The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-08-19

~ ~ = VI
weekwhens there rs active
ana S cars OF coal were loaded;
sss The first break was noted lat
cleveland n last week Rswhen som e
Of hte coal companies In the
Morgantown section signed up.
The general stampede to end the
strike followed the signing OF the
Coal Co. on & Thurs
day after which nearly all the
operators signed up.
What the operators lacked n
the fight was definite poh cy: -. N |.
this res pect til y were d1ametr1-t
calIy Opposite from the miners
Barely any group OF operators IN
any soft coal district in the
United States had any plan IN com q
mon When the fight against the !
uni on was made in Northern West
Virginia, some of the largeSt. com
panies remain ed passive and did
uOl% dppSd1 " AC =
the outcome. From the, start the
consolidation Coal Co, the larg-
est coal producer in the region,
did not declare a policy. Others
followed likewise while in some
instances some operators worked
lnon-union.
Pressure Exertcd.
N1iddlewest governors were
bringing pressure to bear at
Washington because OF the tear OF
coal shortage The lake snip
pers made the first break.
tits understood that the Con-
soHdation Coal Co. was alarmed 1''el
also about its lake shipments due
to four or five months Of the lake
shipping season having passed.
ediately after the Cleveland
conferences was genera lily un-
derstood, that the Consolid atlon
Coal Co. would sign up with the
miners.
Union a Winner.
IT is the general concensus OF
opinion that the Northern West
Virginia coal fields are in the UNI
| ion column to stay. a total COL
lapse in the operators. forces a1ter
almost 3 900 cars Of caol a week
was being produced in icates
clearly, operators say IN at the ne,
greatest in roads ever made to-
ward the open shop had been at
| tanned. ~
Many operators in the future IL
| Isl apparent, will not try to work
lnon-un MON inasmuch as that issue,
1T is said has been settled once
and for all It has been pointed
Tout generally that the Rockefel-
|ler plan gave way to the United
Mine Workers of America ana
| that this recent effort was gener-
ally accepted as complete sur
rem d er to the union for the 1ulure.
Many Of the non-union Workmeh
! in the future will hesitate more
generally on working open snop
than they did during the past
year
Non.union Tonnage
Non-union coal production since
the strike began April 1,up to and
Including Thursday tonnage, aggre--
gated approximately two million
| ton 8. The figures are 3S,517 cars or.
1925 $50 tons figuring on lit work
| ing days with Memorial Day and
Day as holidaysc. the
| non -union mines Of Northern west.
Virginia loaded on an average .o1l
! 500 cars Of coal day.
The average produ ction in the
i fifteen days OF August was 500 cars
day. IN the fifteen days there
we're $3.50 cars of coal loaded Inc
| peak loading was reached when the
cont tract was signed Had the oper-
! ators refused to siGnFa at that time
| it is generally contended, that the.
miners would have lost the region
because hundreds OF miners were
going back to the pits.
| Region Is Divided
Thus far, there are some section
| in the field that have not signed up
with the United Mine Workers or
America. This is especially true IN
the Elkins section at points along
the Monongahela- Morgantown and
| Kin gwood Railway and in Clarks-
burg section
Some Of the mine operators, who
have been working non-union, nave
taken poll Of their members and
they claim they want; to continue
! f. operate on a non-union basis.
Since the agreement has been
signed with the miners in the heart
| Of the Fairmont region mum Der OF
the coal companies have RENTED
the miners rent. while others have
not. III time the miners in this field
will no dou btbe contributing to the
support Of miners in other fields,
but for the first four weeks it Will
keep them busy to meet their own
obligations at this end
! Operators aGin
About the only thing that the
coal operators will gain out Of the
present strike is the assurance
that in the future they will dea:s
with the United Mine Workers OF
| America on a. national basis me
central conn etitive field is gone
j In the past the coal operators sign
ed up agreements that were m lost
attract to the four states, but
| in the future all states apparently