The sun., 1919-10-29
MINERS CHARGE
OPERATORS ARE
IN PROFIT PLOT
Bad Faith Alleged as Dig
gers Gather for Indian
apOlis Conference.
LEWIS is STILL DEFIANT
Saws Wilson'S Contention as to
War Emergency in Dry Veto
Is Same as Unions.
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INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 2s.-Federal in
functions against the individual MEM
bers of the United Mine Workers OF
America, 100000 of them. seems to-
night to be the only method of avoid
ing a general soft coal strike starting
Friday at midnight. On the eve of the
meeting Of the executive committee OF
the union, the scale committee. which
failed in it's negotiations with oper-
ators in Buffalo, in Philadelphia and
again in Washington. and of a score
OF the presidents of the twenty-five
mining districts. John l.. Lewis, act
ing president of the best organized and
the richest union in the United States.
said:
THE strike order is still in effect.
There is nothing more to do about it..
Then he added: IF the operators
would enter into negotiations in good
faith we could settle this in three
days.
IF the negotiations were to start,
say tomorrow. would that mean that
the strike would be called OFF," he
was asked.
NO" he replied. What guarantee
would We have that the operators
would be negotiating in good faith.
How would We know that the nego-
tiations would not be prolonged as
they were in Buffalo, Philadelphia and
Washington and then broken of while
our men work on under the present
oppressive conditions"
Lewis Would Avoid Strike.
There is, nevertheless. evident obout
President Lewis an obvious desire to
avoid striking, with the stigma of
President Wilson's letter marking the
soft coal diggers.
The workers say the President was
wrong. They make various arguments
to show that his accusations are unjusti-
fed. They cite in particular what they
term his inconsistency in holding that
the war emergency is over in vetoing the
prohibition enforcement bill and holding
the war time wage agreement in the
soft coal industry.
But the miners squirm under what the
President said OF them. Many of the
district leaders who are thronging in
here tonight are telling Mr.. Lewis that
publiC sentiment I'm their own conmtini .
ties is for the first time in the history
of a struggle of the United Mine Workers
against the union. and most of all
against the strike. II there is a way out
Of il the meeting tomorrow will seek to
find II. But in view of President Lewis $
statement tonight it seems inevitable
unless a means of settlement may be
found before Friday.
Coal operators here are working under
no illusions as to the completeness with
which their mines will be tied up by a
strike. They admit that the United
Mine Workers have thoroughly organized
the industry. They point to the huge
treasures of the locals in proof of II. The
Illinois division alone has a fund of more
than S2,000,000. Altogether the work.
ers will have not less than $4,000, 600
at their command IL they go out.
u. NJ. w. Rules Like 1. w. WIS.
In one other respect the situation here
differs from that OF the strike situation
in the steel Industry. The United Mine
Workers are like the /. w. w. In that
they take into their unions skilled and
unskilled men. All classes of employees
are together. There is no distinction
between the skilled and the unskilled
At each mine there is a single local OF
the United Mine Workers and in it ia
every man, from pit boy to pumping
engineer.
Each side. OF course, made charges OF
bad faith against the other tonight
The operators say that the demand for a
six hour day and the big advance In
wages has been set up merely to further
the political end of certain officials O'
the union. They assert there is no gen.
eral demand for such radical changes
among the men at the mines.
The union men charge that the strike
or the strike situation, is being forced
by the operators in a direct effort to
boost the price of coal. They point "a
increases in prices all the way from SO
cents to So a ton which have been paid
by buyers frightened by strike talk
Contracts for delivery have been made
in excess of capacity. the union mer
say, and the SCARE prices will prevail
for weeks. possibly months. after the
strike or after a strike has been settled
Asked of these charges tonight Mr.
Lewis replied:
"All can say is that during Novem.
ber there will be mined about 10000, ,0O(
tons OF coal II there's no strike, II ths
operators can average a dollar and a
half raise in price on the strike scare
you can see what that will mean to
them"
"Do you think they forced the strike p
he was asked.
"All can judge by is their public at.
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