Evening star., 1941-06-26

of the other u David Lawrence.
coal districts in the South have
agreed to the mine workers de-
mands and now the economic pres
sure of idle mines and lost business
Is to be imposed on the u employ
ers to compel one of their group to
comply.
The Nation already has lost an ir-
replaceable amount of coal-suffi-
cient to supply steel furnaces that
could make enough steel for ships
of many millions of tons. Notwith-
standing the Presidents appeal that
there should be no work stoppages,
the mine workers chieftains have
ordered the strike.
Following a four-Week strike in
April, the Southern coal operators
bowed to the pressure of the mine
workers and agreed to accept the
findings made by the Presidents
National Defense Mediation Board.
The so-called differential between
North and South was eliminated.
The Southern operators lost but
they yielded to the patriotic appeal
of the President. Still they were
not given contract. The nego-
tiators for the mine workers de-
eided to interpret in their own way
certain of the findings of the Ma
tional Defense Mediation Board.
The latter failed to clear up what
1t meant or if it agrees with the
operators, 1t did not venture to say
so.
Will Tie Up Defense Work.
Anyway, the u operating units in
the South succumbed and accepted
the mine workers Interpretation.
When the 18th district declined to do
so, the Southern operators were in
formed they would be punished and
that the coal mines would not be
allowed to open after July even
though they had accepted the terms
in full.
The amount of production to be
halted is about 80 per cent of the
total of the United States but it
means that States like Michigan,
which depend for 81 per cent of
their coal on Southern mines, will
be baked in their defense work
Even Rhode Island, Connecticut and
Vermont, respectively. get go per
cent of their coal from these South
ern mines. Many Southern States
where new defense plants have been
located will be tied up for lack of
coal
The one district which refuses
to grant a closed shop produces
only about per cent of Americas
coal but the other II districts mine
about 150,0000OO out of the AGO.
100000 tons of annual production
of the whole country. Coal supplies
today are lower than they have
been at any time in recent years.
The four-Week strike in April de-
pleted all the supplies above ground.
What has been lost by the strike
already can hardly be made up.
Northern mines are operating at
capacity and the coal for new GUS
toners nowadays iss not available
though the defense program calls
for more and more plants. A coal
strike with 80 per cent production
loss will cripple the defense pro-
gram.
Then there is the coal needed
by the railroads. Three-fourths of
the rail and ship transportation of
the country is fueled by coal and
three-fourths of the factories are
operated by steam and electricity
made from coal.
The Nation has been urged to
believe heretofore that collective
bargaining was a logical and in
slienable right of groups of workers
In individual plants, but in this
case the bargaining is done by a
small group of negotiators for the
whole Nations mine workers who
can order hundreds of thousands
TO stay away from their jobs. If
they start to work, there is no gov
ernmental protection from the civil
or State authorities because the
right to strike has apparently wiped
out the right to work. Individual
liberty of action for the worker de-
parted when the closed shop was
permitted in American industry.
Now a second step has been taken.
The economic power to order big
strike is being used not as between
one union and an employer but as
between employers. If group Of
employers attempt to consolidate
their affairs or reach understand
ings about merchandising their
wares, they are subject to prosecu-
ton under the antitrust laws. But