The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-07-18
OPERATORS OFFER ID PUT PROPERTY
 IN FEDERAL HANDS
Miners Make Certain Their Rejection of Harding's 0f- fer-May Protect Men
 With Troops
By Associated Press


 coal mine operators were "invitedD
 by President Harding at the White House today to 'return to your mine
 properties and resume operations"
 after they had replied to the Presi-
 dents tender of arbitration for set
 ting the national coal strike with
 collective offer to put their proper
 ties and their service at the disposal
 of the government fin this crisis.D Speaking as chairman of the group Of operators after the White House conference, Alfred NJ ogIs said the employers would make the attempt to
 resume operations.
 N eanwhle the miners union,
 through an adjournment sine die of its controlling policy committed, made certain It's refusal to accept
 the arbitration proposal and many of it's officials immediately left
 Washington. The bituminous opera tors were likewise not unit In ac-
 ccptng the government proposals, but the President said that 'a large
 ma jority'' of them, by unqualified
 acceptance had given him occasion to express my own and the publics gratitude"
 There were intimat tions in offi-
 cinI circles that the decision to
 ask thnt the mines be opened
 had been fully considered by the
 government and that there wns n
 possibility that the protection of
 troops and that the American flng would he furnished fin distrfcts where men were willing to work, falling sufficient local safeguard- ing. Employers generally held the view that some coal produc- tion would result in union fields In PennsyIvania and ohio, if mo- where else. officials of the non- union fields of Illinois reported that output was being cut off sharply due to the railroad strike. Almost continuous sessions did not su ffice to make the bituminous em- lployers a unit for accepttance of the arbitration proposal. On final vote
 a general. letter. accepting the prin- Iciplo of arbitration and making the ltender of mines and services. was agreed upon and presented to the President.
 Letter te President | In their letter to the President ex- platning their situation the operators gaid: We have given most careful and | thorough consideration to the pro- posal submitted by you on July l9. | suppl emented by your statement Of July 15, and we are not only in entire accord with you plan to establish general tribunal to inqure into all | the facts in our industry and make recommendations for the solution Of | our fundamental problem. but we | rla 1 effect by you.
 "We also wish to remind you that we have already proposed the broad principle of arbitration In our pre- vious conferences with the officials | of the administration and with the representatives of the miners. We l still stand on that broad principle and are in entire accord with you tr | that respect.
 we did have in mind, discussing i with you certain recommendation as to the machinery to make an arr bitration plan effective and to ac- l complish the result which the coun- l try and you yourself desire. | Tn view of the contingencies tha- | confront us and the varying condf- | tions in the different coal producing districts of the country, our confer ence has decided to answer your p-o- pOSal by ulStTlclst TdtHtT tndH ds whole, and we hereto attach state ments of the position taken by ths | reveral represented in the confer ences of operators assembled at your request in Washington.
 Support Principle Al Of the operators of your con- ference unite in supporting the pri-,- ciple of arbitration and collective
 bargaining and your high motives in calling us together.
 And finally, they say to you and to the American people that each and every one of them stands ready in this crisis to put his property and his own services at your disposal and command at any instance" A delegation consisting of fifteen operators took the, message to the White House and after their visit . statement explaining the procedure was given out out as well as the text of the Presidents response The White House statement which preceded .a transcript os the Presi- dents remarks to the operators fol- lows:
 At 5 o'clock this afternoon ths coal operators made an extended
 verbal and written report to the President. All of them subscribed
 broadly to the proposals to arbitrate.
 "The majority of the districts
 represented in the conference. ac-
 cepted the Presidents proposal un-
 conditionally.
 "A minority of the districts joined
 frauffpneJ ,r Du-.