Evening star., 1923-08-17
C0NFERS
f. ON COAL SITUATION
Daugherty, Hoover and Work
See PreSident-FeeIing
Still Optimistic.

The anthracite situation was again
the subject of consideration by Presi-
| dent Coolidge and his official advisers
today. The Attorney General, Secre-
! tary Weeks of the War Department,
Secretary Work of the Interior De-
partment and Secretary Hoover of
the Department of Commerce dis
cussed with the President the new de-
velopments in the coal controversy in
New York.
Secretary Hoover, following his talk
with the President, said that n, was
not pessimistic over the outlook. He
! ment Of the controversy and that a
| strike would be averued. The threats
| of discontinuance of negotiations and
deadlock are nothing new. he pointed
out, in industrial contr OVERSEES.
President Gets New Facts.
The Attorney General. after he had
seen the President. said that the lat
ter was in receipt of new informa-
| tion in regard to the anthracite Sit
luation. Whether this information was
encouraging or not he did not say.
Z Nor would he say whether any steps
| by the Department of Justice were
proposed if a strike should take place.
| He was asked specifically if injunc-
tion proceedings, similar to those
! adopted by the government in the
railroad strike last year, were to be
expected.
| Il cannot discuss that at all. I
made no announcement in advance of
the proceedings in the railroad shop
mems strike. l shall not make any
advance statement now in regard to
| the procedure of the Department of
Justice. If there is to be any, in the
event of a strike"
| Davis Goes to New York.
\ Secretary of Labor Davis left
Washington for New York at o'clock
| this afternoon. He declared before
4 he left here that the handling of the
| negotiations with the miners and
operators was in the hands of the
United States coal commission. If
| he had any Information to give he
said. he would give it to the COM
! mission. In his opinion. he said, the
worst thing in the handling of in
dustrial disputes was to have some
| outside party undertake to mix in while
the negotiations were under way.
More and more IL is being made
clear that the President is relying
on the coal commission as the agency
| to handle the anthracite situation.
! That he is keeping in close touch
! with the happenings in New York.
1 IaO" cHci' ludl lie is conveying
information and advice to the COM
/ mission, also is true.
Feeling fs Optimistic.
! Notwithstanding the reports from
| New York of possible further dead
lock, to be followed by a strike, there
| Is strong undercurrent of optimism
| today in government circles. In the
| first place, the feeling Is growing
J that neither side to the controversy
| really desires a strike. Both know
| that the public Is aroused. particu-
| larly because of it's experiences last
winter due to the coal strike, and
| would back up the administration in
| any drastic step it might take to
! bring about the mining of coal
| Furthermore. 1t is believed here
! that the position hitherto assumed by
| the mine workers that they would not
| submit the questions at issue to ar
| bftration is not tenable. The public
! generally looks with disfavor on a
| refusal to submit to fair arbitrators
questions in dispute. Attention was
called to the fact that in the coal
strike in 1902 the operators were
] strong in their refusal to arbitrate
while the miners expressed a willing
| ness to leave the issue to arbitration
President Roosevelt at that time
/ finally forced the operators to acce pt
arbitration with a threat to take
drastic action to have the mines
| operated. To-day. it has SO far been
| the mine workers who have declined
| arbitration, and to continue negotia-
| tlons prior to arbitration.