Evening star., 1946-12-09
Lewis Low Violation
Seen Remaining Issue
Chiefs Messaee to Miners Shows
He Actually Ordered Strike
By. David Laurence

ne ACtu6uy OIuSISd Ou Ia
By. David Laurence
John L. Lewis has bowed but he has
not surrendered. His message to the
miners calling them back to work con-
tains evidence Of an even more fragrant
violation OF law than could be found in
his failure to heed the restraining order
OF the court.
For the Smith Connally law forbids
any one to order the miners into strike
and the message which has now been
made public plainly shows that they
stopped work by order Of the miners
union chief, who reveals his power to
order or. discontinue work stoppags
even while the Government Is In posses-
sion of the coal mines.
Unless the Justice Department prose-
cutes the violation Of law which occurred
before November 20 and which ID sep
arate and distinct from the contempt
charges now before the Supreme Court,
respect for law In America Will be inn
paired. OF what yse, many citizens will
say. Is q system OF law which permits
immunity to one group Of individuals
and compels others TO obey?
The reason the miners follow Mr..
Lewis implicitly and not the pleas Of
their Government Is that they think
Mr. Lewis is above the Government.
That illusion has to be dispelled. II
cannot be unless the Government pre-
sents promptly to court Of law the
violations Of the SMITH Connally law.
1t is no longer an issue of injunctions
or anti-intunction processes. The Smith
Connally law Is an explicitly worded
statute. The United Mine Workers
union and its leaders who sent the
miners into a work stoppage while the
mines were in possession of the Gov
ernment ignored that law. Punishment
by fines or imprisonment and by civil
damages to industries and workers who
| viction. -
Appeasement Is Unwise.
1t would be q grave mistake II the
Truman administration allowed the So
| called yellow dog" Injunction issue to
becloud the situation. The American
people want to see courts respected but
they also want to see the laws Of the
land executed impartially.
Some people who breathed q sigh Of
relief over the calling OF of the coal
| strike are willing to let bygones be by
cones. But 1t Is precisely this kind Of
appeasement which led the Nation to
the brink of q catastrophe last week.
:, 1t will be noted that Mr.. Lewis, IN his
| message to the miners. does not recede
one bit from hss previous position. That
I is, that he can fix the duration Of the
contract with the Government, and that
hence the miners now are to work only
until IL midnight on March 81, 1e47.
This was the same contention which
| Mr.. Lewis made before. namely, that
he alone could decide when the contract
with the Government of the United
States shall be ended.
In all probability, the Supreme Court
will soon clarity that particular issue
But the court does not have before II
as yet the question arising under this
Smith -Connally law which states that
when any plant or mine or facility ID
in Government possession as . result
of seizure, nobody can instigate strike
/ directly .or. indirectly.
II that law-vhich has been houted
a--is not enforced, it will mean that the
| President has disregarded the oath he
took under the Constitution to see that
the laws of the land are faithfully ex.
ecuted. It cannot be assumed that Mr..
| Truman, who has acted courageously
thus far in the coal crisis, viii falter
now.
"Inside Story" Not Told.
The inside story Of the temporary
truce in the coal controversy which re.
| suited IN ordering Of the miners back
to work probably will never be known
because 1t concerns the role Of Chief
| Justice Vinson and the conference
which he held last Saturday morning
with lawyers representing the Govern
ment and the. miners. Presumably. the
Chief Justice manifested q disinclination
| to hear argument in the contempt cases
while the coal strike was going on.
1 For obviously this meant that the court
would be ION the spot" to determine
whether a strike should or should not
be ended by its decision.
l. While Mr.. Lewis wrote into his state
| ment as his own idea that the court
should be free from public pressure
superinduced by the hysteria and frenzy
/ OF an economic crisis" it may be in.
ferred that these we're much more likely
the words of Chief Justice vinson him.
self Maybe Mr.. Lewis saw the court
declining to take the case under those
conditions. That could have meant that
the lower courts opinion would. In
effect, be sustained and Mr.. Lewis and
| his union then would be subjected to
the heavy fine. Maybe the Chief Justice
| just limited that the court might better
be free of the strike.
Anyway, within an hour or so after.
ward Mr.. Lewis called press confer
ence and ordered the miners back to
work. 1t was wise move.
The truculent language Of the state.
ment, however, shows that Mr.. Lewis
did not do all this with enthusiasm, but
| grudgingly. What chance Mr.. Lewis
had to regain some Of the support he
lost! What better position he would
be in today II he had surrendered grace
fully and explained the issues which
underlie the whole controversy over
wages and working conditions.
But man who can imperil the safety
of a Nation must be under a severe
strain, and the poise necessary to good
public relations often vanishes in the
emotion Of defeat. For it was defeat
administered by the iron hand OF the