Evening star., 1943-06-02
Coal
Continued From First Page.)

Coal
Continued From First Page)
pledge and a defiance OF the board,
directive order of May Is, 1943.
Therefore, in conformance with
the procedures of the War Labor
Board which have been uniformly
applied in all past cases in which
either party violated the no-strike
lockout pledge and def1ed a di.
rective order of the board it il
hereby directed that all negotiation!
between the parties on the ISSUES
referred to them by the directive
order of May 25, 1943, in this cast
shall cease Immediately until th'
mine workers return to work II
compliance with the boards di
rective order of May Is, 1943.
The board further notifies thu
parties that any agreement on thu
issues reached by the parties whil'
the workers are on strike and unde,
the pressure of this strike coercion
will not be considered or approved
by the board The board is re-
ferring this case to the President
for such action as he deems ap.
propriate."
Addressed to Both Groups.
The message was addressed to Mr.
Lewis, former Senator Edward r
Burke, president of the Southern
Coal Producing Association; Charles
ONeill, chairman OF the Operators
egotiating Committee of the Ap-
palachian Joint Conference, anc
Ezra Van Horn, chairman of the
Joint Negotiating Committee.
The May Is directive ordered
resumption of collective bargaining
on the major issues, such as portal
to-portal pay, the six-day week
charges for equipment used by the
miners and certain contract wording
The order called for a report te
the WLB within 10 days and saio
''the parties shall continue the un.
interrupted production of coal under
the contract terms and conditions
that existed on and prior to March
81, 1943."
Offers Rejected.
The producers and Mr.. Levi.
had called conferences here al
10 am, with the expressed inten.
ton of going at the problem from
the beginning. This was decided or
after each side rejected the others
compromise offers yesterday wher
the second 15-day truce expired anc
100000 coal diggers quit work.
Concurrently, the House Military
Affairs Committee today carried to
the floor its fight for an anti
strike law. There is no sense in
waiting any longer" said Chairman
May.
Fuel Administrator Ickes termed
the miners action a strike against
the Government. He has been oper-
atlng the mines by presidential di-
rectlon since the wage argument
came to a stalemate May l.
Assails Leaders of Both Sides.
Mr.. Ickes, urging resumption of
work, declared Mr.. Lewis could not
escape responsibility for the stop
page, and at the same time criti-
clzed "a few powerful operators" for
what he called their uncompromis-
ing attitudes.
MI. Lewis said the Government
appeal to get the mines going agair
was matter ito be given considera
ton"
Chairman Donald M. Nelson O.
the War Production Board said tha,
United States steel production will
crop sharply late this week unless 6
t1oW of coal to steel plants is main.
tanned, and practical paralysis O,
the war production program viii
follow any serious curtailment O,
coal supplies"
While steel was listed as the prin.
clpal industry threatened, Mr., Mel.
son said immediate damage may be
done also to the production O,
benzol or aviation gasoline and syn.
thetlc rubber and also to the OUTPUT
OF various chemicals used in explo.
slves, plastics and medicine.
Electric utilities, he added, gen.
orally have fair reserves of coal but
IN many localities power also i.
threatened.
Mr.. Ickes estimated that only 4!
days supply of coal lies abov,
ground, and steel centers indicated
their output would be affected seri
ously in a matter of days. A spokes
man for United States Steel at Pitts
burgh said production would b,
very much curtailed in three O.
four days"
Other steel men reckoned tha
many mills would have to cut thei
output by Is per cent in the frs
week of the coal shutdown, an,
drop so per cent more if the dead
lock continues another week.
Mr.. 1ckes promptly issued an or
der barring rail deliveries to con
sumers who have more than a 10
day supply Of soft coal or 5-day sup
ply Of anthracite on hand. The rail
roads were reported to have a 80
day supply.
A Nationwide dimout was sug
gested by War Production Board of
flcials as means of conserving tn,
108 days supply of soft coal held b,
the utility companies, but the ides
was only in the conversation stage.
May Cut Train Mileage.
The ONCE of Defense Transpor
tation held out another stop-gal
measure as possibility-a ban OF
nonessential rail travel and an ar
bitrary Is per cent cut In trail
mileage.
While the strike hit both bitumi
nous and anthracite fields, the cur