Evening star., 1925-09-13
SOFT COAL STRIKE
|SPRED|CTED SOON
Expected Before Month
Ends-Nation-Wi Walk
out Held Probable.

The bituminous coal industry of
the United States is drifting swiftly
on the current of developments into
the vortex of a Nationwide strike
Washington, swept by rumors of the
impending move, heard, among other
things yesterday, that the strike call
would be issued September Is, but no
one in official circles familiar with
the facts believes that the strike will
come so soon.
On the other hand, there is a gen.
eral belief that the strike call will
sound before the month ends and sew
eral we'll informed persons look for
strike developments within a fort
night. They will come from the
miners side, of course, and as the
climax of negotiations with bitumi-
nous operators that have been con-
Quoted under cover for the past two
months.
Eastern Strike Expected First.
There Is likelihood that the strike
will be confined at first to several sore
spots in the East. DEVELOPMENTS of
the next two weeks will settle that
policy. Inevitably, it is felt. the
spread Of the movement will go out to
all soft coal fields in the country,
effectually shutting down the union
lied part of the industry and confin-
ing America to her non-union supply.
1hat supply is inadequate to meet her
full needs, though it will go far to.
ward doing so.
The strike will be called, If it is
called, not as sympathetic move of
help Tor the anthracite miners, but be-
cause of what the union considers a
real grievance, separate and apart
from the anthracite situation, in the
bituminous fields. That alleged griev-
ance centers around the action of some
of the largest coal companies in the
United States in going non-union"
despite their signatures on the Jack
sonVille wage agreement.
Many Mines Shut.
Half a dozen or so of the biggest
coal producers in the country, their
business virtually swept away by nom
union competition, have been attempt
Ing for the past six months or so to
have the wage agreement revised
downward, and, failing in their at
tempts. have either shut up shop or
announced new wage scales lower
than the contract rates. This action
as the miners officials see it, consti-
tutes reputation of the contract.
John L. Lewis, president of the
United Mine Workers of America. an
nounced the possibility of a nation
wide bituminous strike on June 80 at
Scranton in the following words:
1t may be necessary later on to
authorize a national shutdown of the
mines of this country while the Gov
ernment and the coal operators and
REPRESENTATIVES, 0q h1
Mine Workers discuss whether the
Jacksonville agreement is going to
be carried OUT
Negotiations Going On.
Since that announcement Lewis has
been negotiating with bituminous op-
orators, meeting them openly at At
lantic City and Philadelphia. where
he has established strike Headquarters.
and elsewhere, but no word of the
proceedings in the conference room
has drifted over the transom to an
expectant public. 1t now develops
that the subject discussed was a re-
turn by big soft-coal operating COM
panies to the Jacksonville agreement
Such return would involve a COM
plete rearrangement of the plans of
some of the biggest coal companies
in the world. They have measured
the dimensions of the situation and
counted the cost Of going non-union. 2"
Continued on Page 4, Column II