Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-10-31
THE PUBLIC DISREGARDED

Realizing the calamity it would be to the whole country
TO have the mining of soft coal cease thereby causing all indus
tries as well as railroads to shut down for lack of fuel, not to
mention the inability of the people where soft coal is used ex-
clusively, to heat their homes, the government took a hand in
the controversy through the Secretary of Labor in an effort to
bring the two factions together.
This means failing, the Secretary of Labor finally appealed
to the President of the United States.
The President, speaking for the nation as a whole, issued
a statement in which he declared is was time for plain speak
ing. '"These matters with which we now DEAL" he declared,
touch not only the welfare of a class, but vitality concern the
w~eIl-being, the comfort and the very life of all the people,"
In concluding his statement, the President said.
II express no opinion on the merits Of the con-
troversy. I have already suggested a plan by which
a settlement may be reached, and I hold myself in
readiness at the request of either or both sides to ap-
point at once a tribunal to investigate all the facts
with a view to aiding in the earliest possible orderly
settlement of the question at issue between the coal
operators and the coal miners, to the end that the
just rights, not only of those interested, but also of
the general public, may be fully protected"
This statement on the part Of the President of the United
States has met with the utmost approval throughout the coun-
try. The only discordant note heard is that of the leaders of
the miners union.
A message couched in the most defiant terms and refer
ring to the President in a discourteous, if not an insulting man
ner, was sent by John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine
Workers of America, to Secretary of Labor Wilson. The at
titude of the unions officials in this respect only tends to fur
ther emphasize the extremes to which certain elements in the
country are -Rcw going in their stand toward the government
and those who represent government authority.
Both the miners and the operators profess a willingness
to meet and arbirate their differences. The operators insist,
however that before na0otiationeo an boo;p 4o ,+,il-o ,o,.4 -
called off pending the outcome of the conference.
The leaders of the miners declare that the strike cannotl
be called off unless the operators at once submit a reasonable
proposition to the miners union.
In other words, the situation today may be summed up as
follows: The operators are willing to accept the ~Presidentsl
offer and confer with the miners over the differences that ex-
list, but insist that the strike be called off for the time being
and that the mines be kept busy in order that industry and the
public in general shall not suffer unnecessarily.
The miners, while expressing a willingness to negotiate
with the operators, insist. that work shall cease at the mines and
that the whole country become paralyzed while the negotia-
tons are going on.
To the average American, when the President of the
United States offers to appoint a disinterested tribunal to at
once investigate any situation that may arise, it is sufficient.
There is no excuse for bringing untold loss and suffering upon
the country under such circumstances. To do otherwise than
submit is to confess that confidence in the government is gone.
Labor has no complaint to make of the treatment it has
received under the Wilson administration. If the President has
shown any partially at all it has been on the side of the work
ing man. He has done more to advance the principles of or
gained labor than almost any other President.
When the President offers to investigate the complaints
of the miners, therefore, and to see that they obtain justice,
there is every reason why the miners should welcome such in
yestigation and rely on the government to play square.
To refuse the governments offer and to refer to the Pres
ident in such terms as the head of the miners union has done.
leads one to think that there is something more than merely
a desire for plain justice back Of all this strike agitation. 1t
looks very much like a blow at the very foundation of the gov
eminent itself.
In no country in the world does the working man enjoy