The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-05-11
Coal-hungry Industries Can Expect No Relief
VitoI Services ToGetOutput
 Government PI0ns
 To Keep Controls

Washington, May II = (UP) = Cleanup crews returned to soft coal mines today to prepare them for two weeks of production that will avert interruptions in vital services but may offer no immediate relief for coal-starved factories.
 Under instructions from John
 L. Lewis, president of the Uni-
 ted Mine Workers (A.F.L.) and
 with the assent of industry
 spOkesmen, the miners will re-
 turn Monday for two weeks of
 work to slave off the national
 economic collapse developing
 out of the six-week mine strike.
 President Truman hoped the truce would be made permanent be- fore the breathing spell expired. He wanted Lewis and the mine opera tors to bring him a new wage con- tract by Wednesday.
 But until there was assurance
 that the mines would not be
 closed again, Government
 agencies were not planning to
 relax the controls that were im-
 posed on utilities and railroads
 this week to conserve coal.
 Hence the ''brOwnouts" of cities
 will continue. Factories, Crip- pied first by coal shortages and
 now by freight embargOes on
 supply shipments, may get no
 relief.
 Reports from the coal fields in- dicated that most of the miners would comply with Lewis order yesterday to put the miners back into production for two weeks. But there were usual scattered signs of rebellion from miners reSentfIil be- cause operators had not granted contract demands. And similarly. some owners were expected to balk at Lewis condition that any slibse- quent wage adjustment be made re- troactive. Both union and industry spokesmen thought, however, that most of the mines would be in op- eration Monday.
 The outlook for . new con-
 tract was still uncertain.
 Operators, who long have ac- cTse6 Lewis of stalling, waited
 eagerly to observe his attitude in tOday's negotiations, hopeful
 that he would indicate willing
 ness to outline the UNIV. de-
 mandS in greater detail.
 On the basis of past perform anceS, management representative believed 8 contract could be writ ten in 48 hours once the negotia- tors broke their deadlock. They were not ready yet to predict that MT. Truman's Wednesday deadline would be met.
 Preparations to reopen the
 mines for at least two weeks
 came after quick series of de-
 velOpments yesterday. Lewis
 announcement that the miners
 had been ordered back to work
 came at the close of 8 union
 policy committee meeting. It
 followed a White House an-
 nOuncement that Lewis and
 Charles O'Neill, spokesman for
 the operators negotiating c0m-
 mittee, would confer with the
 president at 4 P. NJ.
 According to one informed source, Lewis anticipated the President, who had planned to ask a 30-day truce. The announcement startled the operators, who noticed that the union instructions ordered To- cal officials to contact individual companies. The industry negotiat- ing committee hence took no i'm mediate action.
 Lewis and O'Neill spent 90 minutes with MT. Truman and
 emerged to say that the Pres ident thought quick agree ment was essential and that he wanted them to bring him . new contract in four or five days. It was understood that MT. Truman had submitted no proposals for settling specific issues and that he did not plan to do 50.
 Asked about the outlook for an agreement. Lewis said it depended on the operators. O'Neil quickly added that it depended on the too.