coal trade bulletin - Clpdigital.org

22 THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN.
except the operators and miners in that district
agree upon the plan.
One prominent operator is quoted as having
said that the conference would leach an agice­
ment during the present week, or there will be a
break off, and that if the latter comes, Interna­
tional President John P. White will be asked to
aid in arriving at some settlement.
In the meantime not over 10 per cent, of Illi­
nois mines are working, despite the fact that the
men voted to remain at work and that they have
been asked to do so by their officers.
OHIO IS DEADLOCKED.
The wage scale negotiations in Ohio are in a
deadlock, and the prospects are that little to break
the deadlock will be done until the suit of the
operators to test the validity of the anti-screen
law is determined, although subdistrict settle­
ments have been authorized by the mine workers'
officials.
As the outcome of the Ohio wage negotiations
depends largely on the anti-screen bill, the action
taken by the operators to test its constitutionality
must needs be a part of the record covering the
negotiations.
April 10, the Rail & River Coal Co., Mr. \V. R.
Woodford, president, entered suit in the U. S.
District court in Toledo against the Industrial
Commission of Ohio, praying for a perpetual in­
junction to prevent the commission from enforcing
the anti-screen law.
Perpetual injunction is asked in the petition
filed by Hoyt, Dustin, Kelley, McKeehan & An­
drews, who represent the Rail & River Coal Co.,
which was selected by Ohio operators to bring
the action. In its petition the coal company as­
serts it owns almost 32,ot)0 acres of coal land in
Ohio uiion which are situated mines employing
2,000 persons and produces 2.SOO mine car loads
of coal per day, ,600 tons. It charges that were
these mines to be operated one day in violation
of the screen coal law, the minimum fines would
amount to $800,000. It also is set forth that
there are 600 mines in Ohio employing 45,000
miners and that the screen coal law has prevented
tbe renewal of the working contract for the en­
suing two years.
Wallace D. Yaple, Chillicothe, chairman; Mat­
thew B. Hammond, Columbus, vice-chairman, and
Thomas J. Duffy, East Liverpool, tbe Industrial
Commission of Ohio, are made defendants. Tbe
Rail & River Coal Co. prays not only that these
men be restrained from enforcing the screen coal
law, but also that they be restrained from enter­
ing the premises of the company to make investi­
gations authorized by the law, from bringing court
action to enforce the law, or to prescribe either
the amount of fine coal to be produced or the
amount of impurities permissible in a ton of
mined coal when the rules are for the purpose of
forming a basis for wage contracts or payment to
miners.
The specific charges upon which the plea for a
perpetual injunction is based are that it delegates
legislative powers to the commission and vioiates
Article 14 of the United States constitution, which
provides that "No state shall make or enforce
any law which shall abridge the privileges or im­
munities of citizens of the LTnited States; nor
shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty
or property without due process of law."
It is charged the authority of the commission
under the law and the enforcement of the law
would violate this constitutional protection in:
"That it deprives the coal company of the lib­
erty of contract and takes property without due
process of law.
"That in conferring authority on the commission
to determine for each operator and miner the
percentage of impurities unavoidable in mining
coal, it thus deprives miner and operator of the
right to bargain for the quality of coal produced.
"That by conferring on the commission author­
ity to prescribe the percentage of fine coal and
impurities to be taken from the mine and pre­
scribing penalties for violations of the rules, it
constitutes unwarranted interference with the
rights and liberties of niiners and operators.
"That it is not within the police powers of the
state.
"That the penalties and fines prescribed in the
act are so extreme and cumulative as to deter and
prevent any person, firm or corporation from challenging
the validity of the act."
Whatever the action of the court, an appeal
will be taken directly to the Supreme Court of the
United States.
April 20 the Ohio mine workers met in special
convention to take up the new wage scale nego­
tiations. The convention determined to stand
by the run-of-mine basis of payment, and the fol­
lowing scale committee to confer with the opera­
tors was named: Samuel Snyder of Athens and
George Brahhigan of Longstreth sub-district No.
1 : Thomas Thomas and L. D. Davis, Pomeroy,
sub-district No. 2: William F. Lincks of Akron
and Leopold Lirquin of New Philadelphia, subdistrict
No. 3; James Starkey and John Saxton,
sub-district No. 4; C. .1. Albasin, Bridgeport, and
Joseph Johnson, Klee, sub-district No. 5; Will C.
Thompson, Cambridge, and Thomas MaeFarlane,
Robbins, sub-district No. 6. With these are
President John Moore. Vice President Lee Hall
and Secretary-Treasurer G. XV. Savage.
(CONTINUEn ON PAGE 42)