Evening star., 1946-05-09
WhiteHousePur
Studied; Seizure Of
Rails Fuvored
By jones Y. Newton

President Truman declared
today that the economy -paralyz-
ing, 39-day soft coal strike is
slowly and gradually approach
ing the stage of a strike against
the Government and that he is
considering calling John L.
Lewis and the mine operators to
a joint White House conference
in an effort to settle contract
differences.
The President told a news con-
ference he had number OF plans
for dealing with the coal crisis
under consideration, but indicated
that a definite one had not been
decided on. The situation is as 1t
was and continues to be, he said.
Mr.. Truman also declared he
favored seizure of the Nations rail-
roads If that is necessary to keep
them running. Two of the major
rail operating brotherhoods-the
Locomotive Engineers and Train
men - have scheduled strike
May 18.
May Act Without Lewis.
On the subject of seizure of the
mines closed by the strike Of Mr..
Lewis 100000 miners, the President
said he would cross that bridge when
he gets to it, indicating action would
be forthcoming when he holds the
strike is against the Government.
In reply to question and with
out amplification, Mr.. Truman said
he is making a survey of ways of
ending the strike without Mr.. Lewis
acquieScence.
When it was pointed out that a
move was under way in the Senate
to shunt aside consideration of the
British loan in favor OF strike
control legislation to deal with Mr..
Lewis the President remarked that
the loan was just as important as
the coal strike.
He said he was using and would
continue to use the full powers Of
his Office to end the strike. The
statement was in answer to criticism
by Senator Morse, Republican OF
Oregon that the President had not
acted as firmly in the crisis as he
could.
On the general subject of strike
controlling legislation, Mr.. Truman
pointed out that last December he
asked Congress for law providing
for creation of fact-finding boards
to handle labor disputes and was
refused.
Royalty Plan Brought Up.
He was asked what he thought OF
Mr.. Lewis dkmand for royalty on
coal to support a union welfare
fund. He replied that he had not
studied it thoroughly, but believed
the Wagner Labor Relations Act
prevents that very thing.
A reporter pointed out that the
Wage Sterilization Board had ap-1
proved a payroll. tax to support a
pension fund for the AFL Brother
hood of Electrical Workers. The
President replied that the electrical
plan is different from the Lewis de-
mand.
Mr.. Truman was requested by a
reporter to make some sort of state
ment that would "lay out the coal
strike" as he sees it now so that his
position would be known. Mr.. Tru-
man said he would rather not today
but that he would later. He added
he did not contemplate doing it in
message to the people.
Earlier, coal operators and repre-
sentatives of the striking United
Mine Workers renewed their So
called contract negotiations under
Labor Department supervision, al
though there was no sign of a break
from that quarter. The negotiators,
harassed by the Governments lack
of Office space, were shunted to al
soundproofed movie projection room
deep in the recesses of the Com
merce Building.
There was no immediate word as
to whether Mr.. Lewis had appeared
for today's contract negotiations. He
was absent yesterday, but so were
two important operator representa-
tiyes, Harry M. Moses of the captive
mines and George Campbell of Il
linois.
Miners Find Encouragement.
Meantime, the miners in their
fight for welfare fund, found en-
couragement in the Wage Stabiliza-
tion Board decision on the electrical
workers pension fund. The board
ruled that a l per cent payroll tax
agreed to by the union and electrical
contractors to supplement the indie
pendently operated pension fund
was not wages" within meaning of
the Sterilization Act and therefore
not subject to wage controls.
WSB officials, however, refused to
commit the agency as to whether a
similar fund for the miners would