Evening star., 1922-03-31
Fight to Finish Is
Government View
of Situation.
POWERLESS TO ACT
AT PRESENT TINE
Futile to Seek Mediation
Until One Side Faces,
Exhaustion. \
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

LA " HENSEs
The coal strike Is to be a fight {?
the finish. Government onicials feel
that they are powerless to do any
thing effective at this time. and be-
lieve 1t will be a month or two oefoo
either side will be willing to listen
to counsel
Both President Harding and Secre-
tary Davis have been trying for some
time to get both sides together. but
when each is convinced it has some
thing to gain by a strike the efforts
Of a mediator are bound to be futile.
Secretary of Lavor Davis pointed out
to this correspondent today that
twenty-three weeks elapsed in 1902
before President Roosevelt was able
to bring the last big coal strike to an
end. The strike in 1919 was Of six
weeks duration, and was really
terminated by the use Of a wartime
law involving the application Of in
functions. The government is In no
mood to resort to such a process now.
Exhaustion by one side or the 9TH
er is inevitable, in the opinion Of gov
ernment oficials. There's a surplus
of 81. 900, 900 tons Of bituminous and
10. 600, 900 tons OF anthracite coal just
now. When that's used up by the
consumers the crisis In the strike
, will have been reached.
Issues Are Fundamental
The issues involved in the present
strike situation are fundamental
They are typical Of other labor trou-
bles Of the after-the war period. per-
haps more closely analogous to the
difficulties on the railroads than any
thing else
To the layman who doesn't follow
the inside controversies OF the coal
miners. except when an acute situa-
ton presents itself, certain facts are
essential to an understanding Of what
, Is about to happen. There is what is
known in coal parlAnce rs the central
competitive field. which comprises H.
linois, Indiana. Ohio and Pennsyi-
vania- For years It has been the Gus
. tom in the coal world to have wages
, fixed in the central competitive field
used as basis for wage scales 6xed
by mine operators and miners in dis
: tricts outside of that field. The op-
orators want to break up that system
They insist that every district should
be free to make its own wage scales.
The miners union opposes that and
wants the central field system re-
tanned.
The only new factor in the situa-
tion is. that the Illinois miners are
ready to break away from the central
competitive field and make their own
agreements with the operators. This
situation has a relationship Incl
dentally to coal union politics. The
president of the Illinois miners is
nf
John L. Lewis. president of the Inter
national Mine Workers Union. 1t is
! harrington who is credited with hav-
ing forced Lewis to declare a strike
in 1913. and on this occasion Far
rington is ready to break away from
the central competitive field, where
the largest single block OF votes for
president Of the miners union is to
, be found.
Seek to Break Block.
AS for the amount of coal mined in
the central competitive field. il used
to be so per cent of the nations total.
but now it is only 40 per cent The
districts outside of the central com
petitiye field are producing the great
er amount. The operators, therefore
want the right to make their own
wage scales, irrespective OF what
happens in the central field The ef-
fort to break up that block has been
at the bottom of Americas coal thou
bles for a generation.
Naturally it is to the interest Of the
miners union officials to keep the CEN
tral competitive field a unit. 1t means
cohesion. Similarly it was to the ad-
vantage of tho railroad hrotherhoods to
! keep the matter of wage agreements
on a national basis so that one scale
could be negotiated for all, while the
railroad companies wanted each rail-
road system to have tho right to deal
with its own employees and fix its own
rates Of labor. The issue is still tied
UP in the United States Railroad Board,
but the railroad systems are gradually
winning their point.
There is no similar government
board to handle coal affairs. Commit
tees OF Congress are active trying to
find a solution and there always have
, been proposals to establish fuel com
mission to supervise the coal industry.
but no sign of enthusiasm in favor
of such scheme is Forthcoming from
either miners or operators. The chances
are. therefore. that the coal strike will
run on indefinitely until exhaustion
forces the operators and miners into
conference, something Wsjch has
been consistently lodged during recent
weeks on the theory that It Would be
inconclusive. A test of strenf.h has
been inevitable and the ofiicial rnprss.
sion for the moment is something like
this: Let them fght 1t out 70. awhile
and wen then step In and See what
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