Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1922-07-22
MINES TO RUN
ON 1917 WAGES
Final Offer Is Made to Strikers
by Pittsburgh Op-
orators.
MEN ARE INVITED TO RETURN
Governors Back Harding Plan to Re
sumo Coal Production-Iroops
Will Not Protect Property of
Profiteers, Weeks Declares

Pittsburgh, Pa. July 20. = The
Pittsburgh Coal Producers 2ssocia-
ton, after an executive session, an
nounced that they would reopen the
bituminous coal mines i'll western
Pennsylvania to 1.-The fullest extent
possible" in accordance with the in
vitation extended by President Hard
ing.
1t was announced that the miners
would be offered the old wartime
scale prevailing in November. 1917.
The operators avOwed they would
stand pat for the adjustment of the
check-off system, and it was said that
if the miners accepted the terms
agreed on they would have to do so
with the check-off eliminated entirely.
This feature has been the biggest
bone of contention between the
operators and miners ever since the
trouble between the two elements be-
gan.
The proposed scale of the Pitts
burgh operators shows a material re-
ductiOn from that proposed by Pres
ident Harding, amounting to slash
of $3.50 a day for day workers, "A
cents an hour. or $1.92 day, for
machine miners and % cents an hour,
or $1.S4, for the pick diggers.
Appeal to Workers.
Washington, July 2O.-WOrkers
throughout the United States were
formally appealed to by the execu-
tive council of the American Fedora
ton of Labor to actively support in
every way the striking railroad
workers.
The appeal went by unanimous vote
of the council to every labor OrganiZa
ton in the United States, to every la
Dor publication and to every organ
lied labor man through federation or
CARRIERS.
Samuel GOmpers and Senator BOrah
of Idaho, chairman of the senate labor
committee, conferred for more than
an hour on the general industrial
situation resulting from the railroad
and ccal strikes.
No conclusions were reached with
respect to a legislative program to
relieve the present situation, it being
decided that the enactment of new
laws at this time would be of no help
in solving the problems now confront
ing the country.
Threat to Gougers.
Any coal operators who take adj
vantage of the troop protection to be
accorded their mines to raise the price
of coal will be summarily dealt with,
it was indicated here.
Secretary of War Weeks said he
fully approved of the action of the
governor of Colorado in saying that
troops would he withdrawn from
those mines whose owners took adj
vantage of the situation to boost
prices.
"The governor of Colorado did ex-
actly as l would have DONE" said
Weeks. HE spoke with wisdom
when he said that the object of the
get more coal and not to enable the
owners to get more price.
Won't Force Men Back.
1--WE are not going to force men
back to work; we are going to pro-
tect men who want to work if they
need protection. If the men now
running the pumps in the coal mines
want to quit their posts we can't stop
them, but if other men want to take
their places we will protect Them"
Secretary Weeks also said.
Prompt assurances of support came
to President Harding from governors
of states to whom he addressed his
telegram.