The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1919-12-04
F FUEL SITUATION
REMAINS SERIOUS
OVER COAL BELT
INDUSTRIES On VERGE
OF DISRUPTION FROM CONTINU-
ED NINE WALKOUT; OPERA.
TINES MAY BE HELD FOR con.
TEMPT; SOME RETURNING TO
WORK PROMPTED BY "AMERI.
CANISM" SPIRIT

Chicago. Dec. 3.--Further disruption
OF national industry because Of the
fuel shortage. brought about by the
strike of btumlnous coal miners, was in
| prospect today. Regional directors Of
railroads had authority 10 annul passen-
ger trains where the public would be
least Inconvenience and many addi.
tional manufacturing plants throughout
the country faced sEut-downs, either
through exhaustion OF their coal sup.
plies or the strict ratloning decrccd
! 10y the federal fuel administrator
State executives. who under appeals
. from their constituents for aid, anXi
ously have sought ways and means for
repleuishing the rapidly dwindling fuel
supply, today virtually were without
! encouragement as regarded increased
! production. Only in isolated instances
were there reports OF a change Of front
on the part Of the miners. Generally
the workers obstanatelly adhered TO
! their attitude Of remaining away from
the mines until better terms than the
IA per cent wage increase, decreed by
! the government, were forthcoming.
A slight ray Of hope, however was
found in optimistic reports from opera.
tors of the district embracing south
eastern Kentucky, Tennessee and Nir-
ginia that the backbone Of the strike
there had been broken, the return to
work of miners at some small mines in
Missouri, with the statement that they,
as Americans, could not see their neigh
bors suffer, and adoption by miners,
Of one West Virginia sub.distrct, of "a
resolution favoring a general return
to work under the II per cent wage in
crease, until a satisfactory adjustment
is made"
On the other hand cutting of of
electric advertising and other non-es.
sential use of power and fuel with the
added prospect of further curtailmcnt
of industry Brought to the general
public rather gloomy outlook. Some
regional coal directors estimated that
with reductions Of working staffs al
ready made OF threatened should tho
strike not be broken Immediately the
number OF employees thrown out of work
soon would surpass several times over
the approximately 400, 600 mine work
ers involvcdfin the walkout.
Conditions Mt the mines today showed
no appreciable change from yesterday.
There was no indication Of an intention
to resume production in the great com
petitivo field. Illinois. Indiana, West
ern Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The output of the surface mines in
Kansas. being worked by volunteers and
protection Of state and federal soldiers,
today promised to be Increased, as the
men got the hang Of the work and
their forces were augmented. The gov
ernor of Nebraska had requested men
Of his state to volunteer to work in the
mines of nearby states, and the dis
patching Of troops into the coal fields
of Missouri was regarded by some as a
forerunner Of attempted state opera
ton OF those mines.
From the mine operators themselves,
however came some opposition to send
ing inexperienced mon into their shafts.
The West Virginia mines today con-
tinued to be the chief producers of soft
coal, ~ they have been since inception
of the strike. Wyoming miners who
walked out two days ago in protest
against the II per cent wage increase
today were under orders Of their state
officials to return to work The new
strike was not sanctioned.
As miners leaders talked Of possible
extension of the strike to the anthracite
fields, there were reports from Indiana
polls that the government had con-
cluded to institute contempt proceed
ings, being convinced that the injunc'
ton issued against the strike had been
violated.
In the eastern part Of the country
where the effects of the strike so far
have not been felt as heavily as farth
er west, the Bethlehem Steel Company
today had been forced to order banked
one of its North Lebanon, Pa, stacks
1t was announced that unless there
was an early delivery OF coal the stack
would be blown out, and that because OF
the fuel situation, no additional men
now were being employed. IL
Among the main industries forced tc
close or facing q shutdown in the west
was the Anaconda copper mining com
pany in Montana. Officials announced
, preparations were being made to close
all that company's mines and smelters
with 1900 men losing employment
f The effect of the miners strike also
threatened to extend to Canada, a
Montreal report saying failure of the
United States government to furnish
the dominion $50 carloads of coal daily
az agreed would cause further serious
, reduction of passenger service.
SO far most actual suffering from the
. fuel shortage has been reported from
, Montana and western Kansas. The
cold wave today was spreading over the
better supplied eastern sections, al
though temperatures in the west were
not greatly changed and the situation
in many places in that section remain
ed acute. In Chicago, where suffer
ing among those in the poorer quarters
was reported, the temperature early
today was 6 degrees above zero.
| Dynamite Stolen