The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1920-01-02
Owl I J ! I ] |! Ed
coal REE|EN
Coal Price Increased Three
Times as Much as Wages +
Of the Miners.


Proof that the coal operators were
as never before IN the
history Of this country; that the pric.
Of the coal at the mine had Increased
three times as much as the raise ID
wages to the coal miners, and that me
coal strike was caused by the opera
tors breaking an agreement to raise
wages in proportion to the price they
got for coal, is furnished by Edgar
Wallace, spokesman for the miners In
the east.
I'm the 1916 contract said Mr..
Wallace, 1.-THE miners were given %
cents for pick mining, 81 cents FOR
machine mining and $2.98 per day for
day labor. The average selling price
Of coal was $125 per ton.
Slight Raise in 1917
by natural agreement raise was
had in August, 1917. On Oct. 8, 1911
the so-called Washington agreement
was effected. Including the voluntary
increase of August, this agreement
brought the 64-cent rate up to "a cents,
the 52-cent rate up to e cents and the
sedls race fpt4t8y5: -x'saa'1sst - 81
.The pick men rep 1f present per cent
Of all men engaged IN mine work
Their wage increase was % per cent.
Machine men comprise 40 per cent OF
the total force and their wage increase
was 80 per cent. Day labor constitutes
q per cent of the total number OF men
and their wage raise was >68 per cent.
Forty-four per cent was the average
increase.
ssThe same agreement fixed the aver
age selling price of coal at S2.4o al
the mines, an increase OF almost loo
per cent. In February, 1919, the fue'
administration lifted the price restrlc,
tions and since then the price has gone
to So per ton, making the increase In
price for the operators in the neigh
borhood Of $50 per cent over the l9lt
price. They have absorbed the differ
ence between the II per cent enhanced
labor cost and the $50 per cent en-
HANGED selling price of coal.
Yearly Earnings Low
"The only official figures for lv19
are those compiled by the Iowa state
officials Mr.. Wallace continued.
'These figures show that from Sept
30, 1918, to Sept. 80, 1919, the average
earnings of the Iowa miners were $500
per year. The period on which this
calculation is made contains one month
and eleven days of war production, in
which the rate of production ran high
err than it now runs.
'sTop wages for miners during the
peak production year of war time were
81 800 per year. This is the average
wage of the Illinois miners during the
time when production was stimulated
by war demands. It is true that some
men earned much more than this aver
age, but that only emphasizes the fact
that some earned much less. In Iowa
the average yearly earning during the
wartime peak was $3.50.
Operators Cause Strike
In past negotiations the operators
nave always luSISleu lIldL tie price vi
a ton of coal on the general market
must be the basis on which to nego-
tate wages To this we have always
agreed, and whenever the operators
have been able to prove that a pro-
posed wage raise would not enable
them to operate and reap fair profit
we have considered that as conclusive
and withdrawn the demands. On that
basis the miners are willing to nego-
tate today without reservations. They
are willing to withdraw all their de-
mands and negotiate on the basis Of
present conditions in the coal mines,
both as to prices and hours.
1.-THE miners cannot overlook the
cost of living, because it is pressing
upon them every day. Even on the
basis of the lowest figure yet made
to cover the increase in living costs,
which is rs per cent, and which we
do not accept as accurate, it will be
seen that the miners are working at
a reduction in wages, while the OPP
orators are reaping the benefit of a
clear $50 per cent gain in the income
from our output"