The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-02


sentiment may be necessary in order
to bring the. participants in this Chi
cage meeting to a realization Of the
public importance of a prompt agree
ment between them. No time Is to
be lost IL all the negotiations re-
Qufred for the settlement OF. the
wage scale in union mines are to be
concluded before April /. Today not
even the basis for negotiating set
Element has been established, The
commission regards the prospect as
q gloomy one unless a spirit! of n1u-
tual accommodation and Of public
responsibility is aroused among the
miners and operators.
The situation is that thirty miners
and thirty operators from fifteen
union mining districts win be try
ing tomorrow to agree on basis on
which wage negotiations may be be-
sun. The participants in the Chi
cago meeting are not authorized to
conduct those negotiations. They
cannot Fix any wage scale. Their
task Is the preliminary one Of dis
covering whether or not the wage
scale committees Of the miners and
operators can be brought together.
In this task they once before have
failed. The chance Of a strike or
lockout on April ! viii become ex-
Semely grave ii now they fail again.
It Is believed that the miners are
willing to negotiate on any one of
three bases. One is a national wage
scale conference for arriving at
national settlement covering all union
bttuminous mines in the whole coun-
Try. The second is q ''four.State''
central competitive field wage
scale conference for arriving at
settlement covering all mines in
1Illn0lss Indiana, Ohio, and western
Pennsylvaniat this settlement to be
used ~ . standard In arriving at set.
Elements elsewhere. The third is
larger than the central competitive
held. but not embracing the whole
country. The miners are believed to
e willing to accept any of these
soree methods Of negotiation.
The operators on the other hand
are thought to be much more d.
vided in their policies. Some of
them are reported to be willing to
accept q national wage conference.
Some are thought to be ready to
enter competitive field" confer
ence. Some are said to prefer a
conference based on an enlarged
scompetitive field" Most Of them
are believed, however, to be think
ING OF holding out In favor of
conferences by individual districts.
They find 1t difficult to establish a
united policy among themselves.
Once more the picture h presented
Of q struggle between the United
Nine Workers and the disunited coal
operators.
II the miners at Chicago show
themselves willing to negotiate on a
national basis or a six-State basis
or 1our-State basis and the oper.
Gtors refuse TO negotiate except on
Q 0ne-State basis, it is thought here
that the miners win have scored a
diplomatic triumph and gained a Dip
lOmatic advantage over the oper-
ators In the race for the support of
the public. It is thought that the
public VIII see little reason for plung-
ing the country into the woes of an
other strike or lockout In order TO
get negotiations in Illinois and In
diana and Ohio and PENNSYLVANIA
separately instead Of in Illinois and
Indiana and Ohio and Pennsylvania
together. In any case the struggle
at Chicago is one regarding the mere
preliminarfes OF the final struggle in
Wage-scale conferences and IL is
feared here that unless those con.
Serences are brought into existence
rapidly, the first Of April will come
before their labors are finished.
The United States Coal Commits.
sion II not empowered to issue any
orders OF any sort to either side of
the controversy. It Is not believed,
however, that It will allow the con-
troversy to develop to a hopeless
stage without some effort on it's
part to enlighten the pubic as to
merits OF the controversy; and in
some quarters 1t Is predicted that
IN case the miners and the opera
tors cannot come to an understand
ing in Chicago there will be earn.
est pressure brought to bear upon
them to induce them Jointly to ac-
eept the United States Coal Conn
mission as mediating body, not
regarding wages but regarding the
basis OF wage negotiations.