The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-07-11

BoSheYks. The danger of such a move is not
actually particularly great in the Pennsylvania
Ohio field, but this danger will be increased by
the necessary naneuvers that we have to con-
duct with West Virginia, and we have to be
keenly conscious of tiais danger Even in the
Pennsylvania field the danger will grow ia pro-
portion as the socialists develop activity along
this line.
Now, one last word on the individual settle
ments I do not see any immediate practical
issue On this as yet. We can only begin to see
this as practical problem when we can see
that the operators are ready to make substantial
concessions to the miners. Of course there will
be certain independent mines that produce for
a local market. They lose this market when
the strike is on, and they have no means of re-
gaining it, and are ready to settle on any basis
which will give them back their market, but
such mines do not involve percent of the mines,
and therefore it is not central question Of the
strike, and perhaps it would be mistake to
settle these mines, even tho it would not, in the
economic sense, hurt the strike. 1t would be
politically mistake to settle these little mines
because of the effect it would have on the
Strike Committees. They might take this in
the way that it was reported from Ohio, and
there is not sufficient gain in such settlements
for us to accept the tasks it gives us to make
WrldJ IIlS means 10 CIl6 masses Oh
ers. Therefore these little settlements are ruled
out of order
Then the question remains, will any Of the
big companies settle. Here we must remember
that the btuninous field is not so complete q
monopoly as the anthracite where competition
is practically eliminated In the bituninous
there is competition Therefore you can speak
of different groups of operators that could be
dealt with, conceivably, but there are not more
than three four ma jor interests there, and it
is certainly not conceivable in the next few
days that one of these major interests is ready
to make large-scale concessions to the miners
The strike will have to go on several weeks be-
fore such a settlement is conceivable. So in the
next two or three weeks. I don't think We can
have any practical problems of settlements with
these major interests.
We really have not faced the problems in
volved in actually meeting such settlements
with the operators. Our task is to force
realization of these concessions through our
mine committees, and if possible the National
Miners Union. But I don't see that this is a
practical issue today although we have GER
tainly got to be examining this question far in
advance
In regard to the National Conference think
it is already clear that the way in which this
conference was called was the correct one It
is correct that this is not to be presented to
the miners in the strike field as substitute for
their immediate strike problems, that it is not
being presented to them as the conference
which is going to produce political program
which solves their problems, but it is con-
ference to extend the front Of the struggle, a
conference to fight against all the illusions of
any other possible solution Of the miners prob
lens except through struggle, and that it is a
conference called by the Strike Committee with
the endorsement of the National Miners Union