South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-04-03
WHAT THE COAL STRIKE MEANS
By Frank (. Herring.

been accustomed 20 follow suit
on these following
suit" even when. during the war.
wages were revised upward At
that time mine labor. in the pres
ence OF a great demand for labor
and the offer OF high wages in other
Industries. was becoming scarce.
The non-union operators were
obliged TO abide by the union rates
or suffer the loss Of their men
This contract OF 1917 revising
wages upward was FOR the duration
OF the war" only With the cessa-
ton OF active hostilities in the fall Of
1918. the tremendous demand for
coal which had marked war indus
try began 10 slump and by the
spring Of 1919 had slumped alarm
ingiy. The miners in spite OF their
war contract for higher wages,
could not be given working Gays
enough 10 make them a decent liv-
ing Living costs moreover were
mounting The consequence we all
remember.
In September 1919. the miners
in their biennial convention voted
that the war was over and their
contract "for its duration ended.
They proposed new contract
which had for its salient points a
90 percent increase in wages. "a six
hour day and a five-day week.
According 10 the custom OF years
these demands were submitted 30
the representatives of the operators
Of the Central Competitive Field in
joint conference. Upon taeir re-
lection by the representa- tives Of
union called the men out Of the
mines.
Public Distress.
The strike began Nov / and last
ed six weeks. Before Il was far on
its way the prospect Of acute
public distress moved the govern
ment 10 intervene BY an injunction
the funds OF the union were tied up.
Then the union leaders and many
( leading soft coal operators were In
dicted for conspiracy, and finally. the
coal operators and the miners were
persuaded to agree TO a temporary
, final arbitration by a presidential
commission. This commission I'm the
| spring of 1920 made it's award. fur
ther increasing wages for the union
workers.
Both the union and the nOn-union
operators took these awards with
good grace because it had become
apparent that the coal business was
about 10 experience another boom.
| A lack OF railroad cars. the shortage
of coal supplies In some sections oc-
/ casioned by the strike and by the
public's delay in stocking up at the
earliest moment possible coupled
with a big export demand put a
premium on immediate deliveries of
/ coal. Gambling in coal followed
I Most of the big companies, accord
/ ing to the best information. deplor-
ed 1t and refused 10 accept inordin-
ate profits, but hundreds Of other
companies took 100 per cent profit
at the mine mouth. The miners did
not want TO be left out of all this,
naturally. and some class of workers
were able 10 force vase scale amend
ments providing higher rates Of pay.
Disastrous Year.
There came an end 10 il i'm the
I disastrous year 1921. when the
wheels of industry elsewhere slowed
down, and no one sought coal with
which to speed them up. Witness.
then. what happened Unhampered
| by any union contract. bound only
! by their habit of following suit
when IL was to their interest. the
operators Of the nou-union mines in
Pennsylvania. West Virginia, and
elsewhere promptly cut wages. and
/ prices, knowing that thus they should
have an immediate. overwhelming
advantage over the operators i'm the
union fields in securing whatever
demand for coal still remained. The
latter, bound by their contract TO
maintain wages at the prevailing
rate until April / 1922, could not
probably slash back"
The result was that the union
mines had TO be content with the
tail end of the demand. and some
got no orders at all Two hundred
thousand workers in the union mines
were thrown out Of work. and those
that remained in the employ of the
companies had only few days
work throughout the year, so that.
in the best fields. the union miners
last year averag ed only about $3.50
for the year. The workers in the
nOn-union fields. on the other hand
though their wages had gone down,
had more working days and made
more money I'm 1921 than their
higher-paid brothers i'm the union
fields.
This contrast was like "handwrit-
ing on the wall" TO the officials Of
The United Mine Workers II led