The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1922-03-31
mo EXCUSE FOR
HIGHER COAL
Declares Secretary of La
Dor Davis on Strike
Situation
SUPPLY ENOUGH
FOR TWO MONTHS
In Addition to the Coal
Which Non-union Men
Will Mine

i Washington, d. G., March 3l.- While
4 stating that general strike in union
lied bituminous coal mines is certain
to begin Saturday, Secretary OF Labor
Davis declared in statement last
night that the situation leaves mo ex-
cuse for advance in coal prices aud
no prospect of coal shortage for public
use,
Reviewing the governments efforts
during the last two months to achieve
settlement in advance, Mr.. Davis ex-
pressed keen disappointment at the
| failure of certain operators TO fulfill
| the terms of their obligation TO con-
fer with miners for the making Of new
wage agreements which might have
prevented suspension of work.
"All the governments efforts in the
proffer of mediation. Cancellation and
compromise he said 'shave failed to
save the country from the national
strike test of economic strength be-
tween the employer and employee in
the coal industry. s, In this effort,
the president and myself have had
neither legal right nor personal desire
to dictate any program. Our one de-
sire has been to induce, by PERSIA
ton and urgence, the operators and
miners to discharge the obligation they
assumed themselves, to confers again
for, the shaping of new agreement"
The miners, the secretary said, had
always been willing to confer through
their union representatives, but the
operators, although for differently as
signed reasons in several localities had
turned their backs on a chance to lay
bare, not only to the miners, but to
the public at least their reasons for
declining new wage agreement" A
conference for the operators, he added, |
would have removed any stigma of
bad faith.
'sThere may be faults on both sides
of the bit,minous dispute" he de-
clared "but the side that openly re-
pudiates its written and signed obi
cation has crippled its case before The
bar of public opinion"
The agreement repudisted, the state
ment explained, was that contained in
in the wage contract between oper
dtOia anu iilHts1 III lltG trIAl 1
petitiye fields, including Illinois, In
LLAMA, Ohio and western Pennsylva
MIA, which has constituted the basis
wage contract for all other coal fields
n former years.
Further complications in the coal
industry, Mr.. Davis continued, were
lue to the existence of over -produc-
ion, amounting TO fully thirty per Z
ent over development in the bitumi- /
lous fields. One result of this, ii was I
'ointed out, was to leave available in /
forage now stocks Of coal estimated I
i ten million tons for anthracite and ,
8 10000 tons for bituminous.
This means that railroads, public 4
manufacturing industries and r
etail dealers will have on hand Sat j,
rday nearly two months supply Mr.. lb
LAWS concluded. "The operators state
bat production from non union mines /,
ill meet at least fifty per cent OF =
be normal needs of the country =
IS the strike in the bituminous in
ustry is inevitable the industry is :
lrcly on trial before the public. At Il
lis stage IT is simply an economic 4
spute in which the chief sufferers will n
! the miners and the operators them 4
'lyes. The administration will watch (,
he developments and be ready 10 safe =,
lard the public welfare whenever it
menacedv :
Any rise in prices, he said. should r
reported to Washington at once
r action by the attorney general"