The Washington herald., 1922-01-20
FEARSSTRIKE
IN COAL FIELDS
IS INEVITABLE
Secretary Hoover Says
All Cancellation Has
Failed.
OPERATORS WANT
FINAL SHOWDOWN
Miners Reject Arbitra-
ton; Agreement Ends
March 81.

Soft-coal miners anu mime uiOh
leaders believe they have cause to
call a gigantic strike on April i
next, unless granted a new and
satisfactory wage agreement by the
operators. But they hope the strike
may be averted.
Administration officials hope the
strike may be averted, but see no
way now of averting it.
Coal operators would like to see
% the strike go into effect for a real
showdown"
These are the outstanding phases
of a serious economic situation lit
orally saturated with politics both
within the American Federation OF
Labor and in the field of national
parties: pregnant With suffering and
business losses and charged with
threats and counter-threats involv-
r ing the "open-shop" campaign,
which has stirred labor.
Fears strike Inevitable.
That a strike would seem newt
able in the bituminous fields at the
expiration of the miners present
national agreement March 81 is the
belief of Secretary Hoover. II the
bituminous workers walk out, say
labor leaders, the anthracite miners
will follow them. throwing 100000
mel into the strike.
There seems little possibility
Secretary Hoover said, that any
machinery might be set up to avoid
the strike. The government has
taken no further steps to avoid the
walk-out Unless something un-
foresesn occurs to adjust the dim
Guilty. il seems that the stage Is
set for a strike"
The governments position has
long been known to be that soonor
or later there would have to be
showdown in the mine felds. It's
attitude is that IL a strike must b {.
IL must be. and the sooner the issue
is disposed of the better.
Only Iss working Days.
From administration officials
standpoint the mining situation is
not so much a question of wages
and working conditions as 1t 10 a
question of an economic fact. That
fact Is:
That the bituminous coal industry
can offer employment for only 1SS
days In a year. 1t is, therefore.
from so to 40 per cent overdevel-
oped when viewed from 1913 war
standards. Consequently the indus
try is highly speculative for the
operators
Proceeding on this basis the De-
partment of Commerce has had
coal survey under way for so1- e
time But its inquiry is directed.
not at wages or working conditions,
but to discover how the economic
forces may be diverted in the direc-
ton of remedying the bituminous
coal industry.
Miners Blame Operators.
On the other hand. the miners
officials hold that some operators
and other undefnable forces are
sIackening the industry to aid the
alleged fight OF finance for the open
shop.
James Lord, chief of the mining
division of the American Federation
o. Labor. puts it thus:
What good would government in
tervention do il the fight against
organized labor is ignored?
That issue Is even beyond the
living wage question. Can a reduc-
Iion in wages bring any Increased
employment when there isn't any
employment?
The miners problem is not the
only one. 1t is merely one typical
product of the frenzy against the
rising tide of organized labor.
All Offers Fail.
Secretary Hoover. during the un-
employment conference here last
fall, attempted to effect an agree
ment In advance between coal oper-
ators and mine union officials to
arbitrate the wage question. He
was told by the miners leaders
that this could not be done.
President Lewis, of the United
Mine Workers. sought to bring a
conference but called e. off when
some of the operators declined to
participate.
So the situation stands just
there. The government sees moth
ing further to do. Union leaders
see no possible hope in government
Intervention because theylhold that
refusal of the operators to meet
them means nothing but a fight
against organized labor.
J Meantime. the public may wonder
what is to be done. 1t would not
Be surprising IL President Harding
prders.i the Department of Labor to
make a sweeping investigation of
the whole mining industry situa-
tion, coupled with that now being