Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-06-30
HARDING TRYING
TO END STRIKE.
President, Secretary Davis and
Lewis at White House
Conference.
TALK NEARLY THREE HOURS
Senate Committee on Labor to Initi-
ate an Independent Move to
End Coal Mine Tieup if
Farley Fails.

Washington, June 28.-President
Harding, Secretary of Labor Davis
and President Lewis Of the United
Mine Workers, conferred at the White
House for nearly three hours on ways
and means Of bringing about a ma
tional conference Of operators and
miners to end the coal strike.
The next move planned is to bring
a representative group of operators to
the White House within few days.
They viii present their side to the
President as Lewis did and out Of the
two conferences the President will
find basis on which to call ma
tional meeting of the belligerents.
Regardless Of the outcome of Sec
rotary Davis effort to bring the OPP
orators and the miners into joint
conference under administration aus
pieces, the senate committee on labor
will initiate an Independent movement
to end the strike should the proposed
parley fail OF a definite result.
Both branches of the government
realize that the three months dead
lock must be broken if the public is
not to suffer acutely from tied-up
industry and a coal shortage.
Secretary Of Commerce Hoover
came to the White House Immediately
after the conference ended. He met
Lewis accidentally outside the execu-
tive offices, and though warm CORE
spondence has passed between them
on the subject of the strike, the cabi-
net member and the strike leader
smiled and shook hands.
Secretary Hoover remained with the
President. for half an hour and de-
clined afterward to make any state
ment, but it was understood that his
visit had to do with bringing the OPP
orators to Washington.
Secretary Davis made no formal
statement, saying that Lewis state
ment covered the ground, but he SAID
that unless a settlement were made
soon developments might take a pc
culiar turn" He refused to amplify
this cryptic remark, but it was taken
to mean that the government consid-
cred putting through a form of gov
eminent control Of the industry.
President Lewis stood pat on his
determination to engage in no district
conferences with the operators, de-
claring that theaArganized miners will
negotiate only with a representative
tonnage from the central competitive
field, Pennsylvania, Ohio. indiana and
Illinois. He made no comment on the
rioting in the latter state. Mr.. Lewis
said:
1--WE discussed the problem over de-
velopment of the mining industry with
its excess number of mines and the
excess number Of miners employed,
the intermittency and the inadequacy
of employment and the various ques-
tions affecting a possible sterilization
of the bituminous industry, with rela-
ton to the present strike.
1--WE considered a possible national
conference of operators and miners
and the merits of distinct joint con-
ferences as related to the usually fol-
lowed procedure of central competi-
tive field conferences, or a national
representative conference based on
representative tonnage.
mo definite plan was decided upon.
The strike situation is not changed.
There has been no change in my atti-
tude or in the attitude of the organ
lied miners in reference to the dis
trict conference. So far as the United
Mine Workers are concerned the dead
lock continues.
Il may say that I explained to the
President the utter futility of district
conferences. More than two decades
of collective bargaining have shown
that the operators in the central COM
petitive field will not make agree
ments which may change their status
in relation to competitors in other
fields"