Evening star., 1922-03-17
MINE OPERATORS
UNITED IN REPLY
Answer UndiscIosed, But
Rumored Bolt Fails to
MateriaIize.
BY the Associated Press.

oy 'ue hSSOClAte0 ffesS
NEW YORK, March 17.-The
general policies committee OF the
anthracite conl operators today
notified the miners In session here
that they were willing to eomprO-
mise the wage controversy On a
dustry "will provide fair wages.
full-time employment to its work.
ers and naximum production Of
coal at . cost which will enable 1t
to be sold to its customers at .
price they are able to pay."
NEW YORK, March .i.->Eegotia-
the anthracite coal mines Of the ua-
ton were expected to reach a climax
today, when operators were to pre-
sent their reply to the nineteen wage
demands submitted by the miners at
joint conference last Wednesday.
Secrecy is maintained as to what
the reply will be. 1t was framed last
night at a chamber session OF sew
enty-four mine operators. after Sec
retary of Labor Davis had caused 1t
to be understood that the government
would steer clear Of the controversy
unless it threatened to involve the
public by cutting off its coal-supply.
Whether the reply. was an ulti-
nietu,p or ans otfer to- ctmprcnisc
was not revealed by the operators
before they met. The labors repre-
ssntatiyss fEss!X Predicted thai Ihey
HAn3d FSse4ys< <eyHtFr proposals which
would prolong the negotiations, VIr-
tua1ly assuring suspension Of mine
operations, temporarily at least, after
Complete acceptance of the nine
teen demands of the workers was not
anticipated in 'any> quarter of the
conference. ---..-- \
Despite rumors that a number of
the smaller operators would bolt II
the larger companies decided to re-
ject. fatty the miners demands. 1t
was reported today that all seventy
nine were parties to the reply framed
last night. The operators thus would
present q solid front when the con-
ference was resumed today, 1t was
said.
Lewis to Answer.
Samuel D.. warriner Of Philadel-
phia, president Of the Lehigh Coal
and Navigation Company, and chair
man of the general policies commit
tee of the operators. was expected to
announce the stand his organization
is prepared to take. -.
The attitude of the mine workers
toward the reply was intrusted to
Mr.. Lewis of the International Union
and w. ]. Brennan, Thomas Kennedy
and c. j. Golden, district chiefs.
Their final actions will be governed
by the vote of the thirty-nine labor
representatives who will participate
in the conference. ,..
Machinery for the appointment of
arbitrating committees and sub-com-
mittees Of investigation had already
been set up today by the labor organ
izations. ready for the expected offer
of the mine owners to compromise by
submitting counter proposals 1t was
believed q settlement based on such
counter proposals could not be ef-
fected in less than four weeks, even
though all negotiations should run
without a hitch.
1t was anticipated the labor crisis
in the bituminous fields would be; af-
fected directly by. the reply to the
demands of the anthracite workers,
Labor said today. =
Surveys of the anthracite stocks,
made by the Department of Labor,
have determined that a shortage of
domestic anthracite should not nor.
mally occur until seven weeks after
3 walkout. Anseven larger supply of
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