The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-03-10
SENATE HEARING
SHOWS PLAN To
CONTROL MINES
Lewis Favors Govern
ment Legislation
BY T. ]. O'FLAHERTY.

The coal operators must be saved
from themselves and the country from
radicalism by legislative action if
necessary, which would assure the
coal barons that they could merge
without fear of prosecution under
the Sherman antitrust law, accord
ing to testimony given by John l.,
evils, international president of the
United Mine Workers of America, be-
fore the interstate commerce COM
mission at the second session of its
coal strike investigation in the senate
office building this afternoon.
Some of those who attended the
hearing thot they heard in the Lewis
proposal to repeal the Sherman anti
trust law or else that congress take
the necessary steps to assure the
operators that the law was a dead let
ter in so far as its provisions might
affect the coal industry, hint that
what the industry needed is consol-
idation on national scale, with one
individual clothed with powers such
as are now enjoyed by Judge Lands
in baseball and by VIII Hays in the
flicker industry, to bring order out
of chaos and eliminate the competi-
ton that is making paupers out of
the coal arons-according to Mr.
Lewis.
Mr.. Lewis's soft heart was full Of
pity for the honorable operator"
who were trying to do the right thing
and it might be possible, that if Mr.
Lewis should find the chair now fill
led by James ]. Davis in the Cool
idge cabinet still occupied by that
willy Welshman after the next pres
idential election, a suggestion to ap-
point man of the organizing abil-
ity of Mr.. Lewis as car of the coal
industry would be practical solu-
ton of the crisis in coal. Lewis might
be found willing to accept he crown.
The international president of the
miners union droned out his dag
nosis of the industry's illness and
his prescription for it with the calm
pomposity of an episcopalian bishop
lecturing his flock on the evils of
divorce. His anger was held in leash
until his attention was called by a
question to the inroads made by the
progressives in the miners union. 1t
was then that he boiled and seethed
and drew on his vituperative vocab-
ulaFy to scourge the radicals and up
braid the silly coal operators for heir
folly in not fostering a conservative
union leadership that has at heart the
best interests of industry, of the gov
eminent and of course the people"
Mr.. Lewis offered his panacea for
the ills that bedevil coal in answer
to a pointed question put by Senator
Watson of the ku klux state of Indi-
ana, subtle politician and a pres
idential aspirant.
This investigation is q farce as far
as the miners are concerned. The in
terstate commerce commission can do
nothing, according to Senator Watson,
except suggest a remedy. Lewis adj
mitted on the witness stand that he
asked for the investigation not only
to inform the senator's what was tax
ing place in the coal industry but also
" CHSOuI age lSSlSidIlOu LLdI WOulu
enable the operators to help them
selves.
What about the miners? Well, the
miners themselves in conjunction with
the rest Of organized labor and with
the help of the millions yet unor-
ganized, exercising their power on
the industrial field thru powerful
militant unions and on the political
field thru Labor Party can answer
this question.
John L. Lewis can organize the in
dustry for the coal operators. He
thinks he knows how. He certainly
has proven that he does not know
how to organize the miners or does
not want to.