The New York herald., 1922-07-30
SUNDAY, JULY 80. 1922.
The Soft Coal Situation.

The soft coal situation is again
improving. Strike leaders are more
than willing to negotiate possible
terms of settlement; they are becom-
ing eager. This is because the pro-
duction, which had been rising stead
lily until the means OF transport from
the non-union mines broke down, is
once more on the up swing. 1t never
should have been allowed to plunge
into the sudden collapse which be-
fell it two weeks ago for no other
reason than inexcusable failure to
have enough coal cars, locomotives
and train crews at the non-union
mines to haul their rapidly increas
ing product to market.
There is no argument that appeals
to strike leader with more force
;nan the fact that the thing he is
striking against is doing better and
better without him and his mis-
guided followers. There is no an
swering the truth that under law and
order coal can be mined in spite of
strike leaders.
JOHN l.. LEWIS, president of the
United Mine Workers, and his asso-
clates in the management of the ma
tionwide strike made the worst kind
of mistake in rejecting President
HARDING's peace proposal in the face
OF more and more soft coal coming
out of the ground. With two-thirds
Of the country's bituminous needs be-
ing supplied at that time by the non
union mines the country could not
get into dire straits for lack of
bituminous product. Moreover, with
the output capable of continued
rise the product, under the forced
draft speed, was then very likely,
except for the transport breakdown,
and is now again very likely to take
care soon of three-quarters of the
country's soft coal needs.
Add to that the fact that there is
and will be gradual resumption of
production by mines closed by the
strike but reopening in response to
the Presidents call and under pro-
lection from violence, crime and muir
der, and there is now every reason
for the coal strike leaders to seek a
settlement before the strike is lost
altogether in a good part of the ter
-itory which formerly was strongly
unionized.
The worst remaining aspect of the
rtrike leaders attitude is their per-
sisting contention that they will not
go back to work on any agreement
for an arbitration decision as to what
the wage scale and working condi-
tions shall be in case the operators
and the unions are unable to nego-
tiate and close new contract If they
will not arbitrate under any circum-
stances they cannot be right. If they
lave no faith in their cause nobody
else can have faith in their cause.
For the strike leaders to say that,
falling an agreement with the opera
tors. they never would let disinter-
ested, impartial. public spirited arbi-
traitors name a scale and working
conditions based on a thorough in
yestigation of the facts involved is
for the strike leaders to confess that
in their scale contention they have
not leg to stand on and know they
have not.
Under the Harding plan the mine
workers we're sure OF getting a
square deal. and this Is all that any
body can ask in the solution of a
great public problem. But If they
wait too long in coming to some sort
OF settlement they may have to take
from the mine owners less than a
square deal. and this would be as re-
grettable as il would have been for
them TO get more than square deal.
But perhaps the coal strike leaders
are coming to their senses, with a
realization that there are three
parties in this national question
the coal workers, the coal owners and
the American public. Nothing less
than the right treatment for all three
will do