Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-25
Hard Coal OlUnerS
VIII Meet Unions

Continued from Pase One
war with no benefit to the general pub
lie. II would not be surprising II one
result of the decision of the operators
to meet the men would be a responsible
and unassailabl demand for an inten-
sivc survey into the whole anthracite
question; /; a survey which would DETER
mine "just where the millions co.
Want New Contracts &,
The operators are insistent, In pub
lie Mt least, on making a new con.
tract with the men based on reduced
wage coal SCALE
"Do you think the mems wages
should be reduced?" one Of the coal
operators was asked.
"Unquestionably," was the prompt
and emphatic answer, everybody
does.'
The men, on the other hand. will go
into conference with the operators
looking for an increase. Here again is
the basis for the belief that a summer
strike Is on the way ana rnaI wneri II
is all over the coal consumer Will still
be paying high prices for hard coal:
There are those who urge that a real
conference, which has the good will OF
the public in mind, would get at such
problems as high freight rates and big
profits by middlemen friendly to the
operators, in short, a real survey Of the
whole field and not an attack on one
single point.
One of the members Of the conference
in a conversation with a newspaper. .
man deprecated the tenor and import OF
certain newspaper reports. 1t was sug
gested that the operator should be will j.
ing to let the public ''in on what Is
going on"
With look Of growing concern, the
operator replied that ''no one was more
anxious than the operators to get Their
position before the public.
Cut Price? Haw! Haw! Haw!
Mr.. warriner was asked as to the
possibility Of n strike. For reply he
laughed heartily.
"Mr. Wnrriner. began question.
er, "will one of the resu It's of this
meeting be reduction in the price Ol
coal, n question In which hundreds OF
thousands Of small consumers are in.
tcrested?"
That question. apparently, was re-
rarded rs even n. a.bigger joke. for Mr.
Warriner laughed more heartily thar
ever, In fact the chairman got into
such good humor that he advised his
! ;ntcryiewprs to devote their talents Il
writing about the girls on the Board
walk.
Apparently the operators feel that &
cut must be made somewhere. every
thing else is going down. and they pro
pose TO nail it onto wages. The miners
say they we're last to get an increase
in the world of industry and that the,
should be last to suffer n cut. Their
are some who believe that the Oper'
ators will not mind short strike Al
| a justification for failure to bring dowl
the cost to the consumer.
Members Of Committee
The committeeman here, in addition
10 Mr.. Warriner. are w. J. Richards
president of the Philadelphia and Read
ing Coal and Iron Company: w. l.
Conncll, president of the Enterpris
and other large independent mining
companies; w. II. Williams. presidcn
of the Hudson Coal Company; Johl
NJ. Humphreys, president Of the l.ehigl
Valley Coal Company; S. B. Thorne
president of the Thorne- Neale Com
papy. of New York; W. W. Inglis
president of the Delaware, Lackawann
and Western Coal Company; Alan c
Dodson, president of Weston Dodso
& Co. Colonel Daniel Il. Wentz. hea
of the Wentz corporation, Philndel