Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-08-03
MINERS CAN FLOOD
MARKET WITH COAL
Workers Not Blamed for Short
age, Union Secretary
Declares
SHORTAGE OF CARS BLAMED

Special Dispatch TO Evening Public Ledger
Atlantic City, Aug. 3.-William
Green, international secretary of the
United Mine Workers, in conference
today with the executive council of the
American Federation of Labor, absolved
the miners of the country from any
responsibility whatsoever for fuel
shortage during the coming winter.
If there is to be a shortage the
fault must be placed elsewhere than at
the door Of the miners" Green declared
The trouble is cars" he continued.
That is where the blame rests.
Whether it is up to the railroads or the
operators, or to both. we are not pre-
pnred to say; but We do assert in un =
qualified terms that it certainly is not
the miners.
Give us the cars and we will give
the country all the coal it possibly can
use. We have the men to flood the
mar ket with coal if the cars are brought
to the mines so that we can load them.
Our position is not a pleasant one.
Our men want work; the country
seantS and must have coal. Somebody's s
thty it certainly is to produce the cars
at the mines so that we can load them
and the people will be guaranteed
against actual suffering and the sus-
pension of plants through lack Of fuel. /"
Plumbers Dispute Taken Up
With Samuel Gompers in the chair,
the executive council of the American
Federation sat today to hear u juris-
dictional dispute between the plumbers,
the sheet metal workers and the ma :
chinists. referred from the Montreal
convention to Atlantic City. No deci-
sion was reached.
Absence from the meeting of John
Lewis, president of the Mine Workers,
is said to indicate the miners will not
bring the wage question before the pres
ent session.
There is nothing for US to present
this time Secretary Lewis declared.
Our men are at work. We have no
present fight with anybody except that
we want work. We are waiting for the
report Of the anthracite commission with
interest, but it is not keeping us from
working in the meantime to the utmost
of our power"
No Such Thing as "Open Shop"
James Duncan, of Quincy, Mass, one
Of the most powerful men next to
Gompers and Morrison in the A. F. of
L., declared there was no such thing in
the country as the ''open shop" SO far
as labor is concerned.
"All this talk about a drive for an
open shop in industry is wearisome," "
the Massachusetts leader declared. "The
phrase is misleading. There is and
cannot be, so far as labor Is concerned,
an open shop. Under labor's point of
view there are but two kinds Of shops,
the union and the nonunion shop
President Gompers may have some =
tb;p1 20 aav IN fha prnaidaDtial gitua =
ton before the meeting here concludes.
Nothing today" he said this morning,
but NAV have something to say soon.
II all depends"
Labor, however, is prepared to go
along with President Gompers, Secre-
tary Morrison and other federation
chiefs in their proposal that labor, as
business proposition. shall support
its friends and vote against candidates
believed to be antagonistic 70 the aims
Of the national organization.
II Is a firmly established conviction
In high labor circles that the Wilson
administration has been successful, but
they are not ready to be delivered bod =
lily to q Democratic national ticket or
pledged to support Mr.. Wilson'S party
in it's state fights through gratitude.
Nothing Is asked of any man on
the score of either religion or politics
when he goes into labor union" a
man high in the councils Of the build
ing trades said today. 'He Is asked
only to be a union man and to vote for
the best interests of labor regardless OF
the politics Of the candidate he espouses
or opposes.
The executive council Is standing by
Mr.. Gompers in his uncompromising
contention that there can be no reduce
ton in wage scales until the high cost
Of living is reduced first. Resentment
IL strong over the alleged favoritism
shown to the farmer by Congress and
threats OF farmers organizations In the
West TO send the high cost Of farm
products still higher.