Evening star., 1943-05-03

included no promises to the United
Mine Workers. It was assumed,
however, that should a six-day week
compromise be worked out, it would
tend to absorb the wage increase
phases Of the contract dispute.
The principal issues in both the
hard and soft coal controversies are
for $2-a-day wage increase, under
ground travel pay and unionization
Of miner bosses.
No one in official Washington cir
cles was talking publicly, but the
concensus seemed to be that, with
one possible exception, any agree
ment for settling the dispute would
have to be referred to the War Labor
Board for approval.
This exception would be a guar
antee of a six-day week with over
time pay for the sixth day at the
rate of time and half or rate and
a half. Larger pay envelopes re-
Sulting from an extended work week
have been held not to require WLB
approval.
Miners now get basic rate of 81
a day for a flve-day 35-hour week.
Work on the sixth day thus would
bring a miner $10.50.
Before the truce was announced
by Mr.. Lewis in New York, there
had been no definite indication of
how the miners would react to the
Presidents previous call for a re-
turn to their jobs. The operators
were called upon to fly the Ameri-
can flag over their properties today
and reopen the mines-regardless
OF whether the workers appeared
but while some union locals voted
to return to work others decided to
stand pat pending word from Mr..
Lewis.
When the word came from New
York, cheers echoed generally from
the coal fields at the back-to-work
call and reports from union meet
lngs said both cheers and tears were
noted when the President said:
Il believe the coal miners will not
continue the strike against the Gov
ernment. I believe that the coal
miners themselves as Americans will
not fail to heed the clear call to
duty. Like all good Americans they
will march shoulder to shoulder
with their armed forces to victory"
Safeguard for Workers Promised.
Then Mr.. Roosevelt-still without
reference to Mr.. Lewis, whom he did
not see while the latter was in the
Capital - said the Government
would not now weaken the rights of
workers to join unions. He said his
hearty support had been behind
every improvement in the conditions
of coal miners; that he did not in
tend to desert them now; and that
any adjustments resulting from q
new contract would be made retro
active to the expiration date of the
old one.
At the same time he emphasized
that coal will be mined no matter
what any individual thinks about
it."
Meanwhile, Mr.. Ickes swung swift
ly into the mammoth job of putting
Uncle Sans latest business acquisi-
ton into operation. Through a
busy week end he and his staff set
up regional Offices for managing the
new properties and accepted tele-
graphed oaths of Office from the
operators-now public servants.
If any of them request troops, the
regional managers will check the
situations and recommend to Mr..
Ickes whether soldiers should be
moved into the mines to protect life
or property-but Mr.. Ickes ex-
pressed doubt that troops would be
needed.
Mr.. Ickes also moved to save the
Nations coal stockpile, suggesting
that the War Production Board ban
non-essential lighting in a country
wide dimout and that the Office of
Transportation curtail railroad travel
by about 25 per cent.
Effect on Production Doubted.
However, indications were that the
stockpiles had been sufficient to
avert any immediate effect on war
production-despite the deep inroads
which had been made by consistent
full blast operation of coal-burning
plants. Steel industry spokesmen,
for example, had previously said
their supplies generally would last
from two weeks to a month.
Mr.. Ickes' Office said that in addi-
tion to the coal caught in transit,
nearly 100000 tons of coal were
in the hands of users, enough for
about. As days operations at the
rate of use in March. Spokesman
observed, however, that this supply
was unevenly distributed and that
steel mills and railroads were in a
particularly precarious" position,
some of them having supplies suf-
f1cient for only about % days.
Director Joseph B. Eastman said
ODT lis studying ways and means
of conserving coal through curtail-
ment of railway passenger travel
in response to Mr.. Ickes' request.
He added:
The problem is not an easy one,
and formal measures cannot be I'm
mediately put into effect. In the
meantime, the public must continue
to help by abandoning all unneces-
sary travel and by making plans
to postpone all necessary travel that
can possibly be deferred.
ANY increase of travel in antici-
patton of restrictions on train serv-
ice will make any future restrictions
more severe and will use up coal
which may be needed later for war
production, the movement of essen
tial freight and passenger traffic
and other purposes"
Mine Owners Wire Ickes.
Mr.. Ickes reported last night that
Government managers" of nearly
1000 coal mines had telegraphed
him they were flying the United
States flag above their properties
and were ready to reopen their
mines.
No one had refused the post of
Government manager among the
hundreds of responses received thus
far Mr. Tcknc cold