Evening star., 1925-08-01
OPERATORS SCORN
LEWIS PROPOSAL
Warmer Cold to invitation to
Attend ParIey, Now
Called "Farce."
BY tn. Associated press.

BY the Associated prese.
ATLANTIC CITY, \. j.. August l.
Anthracite scale conference circles are
speculating today whether the confer
ence will continue at all after next
Tuesday.
Tuesday was suggested for the re
sumption of the parley by John l.
Lewis, miners president, in his invi-
tation to Samuel ID. Warriner. chair.
man of the anthracite operators con-
ference. and William j. Richards, vet
eran of various wage struggles, as the
date to enter the conference person
ally He appealed TO them as the &C
knowledged leaders of the anthracite
operators.
Mr. Lewis told the two operators
that unless they arrived TO bolster up
the present personnel of their scale
committee the miners could not feel
they had any one OF sufficient author
ity to deal with. save for W. w. 1nglis.
committee chairman, who is president
Of the Glen Alden Coal Co. of Scran-
ton. Mr.. Lewis deemed the body an
array of lesser executives" whom the
miners, in presenting their demands
regarded a. jury of supernumera-
ries." Further negotiation with them
would seem farce" he said.
Warmer to Stand Pat.
Word of the Lewis Invitation"
reached Mr. Warriner at his home in
Lansford, Pa. and he lost no time In
authorizing representatives here 10
say for him that the anthracite in
dustry would stand pat on it's present
scale committee. The committee. for
all Mr.. Lewis feelings toward 1t, bore
the unanimous mandate of that indus
try, 1t was said. The position IT had
taken was the position of the indus
try as a, whole.
Mr.. WARMERS reply was taken here
as meaning that he and Mr.. Richards
will not accept Mr.. Lewis proposal.
What Mr. Lewis will do when, with
his miner following at his back, he
enters the conference room Tuesday
to find neither of the two men there
forms a major part of today's specu-
lations.
Mr. Warriner himself anticipated
one possibility when he said
"I can scarcely believe Mr.. Lewis
will take the responsibility, as he
threatens, of breaking off the negotia.
tions on the pretext that the opera.
tors committee is lacking in power" :"
Lewis VIII Attend.
Mr. Lewis in his letter stated he
has every intention of attending the
conference Tuesday himself When
he learned last night Of the position
Mr.. Warriner had taken he had no
comment to make.
The Inglis scale committee, whose
qualifications Mr.. Lewis has chal-
lenged, comprises: Andrew M. Fine,
vice president, Hudson Coal Co..;
Thomas Thomas. general mana ger.
Lehigh Valley Coal Co.: Jesse F.
Warmer, general manager. Lehigh
Coal and Navigation Co.; e. d. Suen-
der. general superintendent, Madeira
Hill Co., and George Hadesty. general
manager, Philadelphia and Reading
Coal and Iron Co.
Mr.. Lewis invitation read:
II should be pleased, indeed. if you
and Mr.. Richards would deign to be
present when the conference recon-
Venes Tuesday. 1t would give the
mine workers reasonable assurance
that they were not pleading their case
before a jury of supernumeraries.
The action might also go far to con-
vince the public that it was not be-
ing gulled by being compelled to wit
ness dress rehearsal or an amateur
theatrical.
IF 1t should then develop that the
lesser executives have correctly set
forth the opinion of the operators, 1t
would the more quickly enable the
miners representatives to effect a
discontinuance Of the farce"