Evening star., 1941-04-22

ed-the soft coal Z A
shutdown. AA
John Lewis has
ou maneuvered
Miss Perkins and DASid Lawrence
the White House and has shown
himself again the most powerful
labor leader in the country. he
not only out-traded the Northern
coal operators but he now has point
ed out that he will recognize only
the mediation of the President him.
self.
Unless Mr.. Roosevelt begs the
miners union to allow the national
defense program to be continued by
reopening the coal mines, the
chances of an agreement are slim.
The Roosevelt administration hndS
itself in the most humiliating po-
sition it ever has been in with
respect to organized labor.
Mr.. Lewis has always been a skill
full negotiator. Through Philip
Murray. the titular head OF the
CT o., Mr.. Lewis has refused 70
recognize the need for the National
Mediation Board. For several weeks
now the coal operators from the
South have tried to get the Meol-
alton Board. which was appointed
bv the President, to enter the ne
gotiations. But Miss Perkins mas
declined and is reported to nave
told some of the Southern coal
operators that she did not wish 10
certify the strike to the board be-
cause Mr.. Lewis would be odenoeo
by such a course.
Operators AStOunded.
The Southern coal operators were
fabbergasted by such a piece OF
news and word of it went to the
Capitol. where Senator Byrd, Demo-
crat. of Virginia promptly issued
an open telegram to the Secretary OF
Labor demanding that reasons oe
given why the soft coal strike should
not be certified at once to the Ma
tional Mediation Board. UnqueS-
tionably the next 48 hours Will elther
see the certification of the soft coal
strike to the Mediation Board or
steps to put teeth into the law SO
that no union or union leader VIII
venture to refuse to sit down WIN
the Mediation Board and discuss
the issues of any strike.
From Mr.. Lewis point OF view, ms
position is not difficult to justify.
He gave his word to the Northern
operators that he would not allow
the coal mines to reopen anywhere
unless the Southerners gave IN on
the wage differential. And Mr.. Lewis
is a man of his word. There may be
differences of opinion as to now MI.
Lewis allowed himself to be placed
in the position of playing the North
ern group of operators against the
Southern, but evidently in so doing
he has the utmost sympathy OF Sid
nev Hillman, co-chairman of the
ONCE of Production Management,
for Mr.. Hillman told a Senate Com
mittee that the soft coal dispute was
not really between labor and man
agement at all but between two sets
of employers.
Mr.. Lewis having succeeded IN
pitting the Northern and Southern
operators against one another While
he stands pat and insists On uni
form application of his demands,
Is tying up the Nations fuel supply,
but that is a secondary matter now
adays. Mr.. Hillman didn't think it
was particularly important when he
testified. He still refers quantita-
lively and statistically to the de-
tense strikes, and did not seem
yesterday to be concerned about the
possible shortage of coal and the
furnaces in the steel industry that
were already shutting down.
Mr.. Lewis on the Spot.
1t is amazing the way the high Of
fcials in the Government here think
of national defense in relation to
labor. They insist that employe
demands for increased wages are
legitimate-not a word of disap-
proval has come from them on it
but at the same time the order has
gone forth through New Deal
agency to hold down prices.
Members of Congress are becom-
ing stirred over the situation. Rep
resentative Cox of Georgia, Demo-
crat and a member of the powerful
Rules Committee, delivered one of'
the most forceful speeches of his ca
reer in the House on Monday on the
strike situation, declaring that hun
dredS of thousands of man hours
had been lost through defense
strikes
The latest rumor in the national
Capital is that Mr.. Lewis will, upon
proper request from the President,
tell the Northern operators that be-
cause of pressure from the Gov
ernment and in the interest of de-
fense ne cannot continue indef1-
nitely to refuse to keep the coal
mines from reopening. In order for
this to be a proper request, it is
said MIR. Roosevelt must make the
plea himself to the head of the
miners union, after which the re-
quest will be granted. Other rumors
are that Mr.. Roosevelt doesn't want
to plead personally with Mr.. Lewis
but would prefer that somehow the
initiative be taken by the head of
the miners union. This makes the
problem very difficult for Mr.. Lewis,
who, after all, has certain dignity
to maintain in MS conduct of the
negotiations with the coal operators
as a whole. There seems no way
out of it except for the President to
bury his pride and invite Mr.. Lewis
to the White House, so that permis-
sion can be obtained from the head
of the miners union to reopen the
Nations coal mines and let the de-
fenSe program go on.
Thus far the President has come
only part way to conform to the
amenities of the situation as seen
by the miners union chief. He has
made a public appeal not to Mr..
Lewis personally, or to the miners