Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-11-10
AMERICAN FEDERATION
OF LABOR DEN0UNCES
RULING IN COAL STRIKE
CONTINUED from Page one)


other localities. Their isolation pre-
vents this.
"The United Mine Workers, in theif
convention held during the month Of
! September in the city Of Cleveland,
! adopted a positive declaration de-
handing improved conditions of en-
! ployment for the miners. They fur
Their instructed the officers to pro-
coed to obtain by negotiations with
the operators the working conditions
that the convention unanimously
adopted.
Officers Are Powcrlcss.
There were almost 1900 delegates
seated in the convention. representing
| 5000 organized miners They fur
ther positively and explicitly instruct
ed their officers that unless an agree
ment was reached on or before the
| first day of November, 1919, that the
resolution of the convention calling
/ for q strike on November |. 1919,
should be communicated to the mem
! bership. There was no alternative
except for the officers. who are elect
, ed by the membership, to carr out
/ the direct instructions of the member
ship or resign from their positions as
officers, in which event chaos and
! confusion would result,
THE officers of the mine workers
with their scale committee. entered
| into conferences and discussions with
! the operators in the city of Buffalo
! They stated at the conference that
/ they had full power TO negotiate an
agreement; in other words. that they
| had the power to give and take in
the conference. The employers re-
/ Z. g,ff DD fox
Later on the miners answered the
call of the secretary of labor and fur
Ither endeavored to reach an agree
ment, but failed. The officers then
! proceeded to carry out the instruc-
| lions of their membership and COM
I municated the results of the failure
of negotiations. and by order of the
convention the strike automatically
took effect November /, 1919.
Willing To Negotiate,
"The machinery which has existed
for years and which has been sue
cessful in bringing about agreements,
between the miners and the operators,
still exists and they as representatives
of the miners We're and are ready and
willing to enter into negotiations
without reservation to reach an agree
ment
iccted itself and applied for an in
junction.
i "a temporary restraining order was
granted by federal judge which re-
strains the officials of the miners
from in any way advising their mem
bership on the situation, or Contribut-
ing any OF the moneys Of the mine
workers to the assistance of the men
on strike, also restraining them
/ from discussing, writing o. entering
into any kind of conversation with
their membership on the strike situa-
ton,
Miners Rights Invaded.
"The government tAen proceeded
to further invade the rights OF the
miners, not only by restraining the
miners, their officers and members
from furthering .he purposes for
I which the men contended but went TO
further lengths of demanding from
the court an order commanding the
officers of the Piners union to recall
and withdraw the strike notification
land the court comDlacently complied
and issued the order,
.'Ncycr In the history of our
country has any such nlaIda-
tory order been Obtained or even
applied for by the government or
by any person, company or corr
poratiOn.
: "Both the restraining order and the
: injunction, insofar as its prohibitory
, features are concerned, are predicat-
Z ed upon the Lever act a law enacted
: by congress for the purpose of pre-
venting speculation and profiteering
: of food and fuel supplies of the coun-
try. There never was in the minds of
the congress IN enacting that law OF
in the mind of the nresiden. when he
signed 1t. that the Lever act would
he applied TO workers in cases of
strike or lockouts. The food con-
troler, Mr. Hoover specificall,r so
stated, Members of the committee
having the billfin charge have in
writing declared that it was not in the
minds of the committee, and the then
I attorney general Mr.. Gregory. gave
assurance that the government would
not apply that law to the workers eff
fort to obtain improved working con-
4 ditions Every assurance from the
! highest authoritv &C our government
was given that the. law would not be
so applied.
Wilson's Buffalo Speech.
! ''In the course of President Wilson's
address to the Buffalo convention of
the American Federation of Labor ~
November, 1917, among other things
, he said
"'While we are fighting for free