Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1919-11-07
STRIKE MAYLAST
MONTH LONGER
Struggle Between Operators and
Miners Still Continues With
Little Prospect of Amicable
Agreement Soon.

Indianapolis, Nov. 4,-Acting Pres
ident John l.. Lewis, of the United
i Mine Workers of America, tonight
stated that the miners will be will
ing to resume negotiations with the
operators Immediately if the restrain
ing order now in force against them
is vacated. His statement was made
after being shown an Associated
Press dispatch quoting President
Samuel Gompers, of the American
Federation of Labor, as advocating
withdrawal of the restraining order
as .astep toward settlement of the
strike.
Mr.. Lewis statement follows:
II the injunction is vacated the
miners will be willing Immediately
70 meet the operators in joint con-
terence to negotiate wage scale. !"
Asked if the miners would return
to work prior to opening of nerotin-
tions, Mr.. Lewis said the miners' Of
fer means only negotiations without
resevations," and would add nothing
to this declaration.
Washington, Nov. 4.-Dcspite the
spirit of hopefulness in official quart
ers that the end of the coal strike
was near, spokesmcn here for min
ers and operators dcclaredc tonight
the country was in for II protracted
industrial struggle in the bituminous
fields.
:, Labor leaders, bit more specific
than operators, estimated that all
union mines would remain closed nt
least four weeks. Others estimates
cut that time in half, but officials
although without word or direct Of
forts to bring the two sides together;
still held firmly to the view that the
strike would not run that long.
There were no confidential reports
to the Department of Justice from
Its agents in the fields, and reports
to Washington headquarters of the
operators merely announced that
overnight conditions were unchanged.
Attorney-Gencral-Palmer, in n lot
ter today to u ship builders council
which protested against injunction
proceedings, sounded n new note of
hops by declaring his belief that if
the Federal court ut Indianapolis
Saturday should hold the strike i'll
egal, the miners, "as law abidinr
citizens Will discontinue it," This let
ter was made public after the at
torney generals Office had denied n
report that the injunction suit would
Touching on his method of dealing
with the strike he said:
There were only two ways omen
to me TO enforce the law, one bv
criminal and the other by civil pro-
cess. l might have instituted Grim
inal prosecutions against hundreds of
American citizens but I prefrred to
believe that in ordering this strike
they were not conscious of the fact
that they were violating the chr
mai laws of this country and that it
would be better to have the question
adJudicated by the courts in n civil
proceeding. assume that the min
ers are law-abiding citizens and that
they do not intend or desire to dis
obey the law of the United Statce.
You will of course agree with me that
the laws of the land must be obeyed
and that there is no organization,
great or small, in the United States
which is superior to the law of the
land.
"The issue will be submitted. to the
Court at indianapolis next Saturday,
calmly and dispassionately, and if the
court adjudges that the strike is i'll
egal, apprehend that the miners.
as law-abiding citizens will dscon-
tinuc it,"