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THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 25
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA CONFERENCE BLOCKED ON CAR
HANDLING QUESTION
The Central Pennsylvania wage conference, in
session at Philadelphia, has till the issues out of
the way at this writing (March 31) except the
car pushing question. If this can be cleared up
a renewal of the old agreement will be made.
The operators are demanding a strict renewal of
the old agreement and the miners are holding
out. for concessions on the handling of tlie cars
to and from working places.
On March 23 the conference, which adjourned at
DuBois on March 6, met in Philadelphia. After
some consideration the issues were put in the
hands of a sub-scale committee of five from each
side witli the officers of the Central Pennsylvania
miners acting ex-officio. The following ;ue the
members of the sub-scale committee: For tbe
operators—Messrs. B. M. Clark, J. H. Fill lord, F.
A. Hill, J. B. Irish and A. S. Brown. For the
miners—Andrew Bottemly, John Watson, Joseph
McCoy, James Barwin and D. Cowan. Later Mr.
W. R. Wilburn was substituted on tlie operators'
committee for Mr. Hill and the miners made several
changes. President Patrick Gilday, Vice
President James Purcell and Secretary-Treasurer
Richard Gilbert of the Central Pennsylvania miners
acted ex-officio.
There is a clause in tlie old agreement for Central
Pennsylvania providing that operations shall
continue for a month after negotiations for a new
contract start. Negotiations this year started
March 3. In offering a strict renewal of the old
contract the operators stated that they would
close their mines in April under this clause and
stay clos-Jd until a new agreement is made. The
miners' represen-.atives on the committee offei ed
a renewal of the old agreement with the addition
of their demand "that all cars be delivered to and
taken from the miners' working faces." Both
these propositions were voted down and the min
ers offered as a substitute on the car-pushing
question the following change in the old agreement:
"Rule 21 to be amended to read as follows:
"On and after April 1, 1914, at all mines where
the weight of the empty car does not exceed ten
hundredweight, and where the combined weight of
the empty and loaded car does not exceed thirty
hundredweight, a commission of three shall be
named who shall make an investigation and determine
what method shall be used in taking the
cars to and from the miners' working faces. This
commission shall complete its work- within six
months from the date this agreement is signed.
and they shall visit every mine where a request
may be made for them by either the Mine Work­
ers or operators. The method of naming the
commission to be agreed upon by the scale committee.
"On and after April 1, 1914, at all mines where
the empty car exceeds ten hundredweight and the
combined weight of the empty car and load excoeds
thirty hundredweight, and not over forty
hundredweight, the car shall be hauled one way.
from or to the miner's working face, or whichever
way is the upgrade.
"On and after April 1, 1914, at all mines where
the combined weight of the empty car and load
exceeds forty hundredweight the operators shall
haul the car both ways to and from the miners'
working faces.
"The hundredweights referred to in this clause
are on the gross weight basis.
"At all mines where cars are pulled one or both
ways by the company the custom shall be continued
under this agreement, except at mines
where the combined weight of the car exceeds
forty hundredweight and the company pulls the
cars one way: at all such mines the company shall
come under the terms of this agreement and pull
the cars both ways.
"It is understood that the companies shall keep
all cars in good running condition at all times."
PITTSBURGH OPERATORS AND MINERS
REACH PARTIAL SETTLEMENT OF
WAGE SCALE.
The joint, conference of the Pittsburgh operators
and miners of the Pittsburgh district met in Pittsburgh
March 30, and after a short session passed a
resolution that partially settles the wage scale
question for the next two years. The resolution
was one arrived at by- a sub conference committee
of eight from each side.
The text of the resolution is:
"At a meeting of the joint scale committee of
the operators and miners of Western Pennsvlvania
held in Second National Bank building at 2 P. M.
Monday. March 30, 1914, the following was adopted:
"That the Cleveland agreement be reaffirmed for
two years beginning April 1, 1914, with the elimination
of Rule III, and the following substituted
therefor:
"That internal differences he referred for adjustment
to the various districts affected, with a
right to take up for settlement local inequalities
both as to prices and conditions in District No. 5
and that the mines continue in operation pending
the adjustment of these conditions."
The joint conference is to reassemble May 1 to