New Britain herald., 1919-11-29
COAL OUTLOOK IS
 MORE ENCOURAGING
Increased Production Expected to
 Begin Next Week

| coal were not expected today to fol- low the governments announcement that it proposes to see mining begun and posting at the shafts by the oper- atorS of notice of the granting of l per cent wage increase. Operators looked upon the latest steps in the miners strike with optimism, how ever, and believed that on Monday many workmen would re-enter the mines. Saturdays and Sundays gen. erally have been regarded as part hol- idays in the coal fields, they pointed out. .s..
 On the other hand miners spokes- men generally predicted that few men would return to work under those conditions adding that the offer would be ignored especially in the great fields of the central competitive area embracing Ohio: Illinois, Indiana and Western Pennsylvania.
 Milder weather today over much of the country which has been in the grasp of unseasonably low tempera- lures brought relief.
 Many small cities and towns were almost fuelless and suffering was i'm minent. ... '...
 With radical restrictions on use of fuel in force in many places, notably Kansas City, Mo-, Omaha, Neb., and Indianapolis and the entire southern region state and local officials today consid dered further means of warding off a famine.
 In Kansas Governor Allen went ahead with plans for opening up the strip pits Monday. He said 4,oOo men had volunteered and he conferred last night at Kansas City, Mo-, with Major Gen. Leonard Wood, com- mander Of the central department of the l.. s. army. Meanwhile the do- mestic situation in Kansas was de- scribed as critieal, extremely low tenn peratnres and snow and sleet falls oyer the entire state making it neces- Sary to delve deeply into short fuel supplies. @.
 Calling of a conference of gover- Eors of the coal producing states for Monday or Tuesday at Chicago by Frederick D. Gardner, governor of Missouri today awaited statement of a definite plan of action by the fed cral government for reopening the mines. Should the government decide to take over the mines, Governor Gardner said, the conference would not be called but otherwise he would issue the call ito see what the gov ernors could do." MT. Gardner, who was at Jefferson City today, said he would act under his authority as chairman of the committee on pro- fiteering appointed at the recent meet ing of governors at Salt Lake City.
 Announcement that all mines in Wyoming were being worked today was among the encouraging bits of Cl,,ot sibility of settlement of the strike in Illinois also brought some encourage ment Miners in that, one of the na- tion's greatest fields apparently joined with the operators in hoping for an agreement although neither side would admit there was such 8 prospect ..
 New walkouts in the West Virginia field, from which most of the soft coal mined since. the strike was called, has come, today threatened to reduce the approximately forty per cent of a normal amount the government said has continued to be brought out in many states.
 A walkout of engineers and pump CTS at some of the southern Illinois mines also was reported today. If that were true, mine owners asserted, the mines would fill with water, and at least ten days would be required to pump them out before work could be resumed.
 That was the first report that such employees had deserted their post. ! Generally, they, with sufficient other workmen to protect the property, were left at the mines when the strike was called. -- At various points today there were reports that train service was to be reduced but they lacked confirmation either from Walker D. Hines, federal
 director general of railroads, or, re- | gional directors
 At Gallup, N. M., 25 striking miners ] today were under arrest. Military : authorities ordered them taken into l custody when they attempted to hold 1 a meeting without obtaining 8 permit. ] Three wagon loa(ls of arms, owner l ship of which had not been established d l were seized. ~+ l Secretary of War Baker today had | before him a request from Governor I Robertson of Oklahoma, for troops to 1 be sent into that state to protect min 1 CTS who desired to re-enter the mines