The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-04-01

of pay and the hours OF labor.
Sacond. The manner in which
wage scale agreements shall be
made.
Third: The check-off.
Must Reduce Scale.
Nm these issues the strike haa
been called. The miners are de-
handing a six-hour day and a hYe-
, dav week. which would give em-
nlovment arbitrarily to an excess
siva number of miners, and the
maintenance of postwar wage
scaIe fixed on a basic rate OF Sl.0U
| a dav as opposed to the etght-houF
day and six-day week, with supply
and demand fixing the number OF
employees. ..n.,,f
0nerators insist that the present
scale must be materially reuuCe1
and the present hours OF Wotk
maintained to put organized mines
on a narity with the wage IeFelS
prevailing in the non-union neldS
and in other industries.
Tho six-hour day and hVe~uay
week is demanded to enable the
men in the industry to Work Hloie
nearly full time.
THE fact is there are more men
amnIoyed in the industry than are
needed inst as there are more
mines than are needed. The opera
tors would let supply and demand
for coal automatically reduce eA-
: cess employees.
: All Willing to Meet
IL white a number of operators
libave decided to go into four-state
ioint conference, all have been Will
inc tn meet the miners in state con
feTerces. Generally. operators ~
IIIinois and Indiana have been VIII
ing TO participate in a tour~stale
agreement. while those OF "es e.5 /,
Pennsylvania and southern YIN
have refused. why! ....--
When the central competltls
Geld ARRANGEMENT was first estal
Iishad there was active compel
ton between western PennsylVs
MIA and southern Ohio operators g
a one hand and Illinois and lndlat
on the other.
d Conditions Changed.
q Changing freight differential
q bowaver have steadily decreas
J = v
"a that competition. Ohio coal, 10
s. norIv popular fuel in Chicago
q No longer quoted in the Cnlca
81 market Pittsburgh coal f9s ;. va
a ished from the lower peninsufs~
"a Michigan
"a There is no longer any econon
81 reason for the continuation of
n old four-state arrangement. AS
vfzh Ia
n the miners of their own pa&acu
81 districts, whether union or NJ
a upian- and work out wage sea
n which will accord with the co
#3 nefitiye conditions in those resp
"A tive fields
"a AS to the check-off, under VII
Generators are required to coll
"a the dues, assessments and nnes
@sj the men and hand them over TO
"a union officials. that was one OF
"a practices cited in the fndictm
~ under the Sherman law at lndl
ga apoIis as evidence of conspiracy
ga tween miners and operators. J
sd urally. the operators are relucl
-. to renew an agreement so full
possible danger.
$3.50 No Danger for Public.
mlnes Out of the strike must com
- reimbursement to meet postwar
=. ditions of competition and PR
At present it seems safe 10
that 60-day strike would ct
no particular hardship on busi
-. and industry generally and vi
NOT exhaust stocks to the P
1 where an increase in prices W
occur The consumer, therei
- NAV look with a fair degre.
- enuaninlity upon the approach
3 this struggle.
Our industrial fabric has
erected upon a foundation Of
81 cost Of coal. This strike is SIT
sSg3 one of the inevitable steps
go must come if our Industrial act
is To be restored to sound
- andurfng activity. In this
=Ss4s bouseholder-the small cons
is vitality concerned. It n
- for him a lowering OF prices
sS aIope for the coal he buys hin
Int Of all commodities into
the use Of coal enters.