The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-08-25
Last Step Necessary
 For Walkout Is Taken


 ATLANTIC CITY. N. J., August 24. (By Associated Press. .)-Anthracite mine workers representatives today took the last step necessary to close the mines September l. Though news came to them from Washington that Governor Pinchot of Pennsylvania with President Coolidge's support, would seek a last word before the impending struggle in the anthracite region, scale committees from the three union districts authorized by unanimous vote the issuance of work suspension" orders. and walked out of their meeting room to take the trains which tonight are carrying most of them to their homes.
 Their officials, however, said that any request which Governor Pinchot might extend for further conference probably would be accepted. In this view members of the operators pol icy committee which was still held in the city, though s. D. Warriner, it's chairman. left temporarily, also joined. The employers would refuse no request for diseussion it was said, however slight might be the prospect for a settlement"
 ''Miners From the Pit.v
 Philip Murray, vice president of the United Mine Workers, and Thomas Kennedy. C. J. Golden and Rinaldo Cappellini. presidents of the anthra- cite districts, met with the union scale committees and reported upon the fruitless negotiations. There were IS miners from the pit" as prescribed by union law, delegates for their fellow workers. on hand to listen. John l.. Lewis, president of the union, was confined tC his bed all day by a slight cold. At the end of three hours of executive ses- sion, the miners most of them men away
 "We are writing tonight set of rules which will govern the suspen- sion of work Cn the part of our members that automatically comes about September l." Mir. Murray said. Tt will be printed Sunday night or Monday morning, and will be mailed out Tuesday from some point in the anthracite region in order to reach all of our lt calls by August 31.
 O O O Calls Out Pump Men.
 "For the first time, the rules will also call for all of our members who are employed as firemen, pumpmen, engineers and maintenance men to cease work when the miners go out. These men have hitherto been left in service in order to keep the mines from flot ding and caving in. The scale committee, however, authorized the international and district off cials to complete any satisfactory ar rangement with the operators, if the operators desire to continue the em- ployment of UT members in such ca pacity, which will have that result"
 The mention of the continuance in service of enough of anthracite workers to prevent the incalulable damage that would result to the mines from flooding and cave-in cov- cred a point to which observers at- tached great importance and about which operators and the union ap- peared to be staging an entirely new controversy, A. B. Jessup, for the operators policy committee, said that past relationship between the union and the employers had set up prece- dents by which these men should be held to their tasks, regardless of suspension orders to the rank and file of miners. He indicated, how ever, that if the union was obdurate. some sort of special conference might be asked by the operators to make the issue clear These assurances were vague enough to leave an opinion with some of those familiar with the situation that operators might be preparing to arrange for emergency crews of non union pump men anu ptAeIS 10 take over the work.
 O O O
 Ready For Long Fight.
 Any such installation of emergency crews. it was said, would constitute an indication that employers had pre- pared for a long and bitter struggle, and would take no chances of the property loss which a withdrawal of union maintenance men would mean in later stages of such a contest.
 Insistent susseston was made to the miners contingent today concern ing the prospect of local or general strikes of bituminous miners during the progress of the expected anthra cite susnension. International of ficers and all responsible spokesmen for the union carefully refrained from making any public statement that such outbreaks might be looked for. Inquirers were merely referred to the past action and frequently announced policy of the United Mine Workers towards strikes in violation of con- tracts and to the fact that no union- led walkouts in unionized bituminous districts could be staged unless the whole organization was prepared to change front in this ms tier. All existing bituminous contracts to which the union is party, run until
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