Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1922-01-18
Must Be No Backward Step
in Their Altitude, Inter
national President De-
CIarcS in Address.
TALK or REDUCTION
HI PAY IDLE, SAYS
Is Willing That Industrial
Conflict Come, If NeCes-
Sary, Rather Than ReCede
From Position.

Shamokin. Pa, Jan. II (by the
Associated Press) John l.. Lewis.
international president Of the Unit
ed Mine Workers today told the
anthracite wage convention that
there must be no backward step in
their attitude toward the demand
Of coal companies to reduce wages.
when / say we will take no
backward step I say 1t with an
appreciation of what that
policy means and II it requires
an industrial conflict to avoid
taking backward s2n. thcn
the industrial conflict may
come" he added,
Mr.. Lewis is presiding at the
hard coal miners convention which
will formulate wage and other de-
mands presented to the coal oper-
ators before March 81, when The
present contract expires. Wage
agreements i'm the soft coal fields
expire at the same time. Predic-
tions have been made by hard coal
miners that instead of agreeing to
wage reduction the anthracite
mon will demand increases. among
other things.
Operators version,
A representative of the general
committee of anthracite operators
gave out a statement that full
time operations of the anthracite
mines on the scale heretofore
maintained will not be possible In
the coming years without adjust
ments which will permit reducing
the price to the consumer"
THE conclusion is unavoidable"
the statement said, that full time
production cannot be maintained
unless wages are reduced"
Mr.. Lewis said that the talk OF
reducing the wages Of men in the
industry who are now enduring tho
priyations of poverty and destitu-
tion lis idle"
"The minds Of the business men
and statesmen of America he
continued must devise some other
method Of correcting the evils in
the bituminous mining industry.
No backward Step.
zone thing must be sure, not
only in the bituminOus coal
fields, but in the anthracite
| coal fields, in this day there
| must be no backward step by
the mine workers. II makes
no difference to the organized
mine workers that wage reduc-
tions have taken place in other
| industries and II makes no diff
ference to the organized mine
workers that the men employ
ed in the non-union sections
have accepted wage reduc-
tions. We do not propose to
| have our standards of living
| gauged bv the standards of liv-
ing which obtain among these
benighted, unfortunate people
| who are compelled to work for
unorganized mining employers.
owe see an organized propa
ganda being carried on particularly
| in the bituminous, ,regions, antici-
pating a wage rkluctlon. 1t is
sought to make the mine workers
! responsible for the price Of coal
and the mine worker is not respon-
sible for the price that the public
pays for GOAL. The mine workers
receive but n relatively small pro-
portion of the price the public Is
compelled TO pay"
Abhor Thought of Strike.
| The mine workers do not desire
any cessation of employment after
April l, he said, and If there is no
/ wage conference. he added. the re-
sponsibility will not rest with the
union.
"The mine workers want no
| Industrial conflict he de-
clared. I'VE abhor the thought
| OF n strike, and yet y : do not
| Dronosp to ayoid the rpSDOnsi-
bilitics of such a conflict by
doing anything contrary to the
| interests of our people or by
doing anything which in honor
we should not be boand TO do"