The New York herald., 1922-09-03
Details of the Pepper Plans
for Settling Hard Coal Strike
NeW YORK Neraio Uureau.
Wasiiinetep, ID. c.. Sept. :. !

: sv,tial Dispatch 20 THE NEW YORK HrsALn.
) wasiiastsn, D. c., Sept. :. !
TIC Pepper strike settlement plan as
originally proposed TO the operators and
the miners at their recent conferences
provided: &w sa
l. For the withdrawal by the opera
tors OF their insistence that any wage
agreement becoming operative after
April ]. 1923. be left to arbitration.
?. Abandonment by the miners OF the
demand for two year wage contract
from April i, 1922. and an agreement
of a one year contract running to April
!. 1928.
3. The return of the miners 70 work
Al the wage scale which existed at the
time of the strike. such an agreement
Involving the scrapping Of the operators
contention for 20 per cent wage cut
and the miners demand for FL per
cent. wage increase.
4. An agreement that the new wage con-
tract TO become operative April !, 1923.
should be negotiated on a basis of rec
concentrations to be made by fact-
finding commission. presumably the COM
mission 20 be formed at the suggestion
Of President Harding, provided for In
the Borah bill now before the Senate.
The big bone OF contention between
the operators and the miners In the an
thracite fields has been the length OF
time the wage contract 20 be made Is 10
run. When II seemed that they were
hopiessly deadlocked on the subject Sen
ator Pepper stepped UP and onered ms
good Offices.
Both this operators and the miners
agreed upon the resumption OF the old
wage scale up TO April /. 1873. but they
were at loggerheads over the plan 70 pe
used after that period. The operators
insisted upon submitting the matter 70
arbitration while the miners insisted
chat the contract should run for an-
other year on the old basis.
History Of che Troabie.
The STRIFE OF the anthracite miners
started on April /, 1922. when the wage
contract expired. The miners demanded
wage increase OF 2i per cent. while
the operators insisted on a cut OF ~
per cent. In their wages.
As a matter OF fact the representa-
tlves OF the miners say the men never
went on 3 strike but merely suspended
operations since negotiations have been
going on since that period between the
operators and the miners.
However, not wheel has turned IN
any OF the anthracite mines In this coun-
try since April In Pennsylvania, where
all such mines are located
Secretary Of Commerce Hoover esti-
mated that 4e,o0o,000 tons OF hard coat
could have been mined during the strike
period and that the miners have lost
in wages because OF the strike more
than 500, 100000. The records here
show there are about $4,000 miners In
the hard coal fields.
Government officials give big sigh
OF relief when they learned that the an
thracite STRIKE is over, that senator
Pepper brought about an agreement be-
tween the operators and the miners-a
sort OF compromise proposal.
However. officials made no secret or
the fact that IL the miners return to
work ut once they will be unable 10
supply the needs OF the nation for hard
coal this winter. so that 1t will be ncc-
essary 10 use bituminous and other SUBJ
stitutes for household purposes in many
localities.
The chief concern now OF the Govern
nent officials u 20 adopt the Cummins
bhl granting priority rights for coal
shirmerts whereby the New England
states and the Great Lakes disixicts can
- taken care OF before the co.d weather
sets In.
wAsHrNcroN. Sept. Warm Eratih-
cation was expressed BY Administration
officials tonight when informed that
the policies committee Of the anthracite
operators at a meeting In Philadelphia
had agreed to accept the Peppcr-Reed
compromise plan for settling the strike
IN that INDUSTRY.
II was predicted that this develop
inent. which was accepted az marking