The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-02-02
PRESIDENT LEWIS
 WINS OVER WALKER
Head of Mine Workers Has
 About l6,000 Majority
TEST VOTE OF DELEGATES
Lewis Advises Delegates To Stop Guar reing Over Personal Differences and Dispose of the conven-
 tion's Business.

Indianapolis. February 1.-For president of the United Mine Workers of America it is conceded that President Lewis has been reelected by a majority of about 1G,OCO John Walker of Illinois announced that he would not contest the election if he is defeated. The vote will be made known tomorrow.
 The first test poll of the delegates came today on motion to adopt the paragraph of the report of the committee on officers reports. approving the course of President Lewis and the national executive board on suspending President Van Horn and other officials of District No Il, Indiana, for having disobeyed the mandate of the national officers to discontinue the strike at the Hudson mine. The roll was called with the result that in a total vote of 26s1 there were 1927 approving and 1O54 dis senting The majority for the Lewis ad- mlnistration was 573
 Just prior to adjournment. President Lewis said it was plain that there should be no further quarreling over personal differences. and that the business of the convention now should be disposed of as quickly as possible. He will give all in formation asked for in regard to his at titude toward the MereerB Butler strike, he said, but he would not engage in picker ing with his critics. The convention now is in it's third week, It will be necessary to elect national vice president and a national secretary treasurer on the floor of the convention, for in the December election no candidate received a major ity of the votes cast.
 The fortunes of war were with the ad- ministration party when the convention opened this morning. The assembly was more turbulent than ever it had been, but there was manifested among the del egates a determination to proceed to bus mess without further personal controver- sy. John Walker of Illinois, attempted to take up where he left of Saturday, his denuncation of the actions of President Lewis and the national executive board in suspending the officers of district No Il, Indiana. for having disobeyed their mandate. A motion to extend the time of debate in favor of MT. Walker was lost amid cheers and he had to take his seat.
 John Lawson and Peter Patterson of Cdndud, lllSlilDCiSi pie- scented a resolution calling upon Presi- dent Van Horn of Indiana either to re- tract his characterization of the interna- tional board as wooden" or withdraw from the convention. MT. Van Horn poured oil on the troubled waters by ex- plaining he had meant the board was helpless within the organizations consti- tuition, and that he had not charged its members with lack of intelligence or in- tegrity.
 On the question of accepting the report of the committee approving the action of the president and the international board in suspending Van Horn and his asso- ciates, 1t was obvious that the ayes had it. but the anti-Lewis faction demanded a roll-call and succeeded in mastering the 50 delegates whose votes were necessary to make the demand legal. There was storm of disapproval and the charge was freely made that there was organized ef- fort to impede the progress of the con- vention However. the roll-call proceeded in disorder and with frequent bickerings oyer alleged attempts to pervert the in- tention of certain delegates especially those that did not well understand the English language