The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1919-10-31
THE THREATENED sTRIKE.

search out and prosecute all individuals guilty of con-
spracy.
Inc circumstances surrounding this threatened strike
and the attitude Of the are admirably set
forth by Attorney General Palmer His dispassionate
but determined warning up the purpose of the gov
ernment and will evoke the enthusiastic support of all
patriotic Americans inside the labor unions as well as
outside
Possibly the individual miners have been mised by their
leaders into believing that their right to quit work has
been denied Some of the utterances of labor leaders
who ought to know better have borne this Interpretation
The government can't make work if they don't want
to work." said railroad brotherhood chief He does
not deserve to be leader of labor he does not know
that the right men to work quit not the question
at issue in this threatened coal strike
The right to suspend coal production in the United
States by conspiracy is the right that denied by law
So just and liberal is the feeling Of the people toward
muscle workers that public sentiment would not have
permitted the enactment of law prohibiting the workers
from putting their heads together and paralyzng private
industry for the Of gaining relief or better
Quarres between parties in private industry and wars
between the parties composing vital national industry
are two different things. When to this distinction is
added state of war; which compes every individual to
surrender many or all of his rights his government
the duty imposed upon Congress of making sure that
the elements Of war-makng shall be paralyzed by
religious civil war or any other disturb
ance
Al time when the nation at the coal miners
signed contracts agreeing remain at work
1T certain wages and hours until the end Of the war or
until April 1920 Notwithstanding these contracts, the
Wine Workers convention framed new and extravagan
demands for money and less work and announced
hat strike would be called on November unless tbase
demands were met by that date The Post criticised this
con as breach OF contract and received letter from
Nam Green Secretary Treasurer Of the United Mine d
Workers. who attempted show that the contract was not
epudlated Let the reader Judge of Mr. Green's candor
nd huthfulness. Writing to The Post under date Of =
let. g. he said
The contract between the United Mine Workers Of
and the bitumnous coal operators was made n ha te
IN effect during the continuation of the war" This :;
is expressly provided for in the terms Of the agree
meht' Many NINE workers maintain that the war da
ended when the armistice signed, many Others ~
that It ended when the peace treaty was signed at 81
Paris, The bitumnous coal operators and DR. Gar an
heid Federal fuel administrator, only claim it ends
when the peace treaty is ratified X.
The termination of the contract therefore HINGES 4
upon correct Interpretation to when the war ends sic
The provision which you have so often quoted in vour
editorial criticisms of the United Mine Workers, pr
IL.
charging reputation of the contract during the r.
continuation of the until April l. 1920" mic
means that the contract ends when the war ends
and it was only to until March 81 1920 in the mig
event the war continued until that time !
In order to meet the most technical interpretation Mr.
OF the ending OF the war; the United Mine Workers 4
convention fixed Nov. / as the date on which the ing
con4moa4 . " 4'~'' '''0 ern
contract expires, because, meeting in September. \
they assumed that the United States Senate would call
foe upon the ratification of the treaty before Nov aft
l. IL is reasonable to conclude that the final -
ote viii be taken before that date and the claims nj
Il the coal operators that the contract exnras opl
pon the ratification of the peace treaty viii, be
uly met
'ommeht upon this is unnecessary, as fc speaks for
II and reveals the emptiness of the clam set forth bv
labor representative. The mine workers as bodv
hardly be so simple to stake their future upon the by
am action of the Senate within brief fixed time mar
ntll there is peace there is state of war and while
e Is state Of war the President has extraordinary III
e Tor the purpose of keeping the country safe from sue
lie or outside danger The President through the 10 I
ment OF Justice will exercise those powers to
extent that circumstances may make it necessary
y patriotic citizen of the United States will stand
no the government in this crisis We expect to SEQ IN
TABOR range itself against the false and dangerous I
a0n assumed by the leaders of the United Mine Ill