South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-04-03

them 20 eXpend one million dollars
and brave company-e sher-
IFS and machine guns 20 organize
;he West Virginia mines. They per-
ceived that the lowering of wages
there and the unfair" competition
in selling Goa which that proceed
ing made possible. would torpedo
the wage aspiration Of the entire
industry. The same contrast pre-
vented the non-union miners OF
of West Virginia from seeing this
point They could only see that. AT
the moment they were better off
with their lowered wages than their
organized brothers with wages fixed
by contract Certainly their con-
viction in favor OF organization
was too shaky 20 stand against the
violence and oppressive military
tactics employed by the companies
in suppression OF unionism. The
attempt 90 unionize them failed ut
-erly
Consequence OF Failure.
Today the United Mine Workers
find themselves up against the con
sequences of that failure 10 domi-
nate a section which. at capacity.
can. i'm the event OF strike. supply
nearly all the present slackeued de-
nand for coal So long as the pub
dc is not distressed the government
IS not likely 10 intervene so force
| fully as 1t did in the strike Of No
vember. 1919. Nor Will the opera
tors have any great incentive to
. frrrr q fa,e
+ the beginning of the slack season.
/ There Will be no open arms for the
miners i'm other industries when the
/ strike drags on and the families
/ grow hungry. All the rri,1uons
VIII be on one side only-the
miners side. Consequently. unless
/ their army OF a half million or
/ ganized members contemplates some
more direct action than has hitherto
/ been attempted II would seem that
( the miners must fail in the accom-
( plishment OF their immediate de-
/ mands-the maintenance of the
present wage scale. the six-hour
day, and the five-day week
Perhaps it was the hope essness
OF their cause that made the con
: ventlon of the miners az Indianap-
oils IN February turn recklessly
! radical international officers and
/ others qualified TO advise them cried
out that the inclusion OF the de-
mand for the siX-hOur day and the
fve-day week was committing sui
eide" but 10 no avail. for those
/ demands the miners proceeded to
ratify by a heavy majority Their
/ reason. as stated in their resolu-
. tons, was that mining is a haz-
ardous occupation" and men en-
/ gagged in underground toll work I'M
der conditions carrying with Il an
I intense nervous strain superinduced
by the constant and countless in
. iuries and fatalities which occur.
and under atmospheric conditions
which sap their vitality and make
( them victims of occupational dis
cases"
Question Raised
The prediction Of the failure OF
. the POSSIBLE strike so far as these
/ specific demands are concerned
/ raises the question whether or not
the strike should be called. Rene
. dies need TO be found for the con-
T ditions that have given rise to these
I demands and to the operators re-
fusal TO deal with the unions as
| heretofore The industry needs to
! be overhauled on the administra,
I tive and the retail side, above ALL
and congress. the only power that
/ can bring about its overhauling on
/ this side. needs to be sharply prick
/ ed into action. A strike may sup
/ ply the necessary goad.
The first dificulty-the unfair