New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-07-17
Harding Will BE Driven to
Act by Refusal of Men
to Accept Arbitration
Plan, View at Capital
To Draft Strikers
AT Old Pay Scale
National Emergency E1'
lists, Advisers Say; Opcr
ators Unable TO Agree


WASHINGTON, July l6.- Cow
ernment seizure and operation Of the
idle coal mines Is regarded as Inc
eyitable here tonight. President
Harding, II Is understood, has been
driven 10 this decision, In view OF
the refusal Of the miners TO accept
his plan FOR arbitration.
It is understood the Presidents
plan Is 10 seize the mines and put
the men 10 work at their old scale,
ignoring all merits Of the eontrc-
versy for the time being, the only
object being 20 get the coal.
Sees National Emergency
The President believes the critical
situation produced by the fact that
the summer is slipping away with.
out the Northwest and New Eng 4
land getting their supply OF coal for
the winter constitutes an enp rgency
which will justify the radical nature
Of the move he Is contemplating.
Unless the coal is moved 10 the
Northwest before the Great Lakes
freeze il is regarded by railroad and
coal men as utterly hopeless TO get
the supply through.
Only what is regarded as the re-
mote possibility OF the union leaders
changing their mind and accepting
the Presidents offer is likely 10 pre-
vent the government Intervention
now planned. Tonight the union
leaders insisted that their meeting
scheduled for tomorrow morning
will not take up any proposal 70
change the answer delivered TO the
President yesterday.
The bituminous operators may de-,
eide to accept the Presidents offer.
as the anthracite operators have all
ready done, but this will not change
the situation.
Harding Plan Not Accepted
The bltuminous operators, after .
brief session tonight, adjourned until
II o'clock tomorrow morning, sp-
parently in complete confusion n -
what course % take.
The chief cause Of the perplsSity
which confronted the operators, as In
dicatod BY their spokesmen, was the
statement Of Interpretation issued By
President Harding yesterday aft,rnoon
explaining his original proposal for
arbitration.
As the operators described ihs stu.
alton, they had returned home, dis
cussed and weighed the Harding srbi-
tration proposal, and had started back
10 Washington when they found =
statement Of Interpretation issuing
from the white House which raised
new possibilities and gave different
turns TO tho problem.
Have Text OF Miners Reply
They had before them in addition
tho lengthy statement Of the miners
Withholding acceptance Of the Presi-
dents arbitration plan.
A. VI. Ogle. president of the. Ma
tional Coal Association and bi.uminous
chairman, said IL was yitally neees-
sary that tho different districts confer
through tonight ard consider the
situation IN the light O. those two
new Developments before inal attempt
was made 10 harmonic views into
single expression Of attitude.
How Bituminous Men Stand
Il developed late tonight that the
bituminous operators have lined up -
follows on the Presidents proposal;
Eastern Ohio district. one OF the
largest, wants TO accept, and so mott
fed the President early this week.
Cambridge, Ohio, district wants 70
accept.
Southern Ohio, with the exception Of
one operator. wants 10 accept.
Illinois declines 10 accept.
Western Pennsylvania, which Is the
Pittsburgh Coal Company, 4. nat
against the proposal and will hold out
permanently against acceptance.
The operators took occasion tonight
10 answer the chief central point
raised BIZ the miners against acceptance
Of the Harding proposal, which was
that the delegation OF operators here
only partially represented the btu
mlnous industry. and that settlement
not binding on districts not represents
ed would be only partial settlement
The miners reply 20 the President
stated
Operators representing nearly 80
per cent Of the tonnage in strike nelds
where production Is stopped have not
been Ia attendance and Wa have no in.
formation that the proposed plan OF
arbitration has teen submitted 20 them
by any governmental agency. Under
such circumstances IL Is futile 10 be-
lieve that any general settlement eas
be made"
Have Authority From Others
In reply 20 this assertion the opsr-
ators said they had telegrams account
ing for that other %. per cent which
they said completely swept away tho
miners contention In that particular.
"The group Of operators In attend
ance at the Presidents conference"
President Ogle said, "was thoroughly
representative Of the bituminous dis-
tricts not now producing coal. Tha
representatives Of each district we're