New-York tribune., 1920-03-20
Wilson Fails
To Adjust Coal
Miners Dispute
Collapse of Arbitration Move
May Follow and the Con-
troversy Will Go Back
to Joint Wage Committee
Deadlock Now Expected
Hours and Penalty Clause
Block Plan to Appease
Workers and Operators


WASHINGTON, March 19.-Presi-
dent Wilson's efforts to settle the coal
miners dispute have failed. With the
failure, it is feared in official circles
here. the whole arbitration movement,
so far as the government is concerned,
has suffered serious reverse.
The whole controversy between the
miners and the operators is to be
thrown back for adjustment upon the
joint wage scale committees of the
two sides, thus placing it precisely
where it was last September, when
the United Mine Workers of America
issued the call for general walk-out
in the bituminous fields. These COM
mittees will meet in joint session some
time between now and April /, when
the present contract expires.
The failure was disclosed this after
noon following a call at the White
House by Attorney General Palmer
and Walker D. Hines, Director General
of Railroads. Upon leaving the exec
it be understood that at the Presidents
direction the conflicting reports SUBJ
mitted by the majority and minority
members of the Presidents commits
sion of three would be delivered to
the wage scale committees Of the
operators and miners, and the scale
committees left to work out q basis
of agreement.
Suggestions for Committees
At the same time the Attorney Cen
eral indicated that the scale commit
tees would be asked by the President
to seek an agreement on the basis OF
the majority report of the Presidents
commission, signed by Henry NJ. Rob
inson, the public's representative. and
Rembrandt Peale, the operators rep
resentative, which would grant to the
miners 25 per cent increase in wages,
as against their original demand for
60 per cent, but with no curtailment of
working hours and perpetuation OF
the automatic penalty clause. as
against the miners demand for
thirty-hour week and an elimination
Of penalty clause in the contract:
P. White, the miners representative
on the commission, holds out for an
increase. in wages in excess of 35 per
cent, it is understood, and grants the
curtailment of working hours and
elimination of the penalty clause.
Later in the day it was officially in
dicated at the White House that the
President had not intended to lay down
n fiat proposition to the scale commit
tees; that he still hoped for a unani-
nous agreement on the part of the
arbitration commissioners, and that he
would not give up hope Of a satisfac-
tory settlement of the dispute until the
last resource of the government had
been exhausted.
In spite Of this show Of optimism at
the White House, the belief generally
prevailed that tho differences between
the two sets of commissioners are
irreconcilable, particularly in the mat
ter of hours and the penalty clause, and
that when the scale committees meet
they will be confronted with findings
which neither the operators nor the
miners will be willing to accept, thus
foreshadowing another deadlock
The mine workers, it is declared, are
bitterly opposed to the majority find
ings of the committee, first because
not enough money is offered, and next
because no change whatever is provided
Tor IN the hours of labor. 1t is true
that the miners agree to abide by the
report of the committee, but their
spokesmen now say that they SO agreed
upon the flat understanding that the
report would be concurred in unani-
mously.
Operators Are Dissatisfied
Operators, on their part are dissat-
istied, not because Of the 25 per cent
increase promised to the miners by the
majority, but because the COMMITTEES
has made no provision for an increase
IN the mine price of coal sufficient to
absorb the wage advance which Com