The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-09-10
STRIKE SITUATION HAS SMALL EFFECT
 ON LARGER MINES
Both Sides Claim Satisfaction With Way Things Are Going. Miners Again Say Sun
 day Tells Story

With reiterated claim on the part of the operators that very little over twenty per cent of the twenty-seven t sand miners in Alabama are idle and the counter claim of the union officials that something over forty per cent are idle, the Ala bama coal mining situation was about the same yesterday. as it was Wednesday,. The general strike call. effective Tuesday at midnight, has not had any thing like a general response. The coal production of some of the larger iron and steel producing interests is reported as fully up to normal. A number of mines on the Warrior river have been seriously handicapped. The largest of these is estimated to be a producer of about 800 tons per day. The Blossburg, Pratt Brookside and B1octon fields have been affected in spotted manner. The largest mines of the district report a greater pro- duction than usual.
 J. R. Kennamer, president of the Alabama union, had no figures to give out yesterday afternoon. He, however, repeated the statement heretofore made by union officials to the effect that work of organization is going on and that the strike will gain momentum with each passing day and reach climax by Sunday
 Operators repeat their belief that the union has shot it's bolt and that it's bullet is a spent one. The certain thing is that the majority of the coal miners in Alabama are at work and it is the minority that is idle. There is no outstanding indication of the strike gathering force
 LITTLE CHANGE Many of the mines, where there was a strike prior to the general strike call reported as great or greater pro- duction than before the call. Detailed report of production in a number of cases substantiated this claim. Some of the larger coal mines report larger production than before the strike.
 President Kennamer says the union has signed contracts with ten addi- tional operators since the strike call
  has contracts with over sixty operators Operators declare that many of these contracts are with very small produc- CTS and that they do not represent pro- duction near as much as they stand for numbers.
 None of the coal consuming industries of the district are so far in any dan ger of handicap in operations, the pro- duction of the coal on which they hait, iaia hai quirements. There Is so far no ap prehension that the strike will effect the general industrial status of the district adversely.
 INFORMAL CONFERENCE Former Governor Charles Henderson and Judge James J. MayfieId of the governors coal commission, continued their conferences yesterday with par ties to the controversy. Yesterday aft ernoon they gave audience to a large number of operators including their special committee. Legal counsel for the operators was also present. These conferences are altogether of an informal nature. No witnesses have been summoned and no stenographic report is being taken down. The com missioners are gathering information such as the contending parties feel in- clined to furnish them.
 
 commission. is expected to attend the conferences that will be held today. When MT. Henderson was asked to state the nature of the commission, of which he is a member. he smilingly replied: 'I do not know what we will develop into"
 So far the commission is merely one of investigation and is without any special authority.
 New men are being brought into the coal mine region by the operators. some coming from southern Alabama. Op orators claim that. prior to the strike call, just about 5000 men were on strike and that the places of over 2,000 of these had been filled. They estimate that 1,500 to 1,S00 new men have joined the idle ranks since the strike call but they cialm that many of these men are merely waiting to see which way the wind blows.
 COAL PRODUCTION
 Statistician Frank V. Evans gives the production of reporting mines for the week ending September as 253,2s2 tons and adds this comment: Sixteen companies failed to report. among them being the Alabama com pany, the Railway Fuel, Lehigh, South ern Coal and Coke and a number of smaller companies. The output of these not reporting mines is estimated at about 25 1000 tons."
 According to this. the output was about PTS, 900 tons, which is not far be- low the general average for some time past.
 Governor Kilby has issued orders to the mines employing state convicts that none of the product mined by convicts shall be exported from the United States. His intention is to conserve the production, as far as is possible, for the needs of the state The order will not change the present status la ;ote