New Britain herald., 1920-01-05
MINERS GATHER IN STRIKE CONVENTION Protest Governments Unjust
 Attitude" in Controversy WANT NO FURTHER TROUBLE

WANT NO FURTHER TROUBLE
 son's Commission of Three Which
 Will Investigate Their Complaints
 of Low Wages.
 Columbus, O.. Jan. 5.-More than 2.OO0 delegates representing the 4OO,- 900 coal miners of the United States were assem bled here today for the convention which is to sdiscuss the set tlement of the nationwide strike ter minated on December 10 by a truce proposed by President Wilson which gave the miners at IA per tcent.t AadA vance ill wages Plans are also to be formulated for presenting to the com mission of three men appointed by the president to consider all matters in dispute and report within 60 days, final terms of settlement.
 John F. White, one of the members of the commission was here today to attend the convention and to obtain from the miners direct their attitude in the controversy before taking up with the scale committee in Washing ton next week hearings on the miners demands.
 International officers of the United Mine Workers of America in agreeing to declare the recent miners strike at an end, decided to submit to the in evitable although protesting in our hearts against what we believed to be the unjust attitude of our govern ment," according to the report of Acting President John l.. Lewis, and Secretary-Treasurer Wm. Green at the convention today.
 Reviews Controversy
 This report reviews the miners controversy for the date of the Cleve- land convention up to the present time. Few, if any developments not already made public are revealed and there is not the slightest hint that another strike is contem plated.
 The international officers in their report state that high hopes are en- tertaincd that the decisions to be reached by the commission of three appointed by President Wilson will be fair and just as to meet with the general approval of our membership"
 Members of the commission are highly praised and declared to be linen of high character, trained in the condition of industrial questions"
 International officers, the report states, realized "botter than the mem bership of our unions, the purpose and determination of the federal gov ernment' and decided to accept the plan proposed by President Wilson, which called for an immediate in crease of IA per cent.
 The original demands of the miners called for an increase of GO per cent in thn time the nrpnDtnncp was made, the report continues, it was pointed out to the miners leaders that the strike had passed from a mere controversy between operators and miners over a question of wages to an issue between the supremacy of law and the ability of the government to enforce its mandates and decrees. ''In other words. it was no longer I controversy between employees and employers but instead a test between the strength of a group of working men and the government itSelf.'
 The report states that at the time of the Cleveland convention, when the strike order was tentatively issued mo one could foresee the turn events have taken and the necessity in meet ing tho new and unexpected situations which have arisen. It has been found quite impossible to follow the. rigid and intleNible policy laid down at the i Cleveland convention.
 We have been forced to adjust l ourselves to a changed situatiO not 1 contemplated or considered when the origiual plans and policies were l adopted.
 "The Lever law. a wartime meas [ ure. is still in effect. Under it's pro- visions. the government exercised it's wartime powers and was fully sup ported by the judicial. military legis- lative and executive branches of the government.
 , The court construed the Lever law , to mcan that where two men agreed ! to quit mining coal they were guilty of a conspiracy and subject to the i punishment of the Lever law. l we ere confident that 1t was not generally understood by our member ship that this wartime measures wore still In effect or that tho Lever law denied our membership tho right to strike or applied to them in any way whatsoever.
 we hnvo ordccvored 10 meet tho most trying situntiona ever preaont ed to tho officers of labor orsnni2a ion, in q broad minded constructive way Wo could not afford, at any tlmo. to
 Pa