Show ASSAILED THE UNION I Answer of Individual Operators to President Mitchell Scranton cranton Pa Nov 12 The answer o othe ot or j the Itt ont operators of the ille Lacka Lackawanna wanna w nna and Wyoming regions to the state statement ment of ot President Mitchell of ot the Mine Workers union was made public today In response to 10 the demand for an In Increase Increase crease In wages they say that the pres present present ent TV wages ages wage are such as to enable the tho skilful skilful ful miner to earn more per hour than any class of labor skilled or unskilled in the towns In which their mines are arC ar lo 10 located located and sufficient to allow him to maintain an American standard of or living and educate his bis children and to lay aside something for his old age That some miners wages are small it Is stated Is because they choose to exercise their op option option option tion to work only a few hours houtS a day In answering the contention that min mining minIng tam taming ing Is extremely dangerous and unhealthy and tends to shorten life lite the operators set forth a petition recently circulated In interest of ot a candidate for tor mine in inspector InSpector which contained the tho names of of one mine sixty six sl of ot whom had worked In the mine tame for twenty jiw nty years Y ars or more twenty for forty years ears or mote more and five for fifty years lor or more The Tie demand for the weighing of coal oal oaland and payment by hy the legal ton tOll of 2240 pounds instead of Dt by the tho fictitious ton tonof tonof of at 2750 or pounds is ts characterized as asa asa asa a thinly disguised effort to secure a 4 49 40 per increase e In wages The answer asserts that 2750 pounds of or coal as asU it comes from the mine Is barely sufficient to produce a ton of prepared coaL Regarding the declaration of ot the th that labor laber unions improve the morals and discipline of their members this comment Is made This may be true when applied to some somo organizations but when applied to the miners union we 0 enter a most em emphatic emphatic emphatic denial and propose e to introduce evidence showing that prior to the advent of the United Mine Workers of ot America it was considered bad form to kill or maim malm maima malma a citizen who attempts to exercise his rights to sell his labor and an l that the vast number of brutal murders and nad beatings during the past five months montha show that the teachings of the United Mine Nine Workers have brought about such obliquity ty that its members believe themselves justified d in these theS the acts also that officers of or the union justified this course by furnishing ball bali and counsel for those who have he been guilty of these atrocious acts We believe that We e will be able to prove rove such tremendous losses of life and money as tho direct results of the meth ineth methods methods of this particular union as a to con convince convInce Convince vince your honorable committee that it is Inexpedient to Q any act a t which may con contribute contribute contribute tribute to its continued existence |