Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-11-19
Danger Seen
If Troops
Take Mines
Hot-Headed Leadership
on Both Sides Feared
By HUGH S. JOHNSON

IL 10 true ana a very I'M
L fortunate thing that the
strikes in the captive coal mines
now spreading to the free
mines appear, according to your
point of view, like strikes
against the government and
against national defense. In
this appearance. it seems o. X.
to send in the army to take
over" and operate the mines
and end the strikes by force
airplanes overhead and tanks
and artillery and infantry
marching underfoot.
1t is a first principle of the
use of troops in civil disturbance
that you can't do this unless
you are willing to go all the
way through with it-and more
to use that force to accomplish
every purpose you threaten.
This raises a very ticklish
problem. For there is another
point of view. These miners
and their families have been
engaged in this fight for the
complete closed shop for genera
tons. They started with MOTH
ing. They never did have
much. They have very little
now. They think they were
promised what they ask for now
by the-Appa1achian agreement
They are not going to give up
easily.
WHAT then? Are they to be
w shot down? 1t would be
sorry day. The information in
Washington is that it is the in
tention on the part of the army
so far AS the situation can be
controlled-to move in very
slowly, to omit the tanks and
the more terrible man-killers
and not. at first at least, with
the idea of taking over and
operating the mines" but of
keeping order. preventing forci-
BILE picketing, and preserving the
peace.
II is the rumor also. tbut
both these rumors may be I'M
true) that il is not the intention
of the miners to resort 10 force,
but to rely on their belief that
so per cent to 80 per cent of the
men belong TO the UMWA. TO
move in peaceably. and operate
merely because they have the
men on the job.
We should fervently pray that
both these rumors are true.
Widespread bloodshed over this
issue would give more aid and
comfort to Hitler than anything
else imaginable.
Even if these are the very
sensible plans. the danger is
hot-headed and inexperienced
leadership on both sides-espe-
cially on the army side. When
the army took over North
American Aviation il used the
veteran 18th regular infantry.
lust back from China with SOL
diers in the ranks who had done
strike duty veteran is slew
TO shoot.
Give a half-trained selectee a
rifle and bullets 10 put in IL, and
he is pretty apt TO think it is in
his hands for just one purpose
to shoot.
ALSO there has been so much
"A resentment of sol Id ers
among selectees about men who
were exempted and then struck.
and so have neither worked
nor fought" that it may become
one of those foolish. headless
causes for popping off a gun.
You don't have TO pop off many
in a situation seething with riot
TO spill the fat in the fire.
To make a long story short,
II is absurd TO talk about NOV
ing army officers and men in TO
take over and operate coal
mines. II is absurd and silly for
all the reasons given here and
a lot more besides.
Coal mining is not just a
craft. II is a way of life, and
seems 10 be handed down from
father 10 son 10 an extent that
sometimes induces a mining
family 10 live around pit
mouth long after there is
chance to earn a living there.
Your miner is your greatest
individualiSt even more so
than your farmer. 1 hope that
we can keep all these principles
in mind in settling this acute
and dangerous problem and not
jump too quickly to conclu-
sions on either one side or the
other.
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