wage
for unskilled labor
He said the wage increase demand
had been based on the theory that
there was more inrregularity of work
ing In the anthracite mines than in
the bituminous, and that when this
was demolished the next argument
was that wages must be increased to
meet the increased cost of living The
final demand is based on the ground
that So is no more than enough to
give a living wage.