Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-03-22
COAL MEN FEAR
VOLCANO HIDES
IN INDICTMENT
Arrests of Operators Held to
Be FCrerunner of Re
vision of Business.
MANY ISSUES INVOLVED
BULLETIN.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind, March
22.-Attorneys for the Indiana
district of the United Mine
Workers of America this after
noon received a list of the miners
officials here wanted by the fed
eral government on an Indictment
returned by the federal grand
jury charging 125 miners and
operators with violation of the
Lever law.
The list includes Edward
Stewart, district president of the
union; w. H. Raney, district vice
president, and William Mitch,
secretary.
Others named in the list were
Harry Sutch of shelburn, Eugene
Hall of Jasonville; Charles Stet-
niger of WinslOw, John Hessler
of Terre Haute, formerly a mem
Der of the executive board of the
United Mine Workers, and Harry
Lentz of Evansville.
With more arrests of coal opera
tors and miners imminent and a gen.
eral revision of the entire industry
throughout the country theatened.
Indiana coal men today began to real
ize the true significance of the federal
indictment returned against 125
operators and miners ten days ago.
The arrest Of five operators Saturday
and the announcement that more arrests
will follow Immediately has put high Of
icials in the industry on the qui vive.
At the states various coal centers the
predominant conversation is based en- the
indictment and the possibility Of what
the immediate future viii bring forth
The fact that only meager information as
TO the charges against those indicted is
available has added to the concern Of
those thought to be included under the
charges and il is the prevalent opinion
that II the prosecution Of the case proves
successful IL Will cause 4 general revision
OF the entire coal industry in the United
States.
REPORTED ISSUES
IN INDICTMENT.
The belief Of lea ding operators and union
mine officials is that charges in the indict-
ment returned were based on the joint
L. ,eopfarouaa ha%~r rnfr
and operators held in Buffalo Sept. 25,
1919; the publication Of price quotations
and the exchange Of data concerning cost.
extension and methods Of production; the
check of system Of paying miners dues
from wages; the system of making con-
tracts on estimates Of production, and the
general negotiations between operators
and miners on the conduct of the coal In
dustry.
When the special grand jury to fnves-
tigate the coal situation first went into
session the fact was taken lightly by
coal men At that time II Was generally
believed that no indictments would be
returned. This opinion was strengthened
by the belief that practically the same
evidence on which the present Indictment
is based was presented 10 L Ert Slack
in 1917. when Mr.. Slack WAS district at
torney, and that no action on 1t was
forthcoming.
FIRST REGARDED
AS A BLUFF.
The coal investigation was started In
the heat OF the miners strike Of last year
when government oficinls were striving
TO bring about a settlement in face Of an
apparent deadlock between operators and
miners. It was thought at the time that
the Investigation was called more OF less
as blur to hasten a settlement and
that ii would be held as club over the
heads Of coal men until q satisfactory
settlement of the strike was made. The
fact that the investiga ton was started
during injunction cases against miners
strengthened this belief.
Even after the strike situation was
partially relieved under the functioning
OF the national coal commission little
serious thought was given to the prog
ress Of the coal jury and it was thought
that the entire Investigation would end
without serious charges being returned
The grand jury report OF 125 men in
heted was made st the same time tile
coal commission submitted it's report to
the government at Washington. The con-
troversy that Immediately followed this
report and the delay in making arrests
brought faint hope that there was still
a chance that the government wpuld
drop proceedings in case a satisfactory
Continued on Page Two.)