The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-07-19

in the new Smith Connally bill
which compels union or an en-
ployer to accept a WLB finding,
though the bill does give the board
greater power.
And it is worth noting that the
WLB finding on the United Mine
Workers case contains no provision
! ordering that John L. Lewis must
sign a contract Incorporating the
terms of boards recommendations
| Members of the board did pay an
official call on War Mobilization Di-
rector James F.. Byrnes demanding
that the miners be forced to sign.
But since the board has no police
powers to enforce its own decisions,
that job had to be passed to the
White House.
| Thus far the matter has just
been kicked around.
! On June %, the mine operators
wrote the President about this, and
on June 30 they got an answer
! signed by Byrnes saying, "The gov
| eminent is giving full considera-
ton to the steps which may be
taken to obtain full compliance with
| the June IL directive of the Ma
tional War Labor Board without
| increasing the risk of interruption
of mining relations"
NO NOTE TO LEWIS
Secretary of the Interior Harold
L. Ickes, as head of the Office of
Mine Operations and government
boss of the seized coal mines, has
challenged the statement that the
government is powerless to fore &C
ceptance of the WLB findings by the
miners Yet Ickes has not specified
how this can be done.
In the face of the Byrnes and
Ickes statements and the WLB rec
concentrations, the President has
| stated that he has no intention of
writing a note on pink paper asking
John l.. Lewis to sign new agree
ment with the coal operators. He
might say no. So where are we
now? The mine operators would
like to know.
The President has refused to &C
| cept the Oct. 81 deadline which
John L. Lewis placed on his will
| ingness to have the mines continue
work under government operation.
If that is any indication that the
administration hopes it can con-
tinue to drift along under the terms
of the present arnistice that's
bad.
The only party to this dispute who
has anything to gain by sitting tight
and letting Father Time take his
own sweet old way is John Lewis.
Time can play into his hands beau
tifully. Congress has gone home till
mid-September, so there's nothing
more to fear from that quarter. Any
increase in the cost of living dur
ing the summer works to Lewis ad-
vantage in his demands for higher
pay than that awarded his union
under the WLB directive of June
49,
ANOTHER STRIKE?
The Smith Connally bill provides
that union must give 80 days ad-
vance notice of intent to strike in a
war industry under government OPP
Grafton, so on Oct. l Lewis can an
nounce intent to call another strike
whether the government recognizes
his Oct. 81 deadline or not.
A coal strike at the beginning of
winter would be brutal thing, the
worst sabotaging of the war effort
to be imagined. Lewis has marched
his miners up the hill ON strike
three times since May l, and march
ed them down again without vic
tory except for the small gains
handed him in the WLB decision.
Agreement to continue to dig coal
under government operations of the
mines was face-saver for Lewis
Maybe it's time to quit saving Lewis
race.
The one move in that direction on
which the administration has shown
its hand is the Presidents bid for
a change in selective service regula-
tons to permit the drafting of mi
ners. That's real, and it's easily ar
ranged if it can be done in time.
For resisting the draft law there
are severe penalties. Would a year
in stir make Lewis a hero or a
heel? It's up to him to decide.