Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1922-07-28
Harding Asks That Coal Mines
Be Reopened and Promises
FederaI Protection.
URGES GOVERNORS TO HELP
NEGOTIATIONS to End Railway Strike
Run Against Seniority Snae-France
Consents to Moratorium for Ger
many-conference at The
Hague Ends In
Failure.
sy EDWARD W. K


PRESIDENT HARDING'S last plan
L for the peaceful termination of the
coal strike failed of acceptance by the
miners and by a considerable number
of the operators. 1t was that the
mines should be reopened under the
old scale and that a commission
should arbltrate a national wage
scale. A large majority Of the opera
tors agreed to the plan, but it could
not go through unless the acceptance
was unanimous on both sides.
Then the President put forward his
proposal for prevention of the fuel
famine with which the country Is
threatened. This is that the mines
be reopened at once and with what
ever labor can be procured, and that
the state governments in the respec-
tive states protect these workers and
give assurance of the maintenance of
order. THIS Mr.. Harding set forth
in a long telegram to the governors
of the states, and he promised them
the prompt and full support of the
fedora, government whenever and
wherever you find your own agencies
of la~ and order inadequate to meet
tho situation"
Responses by the governors were In
the main highly satisfactory. That of
Governor Kendall of Iowa, Is typical:
"As chief executive of the state of
Iowa / p!adge every resourc of the
state TO- the support of the program
you have inaugurated for the relief
Of n. fuel situation" From two
governo-s-Morrison of North Caro-
lima and Richie of Maryland-came
responses expressing outright dissent
from the Presidents program. The
former said in part: your position
Is practically to use the power of the
government against the strikers, and
they will naturally have little conf
dence in the impartiality or fairness
of soldiers or other agencies of force,
however good the reason for such a
stand may be-" Richie declined to
take immediate action, saying he
would not send the Maryland National
Guard to the coal fields until all
peaceful methods had failed. He did
not state what peaceful methods re
main to be tried. Governor Allen OF
Kansas said the Industrial court hat
ordered the resumption of mining ant
that about so per cent of the states
needs was now being produced.
In Illinois there is a situation, pre-
yiously described, which seems to bloc
the Harding plan in that state. TIT
law provides that no n shall worl
as a miner without first obtaining
certificate of competency, and NJ
miner can get such a certificate unles
he can submit evidence that he ha
had at least two years experience a
a miner or with a miner. Moreover
the 10000 miners of the state are 10
per cent organized. There had beel
some chance that their president
Frank Harrington, would at the prope
time push the idea of separate stat
agreement, but operators said thi
hope was dispelled by the springing o
the Washington plan
North Dakota is confronted with
crisis that is causing almost a PAM
among the residents. and the con
ditions there are peculiar. The stat
depends almost wholly on Ignite fror
the mines within its borders. TIL
miners, according to Governor Nesto'
quit on the national call and not bt
cause Of any local grievances. tn
ignite fields. he says, have no ect
nomic bearing on the bituminous or al
thracite fields, and he believes If the
could be placed in a separate categor
and the operators permitted to des