Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1922-04-01

closest of contact and study on the part
of the president and his advisers which
began long before general recognition of
the strike danger. However. the church
men, whose delegation included among
others Rev Worth NJ TiT4qy, of the Fede-
raj council, and the Rev Father John A.
Ryan. for the National Catholic Council,
said they had found President Harding
sympathetic and considered he would
support any steps congress might be in
duced to take to set up machinery for set
Ting the strike.
Since last October President Harding
personally. as well as Secretaries Hoover,
Davi and Mellon and other cabinet offic-
crs have anticipated the break and there
have been intermittent negotiations in the
endeavor to bring the minG workers ana
the mine operators, particularly, in the
hitrnlinous fields, into a conference to dis
cuss wage agreements.
In October. operators in the central
competitive bituminous fields agreed aft
er a meeting with President Harding to
go into such a conference with the pos
s .biIitv Of preventing a general suspen-
sion Of work. Officers of the United Mine
Workers, the union directly concerned,
were however unable at the time to agree
to confer. because a national convention OF
the union had to be assembled to give them
power to act.
Later the convention was assembled
but thereafter operators of the coal mines
| in Western Pennsylvania particularly re-
| fused to go forward with the conference
| plan for reaching a new semi-natlonal
wage agreement. Although it is consid-
| cred by the administration that while the
mining interests of Illinois, Indiana, and
Ohio, the other states in the central fields
irf n
national wage agreement. the refu2al Of
| the Pennsylvania contingent was suicient
| to block the conference plan.
This refusal which was persisted in to
| the r1oint of ''obduracy," It was said at the
White House, had left the government
with nothing more to do than the general
welfare demanded. Existence of large
surplus stocks of coal, with the Hkeli-
hood that neither shortage nor rrice dis
turbance would eventuate from the str1ke
| for some time, now has resulted in the
| governments determination to refrain
2. rom any sort of forcible Intervention in
he industry until and unless need for
| such action becomes, evident.
Federal reserve bank and Geological
e'urvey statements were issued today,
| bearing upon the recent over-production
If coal, which has bulked largely in White
| House and labor department a~7raacea
that moderate prices and plentiful sup
ply of fuel were assured.
The reserve bank said that bituminous
users recently had so an11lifed, thei1
stocks that even the fear of strike had
not sufficed to prevent q. falling off in de-
mand and a weakening of prices.
The Geological Survey asserted thai
"even though most of the coal mines in the
country should remain closed down fol
three months, citizens Of our larger cities
need fear no interruption of light an<
power services"
It's queries during recent weeks have
disclosed large public utilities whose stocl
piles will last for one hundred and sixty
days while average stores have run De
tween forty-eight and seventy-one days il
potential capacities. Railroads, manufac
turers and dealers alike have reportef
similar conditions for official records.
This 4ituation. marking the prese1
coal strike as different from former ones
was uncficially classed as being re-
sponsible for a rather cool acceptance O
the strike in informed labor union, in
dustrial and official circles. because
strike or no strike, it was tending to pro
duce a fairly widespread suspension o
coal mining, particularly in bituminou
fields,