New-York tribune., 1922-02-13
Question Whether Broth
crhoods vii! Consent,
to Alliance Main Issue
at the Coming Council
Md Would Make
lie-up Effective
Leaders Comparc Silua-
zion With That Prcccd-
ing Big British Walk-Out
From q S'ar Correspondent

From S'a0 Norrcspoudcut
'NbIANAPOLIS, Feb. -. DELEGATES
representing the organized coal mine
workers Of the l'hjtcI States wiu os-
@"mh'" here Tucsda, uuAcr tho stand.
"'d Of tho United Nine Workers IF
America IN tic most important CON
Ncn'on IN that organizations history
ono which viii decide for or ara;n., -
course of action which. if adoptcd. NAV
lead to the first general coal strike in
this country.
That IN itscl. would be matter Of
WAL concern not only to the coal
miners and operators. but also to cn
pioyors and employees in all limos Of
American industry. to tho government
and to the public.
But what is Of oven orcator ;r,nor
'ance to the nntion is mat the miners
leaders, concurrent with placinp in
operation policies and demands 70
winch ;hcy and tAcir union viii give
ol''c'al sanction within the next few
Gays. arc to meet IN lhica9o on I-ch-
ruary p with the heads of +hc ra;1
roa" b'othorhooGs to effect what is at
iPaSt d@'lnltely hoped TO be an "uNdcr-
S'"Ed'Ng between tho mine and rail
'oa" WORKERS organizations for CON
ee''en acl'on IN the protection of their
interests. -
Rcticcn. on Alliance
John l.. lewis. president Of the
cnlfed Mime Workers. who planned the
Chicago coafcrence and ohtn;ncd t,e
conSenl OF Tho railroad brotherhood
officials to participate in it, vii not
SsaN tHat the formation OF a close al
nance between the 1000. .O0N vorlcr- in
'hc two lines of industry NAV be the
oN'eofN0 of the gathering or that cilch
an a!uanco even VIII bc pronosed
'herc. In statement annourcinc fro
scceptancc Of hs invitations h, tbo
orotheihood chiefs he said morelr thai
'he'' W'l'lngness to attend tho confer
e"o' "lndic2tcs toat the organi-. i rail
'o@u ana !N'ne workers have profound
appreciation Of the necessity for clnscr
Co. opera''on and reflects a determina-
Hon TO utilize every proper meonc or
projecting the interests of tbo ,,,na
employed IN these basic industries
However, tho mere calling Of suc1,
conference obviously means that som,
So'l o1 An alliance VIII be pronoscd
DC 1t called an "understandine' or nv
any other name. Tc what degree il ;s
to he cons dercd or effected can onl,.
be mattcr Of conjecture a. dis mo-
! 1rnl, as there arc infections that
even Mr.. Lewis and the Brotherhood
heads Wil not be prepared TO say lust
nov far they can 20 in the matter
until they assemble in the Great North
crn Hotel IN Chicago. where tho con
ference is to be held
British Strike a Precedent
Perhaps the chief signiicance Of tho
conference and It's boar;us ON national
interests is the still fresh lesson Of
what Happened in England in the
sprung OF last year. whcn tho coal
miners and railroad workers Of that
country. acting in mutual alliance. uayc
notice Of a general mine and transport
s'r'Hc because Of a sudden and drastic
cut n the miners wages. This was
av vcrtcd only by an eleventh hour Dc
cislon Of Parliament to intervene. with
a promise Of fair and honest action as
TO tho issues involved, and by last
minute repeal Of the strike notices
issued TO the railroad workers.
II is hardly to be denied by honest
with some bnowlcdgc Of hn-
man rassion.' comments Sir Philip
Gibbs in his "Alore That Can Be To|d."
'That England WAS very near TO rcvou
ton in tho critical days of tho coal
crisis IN the spring of 1921. 1t might /
have completed the ruin of Great
Britain and brought the empire down.
WhoreuDon he goes on TO place the
chief blame for what happened on the
of the government officials
and Che mine owners. with tho oceusa-
tion that "thev showed an immense
lack OF foresight. Grass ignorance Of
ordinary psychology, in allowing the
to come TO the crisis with a
crash However. he tempers this /
charge somewhat by the assertion that /
"it is clear that there was astonishing
on bo.h sides sheer stupid ,
ity and 4 little wic,>edness."
Similar to British Situation
All this is given prominence in tbs
article because an impartial view OF
Continued page three)