Evening star., 1946-05-12
President Will Act
To Operate Fund
If Disputunts Fail
By jones Y. Newton

soft coal operators and John l..
Lewis that if they cannot agree
on administration of union
health and welfare fund he him.
self will make arrangements for
the handling of it, it was learned
last night.
That offer. It was understood, is
in line with Mr.. Trumans indorse-
ment of the principle of a miners
welfare fund made during his con-
ference Friday with Mr.. Lewis and
Charles O'Neill, operators repre-
sentative.
The President believes that de-
tails of the welfare plan should be
worked out by the disputants them
selves along with other contract
issues within the five-day period he
allotted them to draft a new con-
tract. The deadline is next Wednes-
day.
Dull
Mr.. Truman, nevertheless, was
represented as believing the miners
as we'll as the operators should con-
tribute to such fund, in contrast
to the Lewis demand that the oper-
ators supply the money which would
be handled solely by the union. The
Chief Executive, it was said, leans
toward plan independently or
Jointly operated and supported by
a management payroll tax plus de-
ductions from workers pay envelopes.
Meanwhile, United Mine Worker
and operator negotiators held both
morning and afternoon sessions yes
terday. the first time since Mr.. Lewis
ordered the miners to return to work
in a strike truce which will expire
May 25 unless work contract is
drafted in the interim. Mr.. Lewis,
who had been absent most of the
week, attended both sessions held
under Labor Department auspices.
Although no progress toward set
tlement of contract differences of
significance was reported, Edward F.
McGrady, special Federal mediator,
said the sessions were held in a very
friendly, very cooperative atmo-
sphere"
Will Meet Today.
In an effort to meet the Presidents s
five-day agreement deadline, the ne
gotiators scheduled another meeting
for II am. today, their first Sunday
sessions. 1t was expected that night
meetings will be called for this week.
Despite all of this seeming friend
illness, new to coal negotiations,
many of the operators expressed the
opinion privately that there is little
hope of settling the dispute by
Wednesday. They said a report
will be made to Mr.. Truman at
that time in any event. One of
them remarked, I'VE will do very
well to have contract by the time
Mr.. Lewis truce ends, and 1 am
frankly doubtful on that point. y
On another front, there was the
start of what could develop into
another bitter verbal exchange
which in the past have been SO
disruptive of the coal negotiations.
John D. Battle, executive secretary
of the National Coal Association,
who is not among the negotiators,
issued a statement saying. THE
coal mine owners made offers to
the union leaders weeks ago that
should have prevented a work STOP
page, and they renewed their offers
many times
Holiday Pay Is Obstacle.
The stumbling block to discussion
of the actual contract issues by the
|negotiators still appeared to be Mr..
Lewis demand for $3,000,O00 in back
holiday pay. Considerable time yes
terday was spent on the point. Many
of the Midwest operators already
have settled the holiday claims and
the union insists that the others
follow suit.
While the President was described
as in agreement with Mr.. Lewis
mine safety demand that Federal
Bureau of Mine inspection recon-
mendations should be adhered to by
the operators, he neverless used the
White House meeting as occasion
to point out that he did not hold
the union leader altogether blame
less in the matter.
Mr.. Truman, it was said, recalled
that several years ago while he was
in the Senate and a member of
the Interstate Commerce Committee
a bill was introduced to put teeth"
into the findings of Bureau of Mines
inspectors. He said that the union
joined the operators in defeating
the n1ea SIRE in the HoIIco