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Show SOFT COSL MINERS CUT11DEM1QS Hope That Agreement With Operators May Be Reached Is Revived. NEW YORK, March 3. After hope had been abandoned today of reaching an agreement on the wage increases asked by tho United Mine Workers in negotiations over a new- contract for the soft coal fields of the middle west, the situation took a slightly favorable turn, and ton-igbt both operators and miners said there still was a chance of reaching a settlement The miners will meet early tomorrow, and it is expected they will present some figures relating to dead work and yardage yard-age on the mine run basis which may ease up the situation and bring the two sides together. If they do not agree a sine die adjournment will result and each of the four states involved will try to make wage contracts bv districts, something which both sides have tried to avoid, it is said. The miners today cut down their demand de-mand for a 10 per cent increase for dead work and yardage to 5 per cent, and also cut the 20 per cent increase demand de-mand for men paid by the day to 10 per cent. This was rejected bv the operators. oper-ators. The minors voted down a proposition propo-sition to cut the tonnage increase from 3 cents to 2 cents, with a corresponding reduction in the new advances asked in the other classes of work. |