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Show WON GfllS I INCREASE II PRICESDF GOAL Bituminous Operators All Over Country to Get 45c a Ton More Than at Present Time. MINERS' WAGES TO ABSORB THE RAISE Order Does Not Apply in ".Certain Cases; President's Action Follows Receipt of Garfield's Letter. By International News Service. WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 Wage increases in-creases approximating 50 to 78 per cent are in store for coal miners of the United States. To enable operators to meet the higher high-er scale, President Wilson tonight authorized au-thorized a general increase of 4-1) cents per ton for bituminous coal at the mines. , The president's order becomes effective, ef-fective, at 7 o'clock Monday morning, October 29. The higher prices will not apply to coal sold under existing contracts or in districts in which the operators and miners do not adopt the so-called penalty pen-alty provision. This applies to the collection of fines for violation of agreements entered into by the operators and miners at Washington October 6. The order tonight followed receipt of a letter by the president from Fuel Ad ministrator Garfield summarizing present pres-ent coal conditions. The president's executive order follows: fol-lows: The scale of prices prepcribed August 21, 11117, by the president of the United States for bituminous bitumi-nous coal at the mine, as adjusted and modified, by order or the United States fuel administrator, to meet exceptional conditions in certain localities, is hereby amended amend-ed by adding the sum of 4.5 cents to each" of the prices so prescribed or so adjusted and modified, subject, however, to the following express exceptions: 1 This increase in price shall not applv to any coal sold at the mine under an existing contract containing a provision for an increase in-crease in the price of coal thereunder there-under in case of an increase in wages paid to miners. 2 This increase in price shall not apply in any district in which the operators and miners fail to ayree upon a penalty provision, satisfactory sat-isfactory to the fuel administrator,' for the collection of fines in the spirit of the agreement entered into between the operators and miners at Washington October 6, 1917. This order shall become effective effec-tive at 7 a. m. on October 29, 1917. WOODROW WILSON. Garfield's Letter. Dr. Garfield has written to President Wilson as follows: Dear Mr. President: It is my understanding that in fixing provisional pro-visional prices for the sale of coal, it was intended to allow a fair profit to the operators. The public doefi not desire, nor is it necessary to meet the present emergency, that the coal industry should be asked to make more of a sacrifice than may reasonably be required of all staple industries. Exorbitant profits only have been the subject of concern. It needs no argument to justify congressional and executive execu-tive action against profiteering when the people of the United States are called upon to make unusual un-usual sacrifices. As a result of the-conference held in Washington between the operators opera-tors and the miners of the central field, an agreement was reached on the 6th of October providing, among other things, an increase of wages as follows: An advance of 10 cents per ton to the miner. Increase in Wages. Advances ranging from 75 cents to $1.40 per day to laborers. An advance of 15 per cent for yardage and dead work. This will result in an increase to miners- of 50 per cent and to the best paiil laborer? of 78 per cent over the wages of April 1, 2;M4. These increases arc not in excess of the advance in cost of living for that period. It is obvious that the?e advances in wajjes must be taken either from the operator or the consumer. On the assumption that the prices fixed yielded a fair profit, to the operators, it is clear that if this increase in-crease of wases is to foil entirely upon the operators, their profits will no longer be fair, unless the result re-sult of the increase bears an insignificant insig-nificant relation to those profits. This question was submitted to me as fue! administrator. It is not possible to estimate the exact effect ef-fect of the proposed increases upon the prices fixed. But the experts of the federal trade commission and of the fuel administration have made as careful computation as the data in hand permits. I have asked these pentlemen to exclude from their computations any allowance which could properly be regarded as art indirect Increase of the profits of the operators, and to make their calculations with the pole object in view of covering the increase in wages by interpreting the above proposals in terms of the prices fixed by you; that is to say, to advise me how many cents per ton on coal produced the proposed wage increases mean. Influenced by Agreement. In reaching the conclusion that the prices of coal at the mine should be increased to substantially cover these wage increases, I have been influenced particularly by the provisions of the agreement intended intend-ed to secure an increased and uninterrupted un-interrupted production of coal. Under the provisions of the draft law, miners are not excluded as a class. -Considerable inroads have been made, as a result of the first draft, upon mine labor. Moreover, the conditions surrounding the industry in-dustry in ordinary times account for the fact that the average number num-ber of days worked in the year has been from 200 to 230 only. They also, in part, account, for the fact that the average hours of labor per day have fallen considerably below the eight hours stipulated In wage agreements. It is the deliberate .-judgment of the best infomed among the representatives of the miners' union that if the miners now at work should labor in the mines eight hours during even five days of the week, there would be no shortage of coal. It is the purpose of the proposed supplemental agreement to secure- an approximation approxima-tion at least of this result by means , of fines, automatically collected. These fines are quite distinct from the penalizing fines sometimes attempted at-tempted to be imposed by employ- ers for their own benefit. "' Calls Special Attention. In this connection I beg lo call special attention to the fourth item of the proposed supplemental agreement, agree-ment, namely, that: "Subject to the next biennial convention of the United Mine Workers representatives agree that the present contract be extended during the continuation of the war, and not to exceed two years from April 1, 1918." I am assured that the next biennial bien-nial convention will loyally and pa-. pa-. triotically confirm this provision. I believe you may confidently rely upon the assurances of - the representatives repre-sentatives of the union upon this point. t In view of the foregoing considerations, consid-erations, I respectfully recommend that the prices fixed by your proclamation proc-lamation of August 21 and such modifications as have been made pursuant to your order of August 26, appointing a fuel administrator, for the sale of bituminous coal at the mines, be uniformly increased in the sum of 45 cents per ton, subject, sub-ject, however, to the following exceptions: ex-ceptions: 1 This increase in price shall not apply to any coal at any mine under an existing contract containing contain-ing provision for au increase in the price of coal thereunder in case of an increase in wages paid to miners. 2 This increase in price shall not apply in any district in which the operators and miners fail to agree npon a penalty provision satisfactory satisfac-tory to the fuel administrator, for the automatic collection of fines in the spirit of the agreement entered into between the operators and miners min-ers at Washington October 6, 1917. For your information I attach hereto a copy of the supplemental agreement ot October 6, 1917, between be-tween the operators and miners of the central competitive fields, composed com-posed of western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Eespeetfullv submitted, li. A. GARFIELD, TJ. S. Fuel Administrator. The fuel administrator is confident that with the higher wages and higher coal prices prevailing all danger of a coal famine due to strikes, lockouts, etc., has been averted for the period of the war. |