People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 May 1894 — THE OLD SCALE. [ARTICLE]

THE OLD SCALE.

Miners Will Insist Upon Its Baestabllahment Cleveland, May 16. —The representatives of the more than 200,000 organized mine workers of America were astir early in preparing for the meetings of the day. Though there was plainly a lack of confidence in achieving a satisfactory result of their labors, there was no evidence of weakening in their demands or signs of a compromise. Ohio operators would be willing to advance the rate to the old scale if Pennsylvania would agree, but Pennsylvania won’t A proposition to compromise was rejected by a large vote, the delegates almost to a unit favoring the idea of holding out for the original demands. There were some changes made in the report and it was finally adopted. An open conference of the operators and delegates was called for the afternoon. The scale committee, in its report, has endeavored to adjust differences in rates for mining in a manner to work no injustice to the mines of one section as compared with another. The demand is for the wages paid before the reductions were made last fail and winter. In a general way the scale provides for the following rates: Ohio, 70 to 85 cents; Pennsylvania, 60 to 75 cents; Indiana, 70 to 75 cents; Central Pennsylvania, 50 cents; Illinois, 50 to 85 cents; Maryland, 50 cents, and West Virginia about the same, if the miners in that state decide to join the movement. Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Illinois are the important states. Reductions have been made in all except Illinois, but if the miners in that state had desired to work after May 1 they would have been compelled to accept a 20 per cent reduction. The Illinois operators and a part of the Pittsburgh district are not represented, so whatever terms, if any, may be agreed upon must be ratified by the absentees before they become effective. When the conference between the operators and miners assembled late in the afternoon it took but a short time to precipitate the fight that was brewing. An organization was effected by the election of J' B. Zorbe, an operator of this city, as president, and Patrick Mcßryde of the Miners' union as secretary, with Frank Brooks, an operator of Columbus, as his assistant i A committee on credentials was appointed, and to them were referred the credentials of all the miners and operators who sought seats in the conference. The report of the committee aroused a stormy discussion at once. They favored the seating of all the miners and the operators from Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia, and all of those from Pennsylvania who had expressed a willingness to abide by the decision of the conference. The report, however, was against the seating of the ten Pittsburgh operators who had declared that they would not abide by the decision of the majority. The conference was composed, after the adoption of the report of the committee on credentials, of 195 miners and 144 operators. Eighty-two of the operators are from Ohio, fifty-three from Pennsylvania, seven from Indiana as a commiteee for all the operators in that state, and two from West Virginia. After the adoption of the report the conference adjourned until morning.