Evening star., 1947-06-28
SchWeIIenbacIl
Move 10 Avert
Coal Crisis Seen
Nearly Half Million
Miners Begin Vacation
Due to End July
BULLETIN

AAouotky oouACGo 1CtCdAC0
today that powerful coal min
ing interests have offered to
meet in full the wage-and-
hour demands of John L. Lewis
amounting to IS cents an
hour in basic wage rates-in an
effort to head off the general
shutdown of soft coal mines
expected in 10 days. The offer
was said to have been made by
Benjamin Fairless, president
of the United States Steel
Corp, and George M. Hum
phrey, chairman of the board
OF the Pittsburgh -Consolida-
ton Coal Co., the worlds larg-
est commercial producer of
coal.
The impending coal crisis and
the decision of the CIO to battle
the Taft Hartley Labor Act in
the courts held the attention Of
Federal officials today.
As nearly half-million soft and
hard coal miners began an official
vacation which will not end until
July 7, 1t was expected that Secre-
tary of Labor Scnwellenbach will
make one last effort next week to
head off critical strike by trying
to bring John L. Lewis and private
operators together in. negotiations.
All sides admitted the coal OUT
look is dark. Because of the short.
age of other fuels such as oil and
natural gas, a soft coal strike Of
long duration would strike body
blow at the Nations economy. The
Government will release at noon
Monday the mines 1t seized in May,
1916. Since the miners will have
no work contract, full-scale ma
tional walkout seems likely when
their vacation ends.
CLIO Conference Ends.
The CLOS top policy-makers, the
5l-member Executive Board, ended
a conference here after deciding
generally to fight the aft-Hartley
law through the courts and in the
1948 elections.
The CIO board rejected all de-
nlands for general protest strike,
and will concentrate on attack
ing the constitutionality Of various
phases of the new law and call on
the AFL and railroad brothernoods
to join in the battle.
Individual CIO unions viii be left
to make their own decisions as to
whether to involve themselves In
any way with the new National
Labor Relations Board.
CIO President Philip Murray an
nounced that as starter the organ
ization's legal staff will aim at the
Taft Hartley Acts prohibition on
union political contributions or
editorial expression for or against
candidates for Federal offices In
newspapers supported by union
funds.
Meeting Is Suggested.
1--WE will not comply with the
unconstitutional limitations on polit-
ical activity which are written into
the Taft Hartley BILL" Mr.. Murray
said.
He suggested a meeting of himself
and other union leaders to map
joint strategy for the court and elec-
ton fights He sent invitations to
AFL President William Green and to
the heads of rail unions to take part
In the conference. The, organiza-
tions claim a combined membership
of about 100000.
"We propose" Mr.. Murray said,
"to exercise our political rights for
the purpose of mobilizing the Amer
lean people for the reputation not
only of the Hartley bill but OF
the entire reactionary program Of
which it is part"
The Executive Board will dis
tribute to CIO unions copies Of a
legal analysis of the bill by General
Counsel Lee Pressman. Each union
then will decide whether to use or
bypass the machinery of the ex-
panded NLRB setup by the act.
Indications were that strong Ilrl-
ions which employers have recog-
nized for years as bargaining agen-
cies for all workers in an industry
will avoid any recourse to the board.
If so, they will deprive themselves
Of such legal protection as the re-
quirement that employers must bar
gain with unions of their en1ployes
The soft coal miners vacation Is
provided in the unions contract
with the Government. Pennsyl-
vania's $4,000 anthracite miners,
(See LABOR, Page ABB
Ii A4l III r 4