Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-12-29
SOFT COAL BOARD !
SHOULD NOT BE-
LIMITED To THREE.

! LltWIb L - W tbhA A@ Aa
Former Judge Gray, Who Was
Member of Board That Set.
tied 1902 Strike, Expresses
Strong Views.
q o. sessrsrspOtses 70 aosSrna IoussAu
sIql-r t.Surns m, Del Dec. 2S.--The ap-
poe- 'eaonSA board of three. in
stead or 'gN ger board. to settle the
issues in the soft coal strike, is a
mistake in the opinion of ex-Judge
/ George Gray of Wilmington, who was
! member of the board of seven APP
| pointed by President Roosevelt to
settle the hard coal strike of 1902.
1 Judge Gray was reluctant TO inject
! his personal views into the present
controversy, and only consented to
discuss the subject on the theory that
what the committee of which he was
a member had learned might be OF
value in this crisis.
! His experience would indicate that
! the bitterness existing today in this
great dispute is not a thing impossible
to eradicate. Although not complI-
Gated by today's intense radlcalism.
the feeling which existed during the
hard coal strike of 1902 n strike
which lasted six months Instead OF
six weeks. was such that until Pres-
dent Roosevelt forced both sides to.
gether settlement seemed hopeless.
Reached Understanding.
And yet out Of the exchange OF
ideas that he brought about, the
daily meeting on a common ground
as citizens with equal rights and
claims to justice. sprung so amicable
an understanding between the two
| classes that the agreement entered
into them, and the feeling of concil-
| iation which was engendered, has kept
peace in the anthracite coal regions to
the present day, Ii is one OF the
most remarkable instances in the his
tory of industrial disputes OF adjust
ment on a wide scale in a great in
dustry founded on principles so elastic
that mere modification has been suf-
ficient to keep 1t alive for seventeen
years
When John Mitchell Samuel Comp
ers and other labor leaders found
themselves in the same room with
the late President Baer of the Phila-
delphia and Reading and other coal
operators, members of the two fac
tions glared across the room at each
other with the affection OF Gagged
bears. Judge Gray chuckled at the
recollection. But" he added, with
smile, they found out in few
weeks that each side was human, and
the constant Interchange OF ideas and
social intercourse broke down the
barrier of mutual distrust.''
should Know Each Other.
IT is in that one thing, the bringing
together OF both sides to the end that
fhau knnut ssIt MI Or hiatt No.
Judge Gray looks for q peaceful set.
tlement today. But with his exper-
ience in mind he sees two features OF
the soft coal situation which may
make agreement difficult of attain.
ment. They are:
The appointment of n commission
of three. which he believes is too
small for the great task before them:
The unknown extent to which radi-
cal agitators have infected the miners
with revolutionary sentiment
THE bituminous strike is much
bigger thing than was the anthracite
strike" he said. I'm the mere matter
of numbers. there were 147,000 men
in that strike. and there are nearly
400, 600 involved in this, The many
grave issues at stake, also. make the
individual responsibility in a board
of three almost too great to be as
sumed. In board of seven the feel
ing of responsibility to the Individual
is not so crushing. and, think, offers
better opportunity of arriving at a
successful award
''In the proposed board OF three,
two members represent opposing fac
tions, with only one impartial man to
act as medium between their widely
different points of view. In a board
of seven the activity of many minds
Is more apt to find way OF arriving
at a compromise between the two
contending parties"
Whether the miners are SO inn
pregnated with the ultra-radical doc
trines of agtators and less responsive
to the sober counsels of their wlsest
leaders, is also a vital question in the
present crisis. Judge Gray thinks. He
expressed the belief that some strike
leaders are "out and out anarchists"
THE Debses ana Fitzgeralds and
other men of their type do not want
peace" he said Their whole desire
Is toFavoid peace. They have an
Interior purpose revolution"
Judge Gray recalled the way in
which President Roosevelt brought
both sides together and spoke of the
unusual makeup of the committee.
He spoke highly of labor's represent
ative, Edgar Erastus Clark, head of
the conductors union. who was later
interstate commerce commissioner,
Bishop Spaulding, who looked on the
miners as he would have members
Of his flock" was another man who
did much to bring about peace. Gem
eral Wilson, an engineer army officer.
the first secretary of labor. a geologi-
cal expert. and a representative OF
the operators, were the other menu
bers.
They held formal court in Scranton
Continued on Page Two)