Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1922-03-10
SAYS OWNERS
WISHTOBREAK
UP MINE UNION
Statement of John L. Lewis
Presents Workers Side of
Contention.
POINTS TO RESOLUTION
BY ELLIS sEARLEs.
ditor Of the United Mine Workers
journal.

Editor Of the United Mine Workers
Journal.
John L. Lewis, international president
Of the United Mine Workers Of American,
clearly stated the principal issue involved
in the present controversy between the
miners and the bituminous coal opera
tors, when he said in a speech at
Shamokin, Pa, on Jan. II: I'VE do not
expect to follow the non-union worker
down the ladder of wage reductions to
the morass of poverty and degradation
which prevails below; and we do not
propose to have the non-uniOn yardstick
applied to our standard Of living" ac
cOrding to a statement issued at the
headquarters Of the union in this city.
The statement then goes on to say:
Goal operators are attempting to force
the bituminOus miners 70 accept re-
ductiOn IN their wages which would place
them on q level with the non-uniOn
miners Of West Virginia, Alabama and
other fields in which the union is kept
out or driven out by armed gunner and
thugs in the employ Of the coal COM
paaies. Mine workers in these nonunion
fields are helpless. They are unable to
enter any protest against wage reduc-
tons or any other whim OF their en-
ployers by which their standard OF
living is lowered. Wages always nave
been lower in the non-union fields than
in the organized fields, because of this
fact. Non-uniOn miners have no prOtec-
tlon and must take what is offered If they
are 10 work at all.
OPERATORS STAND EFFORT
70 BREAK Up MINERS UNION.
~ When tV large and powerful groups
q operators n the Pittsburgh field and IN
southern oh served notice that they
would refuse to meet with the United
Mine Workers this month to negotiate a
new wage and working agreement they
served notice IN effect. that they were
cut to break up the miners union. Should
they succeed in this attempt it would
mean that the miners OF those two fields
would be reduced to the level Of the
wretched nOn-union miners Of West Vir-
ginia. The United Mine Workers viii
not permit this to be done.
In announcing their refusal to meet
with the miners and work out a new
agreement to take effect on April 1, these
operators delibera tely violated their
written contract with the miners, which
they signed in New York on March 81,
1920. In that contract was this clause:
Resolved, that an interstate joint con-
ference he held prior to April 1, 1922; the
time and place for holding such meeting
TO be referred to a. committee of two
operators and two members from each
State herein represented, together with
the international officials OF the United
Mine Workers Of America.
THAT agreement was as binding as any
agreement ever signed By business men.
Refusal by the operators to live up to
this agreement was a shock to the pub
lie conscience and an assault on business
morality. II was so indefensible that
President Harding denounced their action
and directed Secretary Of Labor Davis
to call upon the operators to live up to
their agreement and meet with the miners
in an honest effort to work out a new
agreement.
PRICE BOOST
ALSO IN VIEW.
A'One Of the prime objects Of these
SeratOrs in staging their refusal and
their violation Of contract was to break
DIP the union. But It must be remem-
Fbered also that there are millions OF
tons Of soft coal on hand, and a strike
scare always boosts the selling price.
thus giving the operators a fine oppor-
tunity to gOuge the public pocketbOOk
and clean up enormous profits. 1t has