New Britain herald., 1925-08-31
MAINTENANCE OF MINES
 ABANDONED BY WORKERS
 COSTS MILLIONS MONTHLY
Stroke of l2 Tonight Marks Expiration of Old Agreement - No New One Has Been Made.

Philadelphia Aug 3 P--Mainte- nance of the anthracite mines dur ing the coming suspension, when they will be earning no com pensation revenue, will amount to about S5,700,000 month, according to figures made public by the an- thracite bureau of information to- day. The full overhead" on the mines, including maintenance ih~ yestment and all fixed charges was comnute1 on the basis of Sf per ton of production all day. With an estimated annual production Of TO- 900, GOO gross tons of commerclal an thracite, the theoretical figure for daily production would be about 1o1o9o gross tons. This would De on the base of the 365 day year, the "ovcrbcad" charge applied rather than the gro day year the mines ac- tuallv operate. Extending these ng- ,ues. the bureau accordingly fou"u +he daily overhead to be In excess oi s1o1 ooo or s5,733,O 900 a month
 samuel D. Warriner, chairman or +he anthrac cite operators conference and w, W. Inglis, chairman or lle orerators scale committee lel' 'o- d9v for the coal region
 Advicos from the Panther Creeh yafev in district indicated that no tl,N T. re,v work would be begun mere Hl'- CT the day shift comes OH at 4'|' t,,is q afternoon. Night men gong Ill uould only be timbermen' gansn'e', o,d c,ean-up men, and no ne" coal would be cut. Some Of the mus rsnorted they were short-ha"u'u this morning,
 y,, v-i,Iyos- Barre preparations were ynder way 10 bring mine "u'es '0 the surface.
 Strike at f2.
 The stroke of 12 tonight maj hs exniration of the tWo-year "orNne contract of 15S,000 mine "orh".' ho have been unable to agree WILL The mine owners upon its renewal and who dSCllno Lp NoAN
 renewal Is negotiated. ., The u,alkout will place virtual rad1ock upon S2S rich mines 1n hu- 1arne I,ackawanna, Schuylklll anu seven other counties. It will 1nVolFe in addition to the bulk or tue ,,Irars about 50O,000 of their de- pendents. 6 nno
 skeleton force of about 6'o"o naintcnance men will remain Ill the njts by mutual agreement 10 prevent flooding and 10 attend to their gen oral upkeep. They will be assessed a days pay every two weeks TOT 'N0 ,Injon's emergency fund Something like 10000 railroad mon who are employed in the local and through handling of coal shlp- ments and in car shops will pronao,S bo thrown out Of work by the smut down, according to word from roaoS in the anthracite region
 100 Per Cent Effective,
 The suspension will be practically 100 per cent effective, operators ana miners agree. The region has been +horoughiy organized by the un)on and the handful of men the union has permitted it's members to aSSo- riate with despite the lack of union huttons is expected to quit as welt
 I'njon officials contemplate no picketing, and the owners, so far as can he learned, no importing oi non- union help,
 The first steps of the suspension have already taken place, Al many mines the contract miners quit work Satnr1ay after blowing down enough coal to keep their lahor'rs occupied for the renHinder Of the contract. Many of the heavy tools, surh as liz iackhammers, have been removed by the men and stored away against such tim" as a new contract Is signed
 At special meetings yesterday by most of the G25 union locals were read the formal suspension order issued last week by John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Work CTS of America and the union scale committee. The reading was report ed to have attracted a record break ing attendance and 10 have been re- reived with enthusiasm and eHrrts- sions of loyalty,
 Seek Other Iohs,
 Today many of the mine workers are preparing 10 set out for the soft coal fields on tho hunt for other iohs. Fart of the success of trade unlonism in the past co years has been the lcYelopment of that part Of sfrike or suspension technique known as "soraginE" The ability of unionists 10 subsisr, by jobs picked ID elsewhere, is now half the bat tic.
 A general "eHodus' is being pre- dicted of miners seeking vacations, but the eXcursionists, according 10 latest advices, will also include the thriftier pnc'a already starting in search of work in other industries during the suspension period,
 Demands Made.
 The miners are demanding a 10 per cent increase in tonnage rates, SI a day more for day workers, the check-off a two-yoar contract, equal ization Of rates and other adjust ments. The operators insist all de- mands mus first ahsoIye themselves of any likelihood of increasing pro- duction cost before they can be giv- en consideration, The men in turn refuse the proposal Of the owners 10 leave the matter to arbitration and hold that negotiations are useless until the owners agree 10 consider demands on their merits regardless