New-York tribune., 1922-02-14

stllI make enOrm GUS prO1J3. ne Dl-
luminous miners have not yet formally
announced their demands, but they are
certain to be either for an increase,
probably less than that asked by the
anthracite miners, or at the very least
for the maintenance Of their present
scale.
The anth racite workers. in their
tri-district council ut Shamokin, went
on record as 10 their demands. which
will be submitted to this convention
for ratification. These are for an in
crease OF 20 per cent in the contract
wage rate and ST day for day work
ors, making the minimum daily rate
$500. according 10 the operators. IN
addition demands arc made for time
and onc-half for overtime, double time
for Sunday and holiday work, an in
crease to 80 cents an hour for curpcn-
ters and blacksmths ard institution
Of the check Off system Tor the coiec-
tion Of union dues. a. is in effect in
,hc bituminous iields.
Because Of the announcement o.
thesc demands. the anthracite o2crat-
ors, unlike the bituminous operators
at this writing, arc able to make clear
their position in the controversy. Their
attitude is summed up in tho follow
ing statement given 70 The Tribune By
Bureau Of Inforur Lion in PhiladcIph
"Anttracitc rca I'cd its peak price q
year and a half aNor the close Of the
vnr. and is one Of II very srnll group
Of commodities in which no material
decline in price has taken place during
the last year. That this condition is
mainly due to TIE .raintenancc Of mine
wages at the pea. which wax attained
1 = III. . -
minors are not among The highest paid
labor in the United States to-daT. but
they constitute the only labor in basic
industry which has not accepted a re
duction in wages since the war
"An illustration Of the upward trend
OF anthracite wages is obtained from
reports Of tho United states Bureau OF
Mines. which show that there were pro-
duced in 1913 totai Of 7l,0t6,816 tons
Of anthracite at labor cost Of S. 49,
100000, or about Sl.59 Il ton, while in
1920 there were produced So .t58, 673 tons
at Il labor cost Of S252 179, ,00C, Or $3S5
a ton--an increase Of 14l per cent
Lower Prices Main Argument
"Anthrncitc operators believe that
mine workers should receive liberia
compensation, but they recognize the
fact that the price Of coal alIst be re-
duccd in line with all other basic com
modities and that the only way in
which this can be accomplished is by
a reduction in the producing cost. The
single item Of producing cost which
has not been reduced is labor which
constitutes more than 70 per cent Of
the total
at is pointed out by producers that
if the demands of the mine workers
are granted it will add greatly to the
cost Of production.
"Productlon Of anthracite during thc
present coal year, which began April
/, 1921, has proceeded practically at
capacity and the mine workcrs have
The coal. however, has not sold at any
thing like normal volume. This is due
partly to the mild weather Of this
winter, but the primary reason is THAI
the public cannot and viii not pay ths
prices made necessary by the extreme
ly high production cost
Presentation Of the chief points of
the union case against the mine oper
ators was given The Tribune by Philip
Murray. vice e7presidcnt OF the United
Mine Workers. Following is his state
ment:
"Thc mine workers of the United
States have taken their present posi-
tion in this dispute because they ar,
not now receiving wages by which they
can provide themselves and their fami-
lies with even the bare necessities OF
life, let alone obtaining a decent live