The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1919-12-18

idly behind the government to safe
guard our institutions of law and order.
THE coal strike crisis which now
confronts the nation, threatening suf
fering, sickness. and distress for peo-
pie in their homes, curtailment of op-
Grafton, or shutting down Of manufac-
turing plants, paralysis OF transporta-
ton facilities, with an inevitable loss
in wages and throwing out of employ
ment hundreds of thousands Of loyal
and law abiding American workers,
presents an acid test of our American
faith and belief in our representative
form Of government.
The coal strike is now purely an
issue between the government and the
miners unions as to which is supreme.
No other issue Is involved. The courts
Of the United States have spoken and
they have been insiduously and covert
ly dened by handful Of leaders in
the mine workers organization. The
government of the United States,
also spoken and its authority is iouted
and disobeyed. Determined to impose
their will and enforce their demands,
the coal strike leaders have thrown
down the gauntlet to constituted gov
ernment.
THE arrogant and high-handed chal-
lenge of the leaders of the mine work
ers, in effect is. give us what we de-
mand or we will not mine a single
ton Of coal or permit others to do so,
even If the people freeze and trans
portation and industry cease
81 believe speak for the overwhelm-
ing majority Of our several thousand
manufacturers in every line OF indus
try. embraced in the membership of
the National Association of Manufac-
turers when say that we Will cheer
fully accept limited rations of coal for
our factories, we will bear any finan-
cial loss that may be incidental to cur
failing or closing down the operations
Of our plants, at the same time earn
laying off Of our employees. rather
than directly or indirectly aid or abet
the policy of savage coercion which
the miners union heads have deliber-
ately adopted in their effort to force
the government of the United States
to surrender its sovereignty to them.
''The prospect of an empty coal bin
either in our homes or at our factories,
no matter how serious or far reaching
these privations may be, is not as i'm
portant to US as liberty loving citizens
of free republic as the preservation
inviolate of American institutions and
principles of government
Therefore, urge upon all members
OF this Association the wisdom as we'll
as the patriotism OF the course have
outlined, and further that they refrain
from embarrassing the government au-
thorities by requests to the United
States Fuel Administration for liberal
rations Of coal, and / call upon manu-
facturers as American citizens whose
loyalty and Americanism are at all
times supreme to their pecuniary or
selfish industrial interests to econo-
mize in the use OF coal and to lend their
best and most earnest cooperation to
the government and the Fuel Admins
tration in meeting and overcoming the
serious difficulty now confronting the
country as a direct result of the revo-
lutionary and rebellious policy of the
miners union leaders.
1--WE have heard much In recent
months about making the world safe
for democracy. Now is the time for
all Americans to act and make Amer
lea safe for Americans"