The New York herald., 1922-02-26

cial demand of any kind before the
operators. The miners. however. have
drawn up a tentative schedule of nine
teen demands. the chief of which is
for 20 per cent. increase in wages.
Other demands also would entail higher
labor expense. Mr.. Warriner declined
to dlscuss any of these demands in
detail. but made the following state
ment. placing the operators on record
as in favor of reductions in the price
of coal:
"The operators in their conference at
Atlantic City could not decide on wage
questions until proposals are officially
presented. But We did take up
and consider the wage question, and 1t
is the unanimous feeling of the anthra-
cite operators that the present situation
is one in which we cannot expect the
price of anthracite to deviate in any
great particular from the trend of prices
of other commodities.
1.-THE prices of anthracite are too high.
not only as to the purchasing power of
the people but also in comparison with
the prevailing prices of other commodi-
ties. Prices have got to come down.
For the prosperity of miners and the in
dustry as whole, defation is inevitable.
The miners must share in that defia-
ton.
Other Economies Considered.
Labor represents great share of
the total cost of producing COAL There
are many other items in which we are
seeking to make economies, such as the
freight rates and the costs of distribu-
ton. The only things that we can deal
with directly are the items that enter
into the price at the mines. That is too
high.
''There is no other way but a reduc-
ton in wages to reduce the mine price.
as we see it. We believe in paying the
highest wages that are economically just.
No body of men can hope to separate
themselves from an economic disturb
ance, and we are certainly in the midst
of such a disturbance now"
In justification of the operators de-
mand for wage decrease they Will
present to the full scale committee OF
the anthracite miners figures showing an
increase Of 130 per cent. in hour rate for
day labor in the mines since 1914, as
compared with an increase in the cost OF
living of SIT per cent.
The cost of living figures were given
out by Mr.. Warriner and are from
the last report of the United States
Bureau Of Labor. He also pointed out
that the present anthracite wage scale
Is IT per cent. above the peak OF the
war time wages.
"The miners" he said, represent the
only class of workers in this country
who have suffered neither a decrease In
wages nor an interruption in the con-
tinuity Of employment since the war.
They stand alone in that respect"
(. Large Reserves on Hand.
Notice has been served on the oper-
ators by the miners at their Shamokin
meeting that If new agreement is not
reached by March 81 there will be a sus-
pension on April 1. In that connection
Mr.. Warmer was asked to make an
estimate of the coal reserves available.
He expressed the opinion that the re-
serves are larger than usual but would
not attempt to say how long they will
last in the event of @ suspension.
1t was made plain by Mr. Warriner
that the operators will meet the miners
next month in a spirit of conciliation and
with the determination to do all in their
power to avert a suspension Of any
length. But at the same time they feel 1t
imperative TO convince the miners that
for their own good they ought to take
a wage reduction.