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Show FIVE THOUSAND IN I STRIKE Miners in Eastern British Columbia Co-lumbia and Alberta Have Thrown Down Tools President- Mitchell's Orders Are' Ignored Ig-nored and Men Refuse to Work-Board Work-Board of Trade Advocates Bringing In Cheap Chinese Chi-nese Labor. Vancouver, B. C. Practically all tho coal mines In eastern British Columbia Co-lumbia and Alberta are closed. It was rumored Friday morning thnt President Presi-dent Mitchell of the United Mlno Workers of America had instructed District President Sherman to ask tho men to resume work, but Shor-man Shor-man denied this. Then S. S. Lindsay, manager of tho Crow's Nest Coal company, com-pany, gavo out a copy of a dlBpatch ho had received from Mitchell, who said definitely that ho had ordered Sherman to get tho men back to work. Tho men havo quit work, but not definitely gono on n strike, bo that hey mny not bo prosecuted under a now dominion government law. Sherman Sher-man nnd Patterson, his assistant, both stnto thnt tho men aro pressing them to Issuo n strlko order, no doubt on account of the ambiguous position thoy occupy, thus quitting work without with-out any definite arrangements. Thoro Is much doubt about tho action ot quitting work without calling it a strike, secretly ordered, nnd nil falling fall-ing Into line, being a strategic movo to cvado violation of tho clauso of tho act. Sherman snys ho will not pay strlko allowances becauso ho can get around that by paying n working allowance. al-lowance. It looks as though tho operators oper-ators had broken tho law In posting notices no-tices of a reduction pending tho dispute. dis-pute. Tho Canadian Pnclflc railway at Fernlo has only 190 tons of conl on hand, and that brought In from Frank, which worked Thursday. Tho Canadian Pacific railway has Issued notices that nono but perishable perish-able freight will be handled In Kootc-nay Kootc-nay until tho situation Is relieved. Tho Winnipeg board of trado has passed a resolution advocating tho bringing in of cheap Chinese labor to take tho places of tho men who have loft About G.000 men havo thrown down their tools. |