Evening star., 1943-11-30
|ckes and Lewis Mine
Pact Declared Based
On an Assumption
Ry the Associated Press.


tween Secretary of Interior 1ckes
and John L. Lewis-regarded in
some quarters as an underlying
fiction of the pact-came to the
fore today on the basis of data
prepared by the Solid Fuels Ad-
ministration, as the once of
Price Administration formally
raised soft coal ceiling prices II
cents a ton to offset higher labor
costs.
1t explains in part why coal prices
are going up, even though the War
Labor Board says it did not approve
wage increase. It indicates, too,
why another coal crisis may be
Matching
What the War Labor Board ap-
proved was not wage increase but
an increase in earnings. The WLB
justified its approval on the basis
of an increased production time of
one hour day. But the increase
in working time is based in part on
an assumption, and therein lies the
fiction.
It. extent is disclosed in a let
ter from Sterilization Director Fred
Nj. Vinson to the OPA, authorizing
the price increases. Mr.. Vinson said
the solid fuels administrator-Mr
1ckes-told him the increased la
Dor costs resulting from the new
wage agreement should be COM
puted on an estimated production
increase of approximately 8 per cent
by reason of the additional work
time provided for in the agreement. "
This 8 per cent increase in pro-
duction is substantially short of the
amount due from an additional
normal hour of work. Mathemati-
cally, the increase would be more
than IA per cent. In other words,
Mr.. 1ckes now estimates he will
get only 81 per cent of normal pro-
duction for the additional hour for
which the WLB approved wage pay
ments at time and half rates.
Operators doubt it will be that high
Mr.. Ickes' aides, asked about this,
explained that longer work day
involves the fatigue factor, plus
difficulties in equipment, transpor-
tation and schedules, particularly
in mines which work on three
shift. roundthe-c clock basis.
One of the operators emerging
from the wage conference which
Mr., Ickes addressed yesterday said
the Secretary was asked whether
he expected to get an additional
hours productive work under his
agreement with Mr.. Lewis. Admin
lstrator Ickes, the operator said,
did not reply.
In the anthracite industry the
situation Is more obvious. The
agreement provides increased earn
lngs OF 378 cents day as COM
pensation for reducing the lunch
period, though the bulk of the en-
ployes have no lunch period to re-
duce.
Assumes Travel Time"
In the soft coal case, involving an
increase of $1.50 day, it is the As
minutes travel time. On a portal
to-portal basis every minute spent
travelling underground is taken from
the time when miners would be pro-
ducing coal. The Ickes-Lewis agree
ment assumes" an average of As
minutes travel time. Operators say
the figure substantially exceeds that
and Mr.. Lewis himself once con-
tended the average was 80 minutes.
Although the WLB was willing TO
accept the assumed" As minutes
travel time for the period of Gov
ernment operation, it made clear
that when a contract between the
United Mine Workers and operators
| is submitted the contract will have
TO stand on facts and not aSSump-
tions. The facts are now being
gathered. If they show suostan-
TALLY higher travel time and there
fore less productive time the boards
formula would call for decreased
earning for the miners. Thus the
coal case has not been ended yet.
Meanwhile, negotiations for a
wage contract covering the entire
soft coal industry hit a new snag
yesterday, some operators question:
ing whether the average 17-cents-
atom price increase is enough to
carry the load of the proposed $1.5O
a day more wages.
Ask Breakdown Of Figures.
The coal parley, disregarding
Ickes' plea for speed, decided to
ask OPA for a breakdown of the
price hike so every operator would
know exactly what it means to him
in dollars and cents. Ezra Van Horn,
coal industry leader. and John T
Jones, United Mine Workers Off
cial, were instructed to seek the
information and the conference was
adjourned until today. The OPA
announced the breakdown in prices
last night.
Some operators said they we're
not satisfied with the price increase
Mr.. Ickes and Mr.. Lewis were re-
ported as reflectnig the same atti-
tude
Mr.. Ickes appeared before the
wage conference to urge unanimity
Operators representing more than
half the 600,0O000O tons year pro-
duction were ready to sign with
| Mr. Lewis on the proposed contract