Norwich bulletin., 1919-12-23
Aifig M tn d0f Coal
 Strike Settlement
Senator Frelinghuysen Says
 There Must Have Been Some Sort of a Secret Deal.

Washington, Dec. 22-Entering into the controversy raging about the governments proposals for settlement of the coal strike, Senator Freling- huysen, republican, New Jersey, chair man of the senate committee inveStl- gating in Q formal statement tonight declared, that in the governments ne- 1 gotiations there must have been some | sort of a secret deal made in addi- l tion to the signed statement
 l Explaining that he spoke for him. ] self only, and not for other members of his committee, Senator Frelinghuy- 1 sen reviewed the testimony adduced by | the committee hearing today and add ed that out of the settlement of the ] strike lin any event the public may l look for an increase in the price of
 coal or another strike"
 The New Jersey senator character l iZed the settlement proposition as put l forth by Attorney General Palmer and
 accepted by the miners as a loaded dice for the American public"
 The executive committee of coal
 mine operators followed their state
 ment of yesterday declaring that the governments proposal as finally draft ed was vitally different from the plan formulated by Former Fuel Adminis- trator Garfield and which they bound themselves to accept. maintaining si- lence today. The operators, however, decided during the day to call off a Igeneral meeting Of the scale commit tee of the Central Competitive Field which had been called for Tuesday in Cleveland. At the conference, which
 will take place after Christmas, it was said, the operators expect to forInu-
 late a decision as to the policy they will adopt towards the governments
 plan and the commission appointed on
 Saturday by President Wilson to adju-
 dicate the miners claims.
 Attorney General Palmer in state ment tonight denied the assertions made yesterday by the operators
 whose position he characterized as
 ''the merest quibble and quite un- worthy of the representatives of a great industry"
 The operators. the attorney general
 said. from the beginning had been
 clamoring for arbitration and had stated repeatedly their willingness to
 conform to any plan which the pres ident might suggest.
 Their allegation now" continued Mir. Palmer. that they were not con-
 suited about the form of the memo miners conference, is absurd The settlement proposal, as accept ? ed by the miners, the attorney general further declared. was submitted to representatives of the operators in
 Indianapolis who in turn communi-
 cated it to their representatives in : Washington.
 : NO objection was made' added
 Mir. Palmer The operators remained 2 absolutely silent until after the mer were hack in the mines. Then for the first time they begin to object
 The miners went back to work 1T ' obedience to the law and the orders s of the court without having their de. u mands granted. They relied, as they q had a right to rely, upon the promise T of1the president that immediatly up on complete resumption of operation
 a commission would be appointed tt
 take up the matters at issue. The off ' cers of the government had an equa n n right to rely on the good faith o q the operators in their previous declar = ations of agreement with the pro D gramme. The government will not as :. sume that the operators will breal l. faith, and. indeed, ways will be foun
 to keep faith in this vita1ly importan
 transaction The commission will pro
 ceed with it's work and I have no doub Y that upon further reection the oper
 ators will SC the wisdom of heart w cooperation Wit hit.
 Il Praising the stand taken by Dr e Harry A. Garfield, who recently re It signed as fuel administrator hecaus of disagreement with the strite set 1T tlement, Cenator Frelinghuyseh said = "The present plan. which incurre II the hostility of Dr. Garfield and caus :, ed his resignation, is acceptable to tn miners because it opens the door t u further demands and further wage in le creases, which the public must pay. to "The miners are expecting an ad A ditional raise as a result of this agree ,t ment. Chairman Lewis, in his addres ls s to his men, December 10. 1919. speak .d of the probability of further increas \. in all classifications of labor when tn
 commission finally makes it's award
 "There must have been some SC
 cret deal made. in addition to the sign r ed agreement. In any event, the puh e lie may look for an increase in tn
 price of coal or another strike. There was a vital principle involve in this contest and that was ignore iii ia in the settlement of this strike, name ,,l ly, shall the law be supreme or sha 1e an organization, a class, hold itse t above the law. and refused obedienc = thereto. when it's selfish interest I, come in conflict with the public good y T was opposed even to the raise ( ,g 14 per cent. authorized by Dr. Garfiel te It should never, have been grante, 10 Though ostensibly coming out of tt N pockets of the operators. it involves a to addition to the cost of production - hundreds of millions of dollars an D. makes practically impossible any rt m duction to the consumer for two
 three years to come.
 If that concession is objectionab
 how much more objectionable is u "A possibility of any further increase sue v" as MT. Lewis, acting chairman of Il ,,, United Mine Workers has assured h ,r men they are likely to secure, und i'd the agreemnt with the attorney ger tN eral, which MT. Lewis, himself, sa, nj differs materially from the propos ve tion made by Dr. Garfield
 h. That is what the miners expect. O. was upon that basis, upon that al nl surance, that they were willing to obt ,,- The law.
 at Tt will be a sad day for Americ en if obedience to the law must be pu
 chased in this manner, I am ol
 posed to such a proposition and I b,
 lieve the American people are oppose " to it."
 AARTEOPn unME oE uhaApKD