New Britain herald., 1922-04-03
FIRST TEST IN
 COAL STRIKE TODAY Reports From Various Fields
 Indicate Many Out NO FIGURES ARE AVAILABLE April No Time to Judge Extent of Walkout as 1t Is Miners Holiday No Disorders Reported From Any Fields.
lRy the Associated Pressl

Suspension of work in the union coal mines of the country virtually was complete today according to re- were made that the miners cause had been strengthened by walkouts in some non-union districts
 President Lewis of the mine work era told the house labor committee that resumption of work depended en- tirely on operators whose refusal to confer he said, provoked the suspen- sion.
 Miners claimed complete tieup in the New River fields of West Virginia, non-union territory heretofore.
 Scranton anthracite mining district reported suspension 100 per cent ef- fective with 7O.00O idle.
 Miners officials asserted 4,500 men had joined the walkout in the Panhandle district of Wes. Virginia but officials representing the opera tors said very little progress toward suspension had been made in any West Virginia non-union fields"
 Geological survey announced soft coal production of ii and a half mill lion tons in week ended March 25, confirming the surveys forecast of 63,- oo0,0o0 tons in consumers hands April 1.
 Kansas operators made no effort to open mines pending separate meet ings of miners and operators in Kansas City today to discuss indus trial courts orders for 30 days contin- uance of old working arrangements.
 Meeting in Chicago of rail union groups today expected to discuss rela- tions of railroad workers to the miners suspension of work.
 Presidents of three anthracite dis tricts travelled to New York to resume wage negotiations with the operators subcommittee.
 Indianapolis, April 3.-The first test of strength in the nation wide suspen- sion of work by union coal miners came today. The beginning of the suspension on Saturday, an annual holiday among the miners, having failed to determine the exact effec- tlveness Of the walkout.
 At the headquarters here of the United Mine Workers of America con- fidence was expressed that the days developments would confirm the union estimate of 600, ,o00 men, among them 100000 non-union workers. had laid down their tools f2r an indefn- ite period of ideness.
 No Immediate Resumption.
 A tactic truce between miners and operators was counted on apparently to make the union estimate of idle men certainty Few if any operators in the big coal producing centers that are strongly unionized were expected to attempt an early resumption of op- erations. The situation. however, was in doubt in the non-unon and open shop districts.
 Operators of the Pennsylvania an thracite mines were not planning an resumption of work and reports sent here indicated similar on the part of the mine own CTS in the central competitive fields and the southwest interstate district. These three districts have more than 1000 employees all union men ex- cepting about half of the 156.000 an- thracite workers. States included in this stronghold of the suspension were Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, H. |inois, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Arkan- sas and Oklahoma.
 In addition, central Pennsylvania and West Virginia along with the smaller coal fields were counted on to swell the ranks of the idle men.