Evening star., 1923-08-12
COOLIDGE TO APPLY
FULL FORCE OF j. s.
TO COAL DEADLOCK
Swift Action Indicated If Pay
Controversy Threatens to
Stop Production.
CABINET ON TUESDAY
TO TAKE UP PROBLEM
Resumption of Wage Farley Likely
to Be Requested This Week
by Government.

tention vigorously yesterday to tho
anthracite coal situation. 1t is ex-
pected that he will take steps. unless
there is some intimation that the
operators and miners are going to
get together, within very short time
to safeguard the people against n
shutdown of the mines and the cut
ting off of their fuel supply.
George Otis Smith of the United
States Coal Commission was with the
President for half an hour yester-
day afternoon, and he was followed
| by Joseph B. Eastman. the Massa
chusetts member of the Interstate
Commerce Commission.
| The President. it is understood.
went into the anthracite situation
with both these callers. and also with
| Secretary Hoover of the Department
of Commerce, earlier in the day.
VIII Consult Hammond.
| DR.. Smith left here last night 10 20
| to Gloucester. Mass, to meet John
| Hays Hammond. chairman of the
coal commission and report to him
| the result of his conference with tbs
President.
| The first formal meeting of the
cabinet is to be held Tuesday. The
coal problem undoubtedly will be one
of the important issues discussed at
that meeting. The President is pur-
| suing his usual course before acting
on important understanding the
fullest information obtainable.
! In informed quarters, however il
was said last night that If there were
! no evidences of a coming settlemen.
of the controversy by the operators
and miners themselves. the President
| would act quickly and would make the
contending parties understand that
the full force of the government
| which in this case is backed up
| strongly by public opinion--would he
used to compel the continued opera
tion of the coal mines.
Plans IL Strike Comes.
| Dr. Smith was asked il the coal
commission had worked out plaH
| for government action in the event Of
a strike,
| We have no plan worked out be-
yond the recommendations made by the
commission in it's report to the Presi-
dent" said DR.. Smith. These recon-
mendations, to become effective, re-
quire legislation giving the President
authority to declare a national
emergency and to bring about opera
ton of the mines by the government
in case of strike They also provide
for full publicity relating to the Goa.
| industry.
/ 1t is considered doubtful, however,
that Congress will be called in extra
session unless conditions develope
that make it necessary for the Presi-
dent to be given additional powers
There is a growing belief. however.
that President Coolidge. il 1t becomes
necessary, will notify the operators
and the miners that, IL they fail 10
reach an agreement within a reason
able time, he will call Congress to-
gether and obtain legislation giving
| him full authority to take over and
work the coal mines in the event of
a shut down. That such legislation,
on the eve of coal strike. could be
put through Congress at the sugges-
tion Of the administration seems a
foregone conclusion.
May Urge New Farley.
The governmental Intervention ex-
pected this week may take the form
of an invitation by the coal commits
sion to the officials of the miners
union and representatives of the an
ithracite coal operators to resume
negotiations for wage contract
which would keep the men at work
after September /. Negotiations
! broke off ten days ago, when the
union representatives at an Atlantic
CITY conference demanded that the
operators grant the check off, in the
new contract, and the operators re-
fused.
Due to the death of President
Harding, official action in the matter
has been held in allegiance, although
a study of the situation has been
continuing. Some officials are of the
opinion that sufficient anthracite has
been mined by the high-pressure pro-
duction of the last six months to pre-
vent a fuel famine, even IL operations
were actually suspended, provided
the suspension was of short duration
Notwithstanding, the chief desire is
to prevent any test Of the storage
capacity.
4 Insists ON Check-OR.
John Lewis. president of the
United Mine Workers and chief of
the unions negotiators. visited
Washington for President Harding's
funeral ceremonies While here he
} conveyed the impression to members
of the coal commission that the
CHECK off" demand would be per-
sisted in to the point of suspending
all work on September /. There
were some intimations at the coal
commission that the miners might
not care to walk out on that issue
alone, but they came from other than
union sources.
The check off" is the practice now
prevailing in the unionized bitumi-
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