The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-03-31
MINERS WILL
STOP WORK
AT MIDNIGHT
ldleness Starts Six Hours
Earlier at Some Mines-Ex-
tent Not Known Until Sat-
urday Morning.
ORDER STATE SUPPLIES
BULLETIN

BULLETIN
PANA, H., March 31-The first act
ual stoppage of work in the southern
Illinois coal field occurred shortly be-
fore noon today when 500 miners
! packed their tools and went home.
BULLETIN
INDIANAPOLIS, March 31.-AIl
state institutions have been directed
! 10 acquire 90-day stack of coal, Fred
RoDinson, state purchasing agent said
today. Such a reserve, he said. was
| unusual, and was being acquired to
| make certain that any increase of
prices might not be paid by the state
/ during the miners strike Most in
| ititutions, he declared, had stocks that
would last more than q month and a
few he said had almost the 80 day
supply.
! BULLETIN
! INDIANAPOLIS, March 31.-The
Kansas Industrial court order extend
{ ing the present wage agreement be-
tween operators and miners in Kan
sas for 80 days will not stop the sus-
J 7
midnight tonight, according to Presi-
dent John L. Lewis of the United
! Mine Workers of America.
| "The strike in Kansas will become
operative at midnight, and will be
J thoroughly effective declared Mir.
Lewis
| fBy Associated Press)
| INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. March 81
| The last day of work under present
wage contracts was completed today
| by the country's half million union
coal miners. Officially, their suspen-
/ sion of work was set to begin tonight
at midnight. but virtually it was to-
start six hours ahead of schedule for
most miners end their shift in the
mines at that hour. The extent of
the suspension, however, will not be
an exact certainty until tomorrow, the
first day of the shutdown.
| complete tie-up of the union field
in 20 states was predicted today by
officials of the United Mine Workers
of America at the union headquarters
here, and they also asserted that
100000 non-union workers would Law
down their picks President John L.
Lewis again predicted that at least
100000 men would join the walkout,
his estimate including the non-union
participants. No final Instructions to
district leaders were planned to be is
sued today from union headquarters,
and officials declared any move avert
ing the suspension was now impos-
sible.
I'VE are ready for fight, forced on
us by the operators" declared Mr..
Lewis. I'VE have sought in every
honorable way to get new contracts,
but the operators have persistently re-
fused to deal with us. Then. too. the
powerful non-union interests have
tried in every possible way to per-
suade the union operators to fight the
United Mine Workers in order tha,
the non-union interests may reap I
/ financial harvest by operating during
| the strike'
20 States Affected
/ Twenty states will be affected by
the shutdown, and the only union men
expected to continue producing coal
are 5000 workers in southwestern
Kentucky, whose contract with op-
orators does not expire until April l,
1923. In addition, forces of union
men will be left in the mines to pro.
tect the property from damage.
l Pennsylvania will turn out the larg-
est number of men, and other states
to be affected are West Virginia, Ohio.
Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri Kan
sas, Oklahoma. Arkansas, Texas, Ala
bama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mary
land, Michigan. Montana, Wyoming.
Colorado and Washington. Western
Canada also is expected to join the
+ suspension, but not the Nova Scotia
district.
Not only is Pennsylvania expected to
send out the greatest force of the
union men. but also the union Off
cials anticipate a big exodus from the
non-union mines of that state The
anthracite districts, which are half
unlonlZed, are expected to be shut
down completely. and in addition
many bituminous miners from the
central part of that state have been
called on to join with the union men
there. West Virginia, Kentucky Ala.
bama and Washington also are ex
pected by the union officials to exper
ience idleness at the non-union mines
of those states, the most important OF
these strikes being from the New
River and Winding Gulf fields of West
Virginia.
Duration Unknown.
Ine duration of the suspension In
the union fields, as also the strike a.
the non-union mines, is a matter of
conjecture. The shutdown begins with
warm weather approaching and with
stocks on hand the largest at any time
for the last several years. Government
reports placed the stocks at Sc, ,000. 900
tons, quantity rs large as that which
had accumulated at the end of the,
war-Armistice Day, Nov H., 1918. 81
{ This supply, government officiau
estimate, will meet every demand fdh
/ 43 days, and the depletion of this re,
, serve is regarded by union officials as
necessary before they expect the btu,
minous operators to indicate any Wi
!liDgness to confer with the union On
, new wage contracts. sNs
| Conduct Negotiations.
: Anthracite operators, however, A.
, ready are conducting wage negot.a-
tions with the union, and an earlier