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DEMANDS OF DISTRICT No. 1, ANTHRACITE
MINERS FORMULATED A T WILKES-
BARRE CONVENTION.
At the annual convention of District No. 1 (anthracite
field). United Mine Workers of America,
which opened at Wilkes-Barre, Monday, July 17,
the report of the resolutions committee relative
to demands to be made upon the operators for the
next agreement was adopted without a dissenting
vote. The demands call for the eight-hour day,
full recognition of the union, uniform wage scale,
better methods of settling grievances than now
obtains, pay by weight instead of by measure for
coal mined, and a substantial increase in the wage
rate, the specific amount to be decided by the tridistrict
convention. There was also a resolution
endorsed providing for insertion in the demands,
recognition of checkweighmen and check docking
bosses, as representatives of the men.
The report of the tellers showed John T. Dempsey,
of Scranton, Pa., as president-elect. He was
unopposed for the office, President Benjamin Mc-
Enaney, the incumbent during the past year, deciding
not to be a candidate. Dempsey's term of
office will begin April 1. All the other officers,
with the exception of Secretary-Treasurer John
Mack, of Kingston, Pa., are hold-overs. Peter
Dinoski, defeated candidate for vice president,
notified the convention that it was his intention
to protest the election. Dinoski contended that
several locals who were allowed to vote were not
entitled to the privilege owing to delinquency.
The tellers' report showed that he received 1,880%
votes for the office as against 2,947 for Adam
Ryscavage of Plymouth, who was declared the successful
candidate. The board members elected
were as follows: First district, Stephen Reap,
Olyphant; Second district, Michael H. Healey,
Scranton; Third district, Daniel McCue, Pittston;
Fourth district, Peter O'Donnell, Wilkes-Barre.
Martin Battle of Carbondale, Thomas Toole of
Minooka, and Richard Roberts of Scranton were
elected auditors.
President McEnaney in his annual address commented
on conditions among the miners in the
region and suggested what should be demanded of
the operators. He declared that the awards of the
Anthracite Strike Commission have outlived their
usefulness and have not been what the miners
wanted.
"We are in the last year of our present contract
which will expire April 1, 1912," he said,
"which date will mark the close of the ninth year
that the awards of the Anthracite Coal Strike
Commission have been in effect, with no material
changes.
"While the awards may have served many good
purposes at the time they were made and resulted
in many beneficial reforms in the coal mining in­
THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 23
dustry as well as higher wages for the mine workers,
nevertheless they were not what the mine
workers wanted then, they are not what we want
now, they have in a great measure outlived their
usefulness and they were never intended as a
perpetual contract, but rather as a basis from
which a common understanding might be reached
from time to time. In my opinion the time has
now come when it is imperative that improvements
be made and many of the obsolete methods for
adjusting differences contained in the awards obliterated,
and more modern ones adopted.
"It is unfair to expect the United Mine Workers'
organization to be any longer held responsible for
the maintenance of peace in the anthracite region,
unless it is dealt with as a party to future contracts,
and conceded the authority it should have
to enforce the observance of contracts when once
made.
"During the nine years just passed not a single
concession of any consequence has been granted
the mine workers, nor have our wages been increased,
notwithstanding the fact that cost of living
has increased more than double the advance in
wages granted by the award of the coal strike commission
in 1903.
"At the expiration of two contract periods during
this time, namely 1906 and 1909. we have been
asked by the operators to accept a renewal of the
award, the operators refusing absolutely to concede
anything in addition thereto without a fight.
"In a spirit of public welfare the mine workers
on those two occasions rather than plunge the region
into another industrial conflict because of the
obstinacy of the operators and their mad desire
for profits, at the expense of every other interest
in the state, decided to accept the ultimatum ot
the operators and renew for another period of
three years the awards of the coal strike commission.
"Now, firmly believing that we have done our
full duty in the interest of public welfare at a
sacrifice of our just demands, and that we have
acted our part during all these years as public
spirited citizens having the welfare of the community
at heart; we now declare that it is our
turn. We are entitled to a substantial increase
in wages next year and we sincerely trust that the
operators in the same spirit of justice and fair
dealing both to the mine workers and to the general
public will recognize the wisdom of granting
it without endangering the industrial peace of the
region."
While the leaders agreed with the men that
their demands should be made and advocate a
strike if the operators show no disposition to
recognize them, it was impressed on them that in
order to gain concessions, the union would have
to be strengthened considerable from a member-