Evening star., 1922-07-02
FAIL TO END COAL
STRIKE AT -FOUR
MEETINGS HERE
Operators and Mining Men
See President and
Other Officials.
BITUMINOUS SESSION
TO CONTINUE TODAY
Hoover Acts to Avert Disruption
in Clash Over Rep
resentation.


The conference called by President
thing the coal strike, assembled yes
terday. listened to the Presidents
admonition that if the settlement
effort failed the servants of the
american people will be called to the
task in the name of American safety.
Grouped into one gathering for the
anthracite and second for the BIZ
luminous. and adjourned in double
deadlock. the bituminous representa-
lives. by far the larger group. after
q controversial session adjourned un-
til tomorrow at o'clock while the
anthracite contingent set its next
meeting for Thursday.
Only the intervention of Secretaries
Hoover and Davis, the government
representatives in the bituminous
meeting, prevented vote being cast
on which these negotiations might
have ended.
Question of Representation.
Hardly had the bituminous dele
gates assembled in executive session,
after hearing the Presidents address
Of welcome, before John l. Lewis.
president of the United Mine Work
ers of America, raised a question as
TO the representative character of the
operators spokesmen present. He
demanded to know why the New
River and kanawha fields of West
Virginia. the Upper Potomac fields
of Maryland. Kentucky and Ten
nessee had no representatives pres
ent.
A NJ Ogle. president Of the Ma
tional Coal Association, and also
chairman of the committee: responded
that operators representatives had
been named only from those districts
seeking a conference with the miners
union.
Secretary Hoover INTERVIEWED and
the matter for the time being was
passed over.
Immediately the original issue be-
tween the bitunlinous operators of
unionized mines and the miners
union, of which attempts failed to
bring about negotiations before the
strike took place, was raised, dead
locking the meeting for the rest of
the day.
Plan to Resume Work.
H. n. Taylor, president of the
Southwestern Interstate Operators
Association. formally asked that the
conference recommend that resump-
tion of work be brought about by
district wage negotiations by opera
tors and the union.
The proposal was attacked by Mr.
Lewis. by William Green, secretary of
the union, and b. John Broppy,
Pennsylvania district president. One
by one practically all the operators
present rose to support Mr.. Taylor's
motion, Rice Miller, president of the
illinois operators: T. H. Watkins.
head of the Central Coal Association
of Pennsylvania; Don Rose of the
Pittsburgh association, Tracy W.
Guthrie of the Hillman Coal and
Coke Company and Chairman Ogle be-
ing included among the number. 1t
was said that support was evidenced
for district settlements by the entire
delegation of employers.
Mr. Lewis later COuntefed with pre-
liminary motions to substitute for the
district settlement recommendation a
proposal that the conference urge
negotiations through a joint central
competitive field wage committee of
miners and operators, declaring this
the usual practice. The discussion
ran on, until vote was called. Here
Secretaries Hoover and Davis inter-
for consideration and instead of vot-
ing on the counter proposition the
meeting adjourned.
Possible Federal Offer.
Participants on both sides were
uniformed last night as to whether
the government had a plan to offer
between the contending sides. Some
indications existed that this was the
case, although there was doubt on
the point.
During the discussion the union
representatives mentioned a possi-
bility of national wage conference as
substitute for both propositions.
President Harding's address was
taken to mean that by arbitration or
otherwise the government might seek
intervention.
STUDY PRESIDENTS SPEECH.
'veiled Implication" Subject for