The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-09-11
RIVAL LABOR
Takers fight
FOR MASTERS
LewiS, Miners Head, in
War on "LOcO" Chief
Especial to The Daily worker)

4
WASHINGTON, Sept. TO-
When two prominent labor
takers get into different poIitic-
al camps, the rank and file of
the unions are bound to learn
, something. A goodIy sized cat
whose presence in the bag has
long being evident thru, his
newing has finally escaped. Or
to be more exact, John L. Lewis,
president of the United Mine
Workers of America, turned
him loose.
Here is the story. Warren S.
Stone, Grand Chief of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive En-
gineers, and director of the
dozen or so banks, industrial
development associations and
coal companies held by the
union, got into trouble original
ly with the United Mine Work
ers of America thru his treat
ment of the members of the
miners union employed at the
Coal Rivers Galleries Company
in West Virginia, almost two
years ago.
Miners Puzzled.
The question was brought up on the
floor at the Indianapolis convention
of the Miners Union last Junary, and
an official explanation was made as to
the status of the case, which was not
considered satisfactory from the union
standpoint.
Delegates to the miners convention
thought it strange that the head of
great labor organization should use
the same tactics against the mem
bers of another labor organization as
the railroad magnates use against the
railroad brotherhood members. But
business is business.
The Story Slept.
John L. Lewis did not say anything
about the case at the convention.
He let one of his mouthpieces do the
talking for him. Since then no pub
licity whatever has been given to the
matter, and it might continue to
slumber but for the fact that John L.
Lewis is on the advisory committee
of the Coolidge campaign committee,
and that Warren S. Stone is one of
the most prominent of the Robert
Marion LaFollette hackers.
Two notorious labor fakersi One,
in the so-called progressive camp; the
other lined up with strikebreaker
Coolidge.
John Got Busy.
Mr.. Lewis. being high up in the
Coolidge councils, no doubt was called
upon to do his stuff He therefore
made public correspondence between
himself and Warren s. Stone, relative
to the Coal Rivers Galleries Company
Up until April l. 1924, the company
operated it's West Virginia mines on
union basis under a contract with
the United Mine Workers of America.
But when the operators in the central
competitive field signed the Jackson
yille pact last February, agreeing to
continue the existing scale of wages
or three more years, Mr.. Warren S.
stones concern was one of the coal
companies that refused TO make an
agreement with the miners on that
basis.
Union Against Union.
On the other hand, according TO the
statement of Mr.. Lewis, the company
demanded that the miners accept a
reduction in wages. The miners fatty
refused and the company closed down
the mines.
The correspondence between Lewis
and Stone-all of IL that we have
scents interesting. Mr.. Lewis charges
Mr.. Stone with joining other West
Virginia coal operators, with attempt
ing to starve his employees into an
acceptance of a wage reduction. AS
If Mr.. Lewis remembered the days
when he worked in the mines and
felt that the workers and the CAPT
talists had separate interests, he
writes to Mr.. Stone: 81 viii be fair
enough to presume that you are
speaking as a coal operator and not
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