Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-03-02
By JAMES Y. NEWTON.


orators today that his United
Mine Workers in their contract
demands sought "the right to
live, the right to eat and some
thing for a rainy day." and
added: IF you don't accede it,
we will take it anyhow"
Mr.. Lewis, continuing his argu-
ment for more mine pay where he
left of yesterday after presenting
contract demands, advised the btu
minous operators to abandon their
attitude of waiting for the Gov
eminent to crush the UNIV and
diScredit its policies because this
is not going to come to pass in
1945."
Earlier the operators charged Mr..
Lewis was seeking, through his new
contract demands, to become labor
car unparalleled in American his
tory" and backed by a SIS, 900 900
year political fund" They re-
ferred to the miners demand that
operators pay into the UNIV treas
ury as royalty of 10 cents for
each ton of coal mined This fund,
according to Mr.. Lewis, would be
used for health insurance" and
economic protection"
Arguments Resumed.
MIR. Lewis, in resuming his argu-
ments, today, warned the Govern
ment to keep it's hands off the ne
lgotiations of the National Coal Wage
conference and said "the wage pro-
posals do not in any way conflict
with Government policy and no
Government agency-the War La
Dor Board or any other has any
statutory authority to interfere with
contract negotiations on such a
/ premise"
Il The mine leader devoted consider
liable time to showing of how the
lprices of food and other consumer
goods have risen in recent months.
j Lets take a look" he shouted, "at
the feeble results that have accrued
from the fanatical cries of the CLIO
and AFL to roll back prices.
They rolled all right, rolled on
and over those intellectual pint
pots who thought the waves of the
sea could be turned back by passage
of resolution or petition to tbs
Great White Father"
Charges Billions in Graft"
Mr.. Lewis charged that war man.
ufacturerS have received $50 ,000,-
100000 in graft" through fixed fees
and cost-plus contracts and that
business generally has "cornered"
additional billions in graft" through
hidden price increases and reduce
ton in quality of goods.
And this is a war President
Roosevelt promised nobody would
make money out Of" he doomed,
citing figures to show that corpora
ton profits had doubled and trebled
since 1899.
"In defiance of our people," he
continued, 1--WE have billions to
squander, but not one cent to give
the mine workers on whom this
country depends"
He declared that the United
States Steel Corp. had increased its
overall take" by $747,070,000 since
1889. He cited numerous other ex-
amples of the improved profit posi-
ton of corporations. He said United
States Steel was the largest pro-
ducer and the largest buyer of coal
in the country. He said the miners
asked some part of the profits.
THE coal miners of this country
want the right to live while this
is going on Mr.. Lewis said. "They
want the right to eat. They want
something also for that rainy day
the Steel Corporation is always talk
ing about. We ask United States
Steel and all other corporations rep
resented in the conference to accede
that right to us. But, if you don't
accede it, we will take that right
anyhow"
/ Mr.. Lewis charged that two coal
companies -Koppers and Island
| Creek-had "connived secretly" with
the Office Of Price Administration
(See kEINTDC 49, -