The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-06-27

Dy DAVID LAW RENEE
Especial Despatch TO The Reformer.) |
Copyright 1922.
WASHINGTON, June 27-The United
States government is preparing to sum
mon coal operators and miners into con
ference in the national capital and bring
the full force of public opinion into poll
/ tics in an effort to settle the coal strike.
! John l.. Lewis, president of the United
/ Mine Workers OF America, has informed
/ the government that he and his assist
ants gladly win attend a conference
/ with operators from the central competi-
! tive field, which comprises Illinois, Indi-
ana, Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. or
/ with operators from any group of coal
districts, producing an equivalent
amount of tonnage
! The coal operators views are not vet
! disclosed for the reason that the formal
<inyitation has not yet been sent but
4 the objection raised by the operators
/ heretofore has been a fear that Judge
/ Anderson might hale them into HIS
/ federal court on contempt charges in
connection with pending indictments
/ growing out of past conferences at
/ which wage scales were fixed
/ Attorney General Daugherty has as
| sured the operators that the govern
ment will not indict the coal operators
/ and viii not view the suggested wage
/ conferences as a violation OF existing
/ statutes in restraint Of trade. But the
/ operators declare they had a similar
! ass ranee once from another attorney
| general, A. Mitchell Palmer, but the
/ federal court at Indianapolis gathered
/ them IN gust the same
/ Government TO Issue Cali
| TO overcome this objection, the gov
4 eminent authorities here are preparing
/ TO summon the conference under circun-
/ stances different from any that have
preceded. The forthcoming conference
/ would be called by the federal govern
ment itself as an act of public emer-
! gency. No federal court would be likely
! 10 prosecute private citizens who obeyed
! Il mandate from another branch of the
! government itself Then the conferences
! themselves would be held in the pres
/ ence of officers OF the federal government
/ who would naturally by their very pres
/ ence prevent the commission of Illegal
acts or the making OF any agreements
/ which are III contradiction OF federal
/ statutes.
! When an agreement finally is made
/ the federal government would suggest
/ the entering of the document in a fed
! eral court so that it would have legal
| Us well as moral validity.
/ This in substance Is what Is in pros
i pect. Iechnicalities viii not be per-
mitted to stand in the way OF 4 confer
/ ence between miners and operators. 1t
is realized that a conference might have
II been held earlier and the objections con-
corning prosecution overcome much be-
fore this, ii it had not been the desire OF
the operators to fight it out with the
miners and compel if possible the max
ing of 80 distinct agreements instead OF
a basic scale in the central competitive
field as III previous years.
Union Gaining Membership
Both sides have suffered since the
strike began. The massacre in Illinois
has served, however, to bring govern
mental influences to bear once more IN
an effort to draw the parties together.
Il Confidential reports received here show
that the tactics of the operators have
not been as effective in breaking the
union strength as they had hoped. In
deed in certain non-union districts a
| gain Of 81 600 members is recorded as a
direct result of the notices posted by
| operators reducing wages. The miners
have been drawn together by common
rleyance rather than separated as the
operators had believed would be one
effect of prolonged strike. In an
other case official reports show that
miners who had been evicted from
| homes erected for them by the compan-
to their homes whether they 90 back to
| work or not.
The main trouble with the situation
is that the operators lack cohesion. They
are composed of differing elements and
| some of their number are extreme in
their views and want the militia and
federal army if necessary to be used to
break the strike as nom union men are
brought to the mines. Others are will
inc to sit down with the union spoSes-
lot lac -
but insist that 80 districts shall each be
a unit and treated as separate PROPOSE
tions. The operators have Indicated that
they would not object to the attend
ance of the national officers of the min
ers' uniOn or their representatives at
the district meetings The union off
cials say the plan is impracticable and
point to the anthracite controversy IN
Pennsylvania as an example of the long
delays incident to the making of such
agreements.
Question of Units
The main issue is whether a national
agreement on wages shall be made COW
ering a majority Of the districts OF
whether the 80 districts shall make their
own agreements The miners union
is willing to abandon the old time in
sistence on using the central compete
tive field as a basis and would agree to
;lse any group of districts which would
be sufficient to make q basic wage as q
precedent for the remaining districts
This may be the upshot of the contro-
versy. and would of course mean the
breakdown of the central competitive
field
Under the governments plans as
worked out thus far. the miners and
operators of 20 union districts would be
called into conference. two men repre-
senting each side so that about so rep-
resentatives of each party making in
all a committee of 90 would get together
and draw up a working scheme for the
settlement of the whole wage problem.
There is no legal power to compel the
operators to attend the conference but
the government is RELYING upon pressure
Of public opinion to force a settlement
low as in industrial crises of the past.