Evening star., 1933-08-12
ANOTHER FLARE-UP
HITS COAL GROUPS
United Mine Workers. Lead
er Scores Progressive
Miners of America.

The Recovery Administrator
hearings on upward of 20 codes of
fair competition for the bituminous
coal industry came to a close at
12:45 pm. today and Deputy Ad-
ministrator Kenneth M. Simpson
said the operators were to meet him
August % after the administration
had made q study Of the testimony.
BY the Associated Press.
The fourth day Of the Recovery Ad-
ministration's hearing on a code for
the bituminous industry today brought
another flare-up of animosity between
the United Mine Workers Of America
and the Progressive Miners Of America.
William j. Sneed. president of tie
Illinois district of the United Mine
Workers. contended the rival union
mad devised nothing and initiated
nothing for the benefit of their men,
bership, but have trailed along after
the United Mine Workers of America,
snarling at their heels"
Attacks Scales.
He attacked the wage scale and
hours in the code submitted by the
Coal Producers Association Of Illinois.
which are based on contracts with the
Progressive Miners.
Violence has occurred, he said, in
pursuance OF the campaign" of the
progressive group "to disturb the con-
tract relations between the United
Mine Workers and the Illinois Coal
Operators Association"
The best evidence Of who the ag
gressor has been is revealed in the
fact that five of their (progressive)
members have been sentenced to the
penitentiary for murder, four for life
and one for 40 years"
He added that not one instance CT
bombing has been charged against the
United Mine Workers of America
Coal Men Expect Adjustment.
First, bituminous coal men them
selves expected the National Recovery
Administration probably would settle
their differences over pending wage and
hour fixing codes for that industry by
ruling in or out the points of contro-
versy.
Coal operators said today that imme-
dlately after the sessions end they expect
to be ordered into conferences TO settle
as many controversial points as possible.
with the National Recovery Admins
tration thereafter stepping in to use its
authority to clear up the rest.
Yesterday Hugh S. Johnson, indus
trial administrator. made 1t clear he
would not permit the final code to In
clude a stipulation that miners must
negotiate through company unions. The
law, he said, guarantees collective bar
gaining by labor. without such restrlc-
ton. and cannot be modified.
At about the same time Forney John
ston of Birmingham. representing the
Alabama coal operators, in discussing
the code presented by union negotiators,
warned that under, no circumstances
whatever will those responsible for the
operation of the (Alabama properties
consent without a contest to inclusion
under that proposed code"
Fletcher P Burton Of Providence.
r. l.. representing the Atlantic Coast
Coal Dock Operators Association. to-
day submitted to the administrator
proposed code for coal dock workers
along the Atlantic coast The code
proposed a 4O-hour week, with mini
mum wages of 40 cents an hour.
George Heaps Of Des Moines, repre-
senting the Iowa Coal Operators Asso
citation. spoke in behalf Of its proposed
code, which is similar to the general
tunionl code. except that it permits
continuance of the present wage scale
in Iowa-a s4.7o daily basic rate
rather than the s5 rate embedded in
the union code.
Quotes Iowa Method.
Heaps said that by adjusting ton
mage and yardage, as is done in Iowa.
the $40 rate is made the equivalent
of the S5 rate as far as production
costs are concerned
Mrs. josephine Roche, representing
the Rocky Mountain Fuel Co. of Colo
RADIO, said her concern had been op-
Grating under a contract with union
miners since 1923 and that since the
firm began paying the higher union
wages operating costs had gone down
rather than up
There has been a remarkable in
crease of efficiency" Mrs. Roche said.
The tonnage per miner per day has
gone steadily up. 1t is now six-tenths
of q ton more than in 1928 and one and
six-tenths of ton greater than in
the State as whole"
Mrs. Roche said the sales of the
company had decreased only IS per
cent during the depression, and in re-
Sponse to a question by Donald r.
Richberg, NJ r. A. counsel, said the
company met direct price competition
with producers having lower wage
scales.
The code of competition offered by
/, the Alabama coal operators. intended
to apply only to that States coal in
dustry and to be locally administered,
provides for the maintenance of present
wage scales and specifically reserves the
right of workers not to enter any labor
organization.
Meanwhile, an appeal to bituminous
operators to put your machines under
the shed until We get out of the ditch"
was made by w. C. Kane of Saline
County. ILL.,
1T would take quite lot of patriot
ism to apply that major operation, I"
Kane said, but 1t has worked in our
county"
Thumping the platform table with his
fist as he shouted his plea at yester-
days hearing. Kane said one mine
in Illinois removed its loading machin-
cry and increased its average employ
ment from 240 to 303 men and that
the average daily earnings were greater.
Kane explained that removal of all
machinery would likely be impossible,
but that some sort Of provision should
be included in the code to allow hand
loading mines to continue to operate
on a competitive basis and to discour-
age further mechanization at this time.
The question of collective bargaining
was brought up also in discussion of
the code submitted by the Alabama
operators.
Blackwell Smith. associate counsel of
the administration, asked Johnston IL
the provision guaranteeing miners the
right not to join union did not
practically cut off collective bargain-
ing entirely"
Johnston replied that it did not and
was not intended to do this. He said