Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-11-28
GOVERNMENT DECIDES TO SEIZE
d TO ACCEPT CABINETS DECISION
OPERATORS MAY
OPEN MANY MINES
in NEAR FUTURE i
Each Case Will Sc Decided
Separately; General y. s.
Control Not Planned.

Washington, Nov. 2S.-Seixure u OF
o1tuminous coal mines where the
owners do not show a disposition to Y
cooperate in increasing production.,
miners who desire to work, has been
decided upon by the government SIN
an effort to end the. bituminous coal
strike, 1t was stated today omcially. n
In mines seized by the government
the IL per cent wage advance agreed
upon BY the cabinet will be put intoE
immediate effect. it was said ts9
were agreed upon by the cabinet last
Wednesday, officials said, SO as to
meet the situation arising from D. re-
fusal of the operators or miners, or
both, to agree to the governments
wage increase proposal. ~ y sf r r,ysss sfs'
Cabinet officers expected many
mine owners to put into effect yolun-
tarily the IL per cent wage increase.
whether the mines Of those refusing
to do. so would be seized was not
made clear. but 1t was said that there
was no general plan for government
control; that each individual case
would be decided on its merits. .,:s.s
Mines taken over by the govern
ment will be operated by the fuel .ad =
ministration but details as to COM
pensation to the owners were not dis
cies were preparing to carry out the
governments program, Fuel Admin
istrator Garfield, reaffirmed in even
more emphatic terms his position that
profiteering on the part of either
labor or capital will not be toler.
ated.' n tfE - 3s
Not Up to Public. &c.
The public cannot and will not be
asked to bear the increased burden
OF higher prices of coal nor Of the
payment OF a large sum as wages to
any special class of workers" he
said. 5 5- s., "a
Pointing out that his conclusion had
been reached only after careful and
exhaustive research, Mr., Garfield
declared neither the protestation OF
the miners against the IL per cent
wage advance, nor the insistence OF
the operators! that they be permitted
would induce him to alter his de-
cision that a IA per cent increase
was the amount necessary t0Y bring
the miners wages up to the level Of
living costs and that the operators
could pay this advance without ssin-
creasinE prices to the public q 4
Resnlast st ss.s,
p,ssaA m6st ERtors ~ dtss&htSa9
Aencaa4s fNos,s Ased I'm WqShinGtcn to-
ss0Ay, dug III expHcfed to leave Tor
their homes tonight John l. Lewis,
setting president of the United Mine
Workers Of America, was .closeted 9
large part Of the morning with Sec
retary Wilson. He also arranged an
interview with President Gompers. 81
the American Federation ofsI1abOr fof
later in the day. 3;. .
Lewis maintained the same attitude
toward the situation that he had
demonstrated during the weeks Of
discussion. s.a ..... e -.
Officially don't know that there
is a coal strike on,'' he said, but the
government could get coal productten
resumed in this country IL Secretary
Wilson'S proposal to give the men q
31.66 per cent increase had beer en-
forced" i'S
Cumberland. Md, Nov. 2s.AA
large part of the miners of the Upper
Potomac and George Creek soft coal
fields are out as a result of the fail-i
ure. of the wage negotiation confer
enfe at Washington to agree. union
officials here said today. They added
that the remainder of the 5000 mines
in these two fields would be out to-
morrow. 45 ~ -. .s9