New-York tribune., 1919-10-30
John l.. Lewis

of winter consisted of the executive
officers and executive council Of the
national organizations, the thirty-two
members of the central comparative
field scale committee-the same that
represented the miners in the Wash
ington conference last week-and the
presidents of the twenty-four district
organizations. The executive council
will be in session tomorrow but all
the other attendants at to-day's confer
ence left for their respective homes to-
night--except the national oficers-to
prepare the management of the strike
While the members OF to-day's con-
clave undoubtedly do view with appre-
hension the hardship that will be
caused by even a short suspension of
bitumnous mining, they laugh at the
grave view of the struggle taken by
the public and the press.
'They call me q Boshevik and the
man on horseback" said Mr.. Lewis,
with laugh. "Do look like either?'
Radical Intentions Denied
AS the miners leaders see it. the
strike is nothing more than sharp
rap on the knuckles for the operators.
to make them sit UP, take notice and
get down to the business OF negotiating
scale. The implication is that after
the strike starts the operators will act
with such degree of celcrity as will
make up for a lot of lost time. The
leaders say that negotiating new
scale, or any of their demands in con
nection herewith, have nothing to do
with the naturalization program, and
that they know nothing of sypdicalism
and other radicalisms. The strike, they
say, will be most orderly. The men
viii simply go home and wait for the
operators to talk business
While, as nearly as the officials of
the mine workers can calculate, only
about $4,000 men will be directly af-
fected by the strike order, they say
they expect about 100000 non union
taking out of the mines a total Of 49,
900 out of about G25 1000, with the hope
OF getting still more. They estimate
that union miners dig IS per cent of
the soft coal of the country. The chief
non-union strength is in Western Penn
sylvanla, some of The West Virginia
hslds, and Colorado, Utah, Wyoming
and New Mexico. Representatives of the
mines say they have no direct knowledge
or how much coal is now above ground
put say that they understand that the
publlc utilities have ninety days, sup
ply, 1t is understood that some of the
railways have not as much as two
weeks requirements on hand
Rumors of ''Frame-Up" Heard
Ever since the strike date was fixed
there nave been whisperings all over
the country that the whole thing is
staged between the operators and the
miners, in order to whip the public into
paving enough for ts coal to give
both sides of production as much as
they want. Ar official of the miners in
dlgnantly denied this suggestion to-
night, but added that, whereas the
miners are unanimous in support of
their position Of new scale or strike.
there has been in secret much dis
sension among the operators, MANY Of
them favoring from the start negotia-
ton of new agreement before Novem-
Der l..
There was not one dissenting voice
or vote IN to-day's meeting on the
general proposition to stand pat for Il
strike.
Not the least apprehension is ex
pected regarding any Federal action.
Mr. Lewis intimated that even Federal
seizure of the mines would not bring
the miners back to work until the gov
ernment had promised them a satisfac-
tory scale Of wages and hours