Evening star., 1941-10-31
Defense Mediators
Meet 10 Work Out
Coal Mine Peace
$1,000 Strikers Return
To Work in Steel Mill
Pits Under Truce

with the largest membership at
tendance since the boards creation
seven months ago. the National
Defense Mediation Board met this
morning in the Social Security
Building to work out a formula for
a lasting peace in the captive coal
mines. The $1,000 strikers, who had
been out four days, returned to work
in those mines today as the result
of a truce which is to last until
November II.
The knottiest question confronting
the board is how to deal with the
union shop issue. John L. Lewis,
president of the United Mine Work
ers. called the strike over that prob
lem, although the board, in earlier
considera ton of the controversy. re-
ported there would be no meeting
of minds" on the issue.
Meanwhile. President Roosevelt
told a press conference that the
general strike situation is more seri-
GUS than it had been in recent
weeks. but is still not as bad as dur
ing an earlier stage of the defense
program He said he did not have
Immediately available any statistics
on the effect on production. adding
that serious consideration is being
given to cases where there are SLOW
downs.
He said he had no news on the
question of introduction of anti
strike legisla ton in Congress.
81 Attend Meeting.
Including members and alter
mates, 81 men attended the board
meeting today. among them Philip
Murray, the president of the c. I. o.
The United Mine Workers are a C.
I. o. union.
The meeting today had been long
on the schedule as regular board
meeting and other matters besides
the coal situation are before it.
However, the board, which meets
in closed session, decided to give
almost its whole consideration to
the coal question.
A copy of blue-bound booklet of
156 pages, the transcript of the
boards earlier hearings on the con-
troversy, and a copy OF President
Roosevelt's letter to John L. Lewis
urging peace in the mines during the
emergency were supplied to each
member of the board as the meeting
began.
The board represents the public.
industry and labor. The present
controversy actually is a part of la
bors long battle with the steel in
dustrialists, because the captive coal
mines are owned by steel mills,
which use all the coal from them for
their milling operations.
Board Members Present.
William H. Davis, chairman OF
the boa7d, presided today. He rep
resents the public, as do Francis w.
H. Adams, New York attorney;
Frank P. Graham. president of the
University of North Carolina. and
Charles E. Wyzanski. Boston attor-
ney. The alternates for the public
CpA CoCAACd OANCS WIZ NCIt
were George w. Stocking, Justice
Department; Walter p Stacy, chief
justice of the North Carolina Su-
preme Court, and Walter T. Fish
er of Chicago,
The Russell bill provides that
strikers in defense industries be
conscripted either for military serv-
ice or for forced work in labor
battalions.
Pittsburgh and Birmingham re-
flected most markedly the signing
OF the truce yesterday. In Pitts
burgh a spokesman for the H. c..
Frick Coke Co.. United States Steel
Corp. subsidiary, reported:
we are mining $4,000 tons of coal
tonight"
Uniontown, Pa, miners rejected a
motion for q roll call on the oues-
ton of going back to work. After
they met and heard the kilograms
from Mr.. Lewis announcing the
truce, they decided to return with
out further ado.