Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-11-07
CRISIS in COAL STRIKE
UNCHANGED AS CABINET
DISCUSSES SITUATION
DRIVE ON RADICALS
BY GOVERNMENT
FIRMLY LAUNCHED
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
The United States government re-
fuses to surrender it's power of in
junction and insists that the coal
strike be called off
That in a nutshell is what Attorney
General A. Mitchell Palmer told Sam
uel Gompers. president of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor, who came as
an intermediary in the hope of set
Ting the coal strike. Unquestionably
he was acting with the knowledge of
though he was careful in his conference
to represent himself only as a go-be-
tween.
The Attorney General listened to
the argument of Mr.. Gompers. who
was accompanied by Frank Morrison
and Mathew Vol. vice president and
secretary, respectively, of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor. They point
ed out the difficulties and dangers OF
the restraining order whose character
is to be made permanent or not, &C
cording as Judge Anderson rules in
the federal court at Indianapolis to-
morrow. But it seems certain that
unless the coal strike is called off the
injunction will be made permanent
in extricating themselves from legal
entanglements will be increased.
Without Definite Promise.
Mr. Gompers was unable to promise
definitely that II the government
withdrew its application for a perma-
nent Injunction the coal strike would
be called of. He could present no
guarantee to that effect. no assurance
on behalf of any organization. He had
simply an abiding faith" that If the
government withdrew the injunction
the coal strike could be settled in
forty eight hours.
The Attorney Generals answer was
characterized by spirit of f1rmness
and finality that was unmistakable.
He declared that in his opinion the
striking. He said they had been asked
not to strike, but had ignored the re-
quest of the President of the United
States and had hounted the authority
Of the government. So long as the
strike was in progress the illegality
government could not for a moment
countenance Illegally. He would rot
request she miners To- call on tine
stf,sss ~ pr1Miane vnSI that the ne
would make no promises. All he
would say was that II the strike were
called 20. llesalitx, sse y. cease.
: Situation At Present.
The situation resolves itself. there
fore. into this: Should the coal miners
present to the federal court a state
ment saying that the strike order had
been revoked the government would
simultaneously present request that
the Injunction be vacated.
Mea9r8 GOmDprS. WOll and MOrri-
son retired to think it over Just as
the Attorney General motored from
the Department of Justice to the
Executive Mansion. where he dropped
prior to the beginning Of the cabinet
meeting in the adjacent Offices of the
White House.
The Attorney General is just back
from a brief visit to Pennsylvania,
where he went to vote and also to
Pennsylvania cities and state officials
at Harrisburg. He used the oppor-
tunity to drive home an attack on
James Maurer, president of the State
Federation Of Labor of Pennsylvania,
who had just persuaded the state
convention of his organization to call
a general strike throughout Pennsyl-
vania. The Attorney General drew a
distinction between labor leaders of
the radical type like Maurer and the
..
L cannot believe" he said, that
the vast body of the membership of
the State Federation Of Labor, which
is loyal and patriotic. will support
this revolutionary plan. Such meth
DDS will set back the righteous cause
it will undo much that ne wise. able
and patriotic leaders Of organized la
Dor have been able to accomplish in
America. The high position of Amer
lean labor today is due chiefly to the
splendid leadership of men like Sam
can Federation Of Labor. and William
B. Wilson. Secretary of Labor. an hon.
ored citizen of our own state.
But Maurer is not of their kind.
He has avowed his purposes in no
uncertain manner. At mass meet
ing of socialists at Arion Hall. Port
land, Ore, July 20. 1917. Maurer said:
Quotes Maurer's Speech.
"why are we at war? Because
Morgan, Schwab, Wilson and others
ish security and because the moneyed
powers want war. so as to sell more mu-
nitions. What is CONSUMPTION? Today
the conscript is called before an ex-
aiming board and given q similar
examination as the slave to deter
of you people can show me the diff
ference between the conscript today
and the slave Of 1851, I will gladly
listen to you
"At a meeting held in Detroit jan
uary S, 1919, Maurer further said:
"I et me say to my socialist friends
and to my anarchist friends that you
cannot be too revolutionary for me, for
| am as revolutionary as the next one,
but I am not preaching that bomb and
torch stuff l am not altogether sat
isfied with the American Federation OF
Labor and perhaps some of you are not.
but go on the inside and make it be
what you want it to be.
I'VE too, have our spying system
and know every one of them referring
to the spies of the capitalists), and by
and by some of them are going to get
hurt. I would advise them to go into
the hills somewhere and shoot them
selves"
Hopes for Brighter Day.
The Attorney General read other
excerpts and said: ''It will be glad
day for labor in America when men
Of the Maurer type lose their influence
in it's councils. Until that day comes.
We can give the honest patriotic work
ingmen OF the nation no greater help
than by preventing the Maurers and
the Fosters from accomplishing their
thinly concealed revolutionary plans"
The Palmer speech is most signif1-
can't. 1t is the beginning of con-
certed drive on radicalism on the part
OF the Wilson administration. of which
President Wilson'S telegram TO Gov.
Coolidge corgratulating him on his
election in Massachusetts. as VIC
4 i