Evening star., 1948-04-09
.AIlCoaI-burninq
Train Service
Is Cut 10 Half
Second 25% Slash
Effective Thursday;
Steel Output Suffers
By james Y. Newton

The Government today order-
ed coal-burning railroad service
reduced 10 half of normal as a
result Of the 26-day-old soft coal
strike. The cut is effective at
midnight next Thursday.
Oficials of the Office of Defense
Transportation, which along With
the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion issued the orders to the rail-
roads, indicated it would be can
celled if the 100000 miners return
to work before the deadline. How
ever, there was no sign that John
L. Lewis intended to call off the
walkout as the District Court has
told him to do.
Dwindling supplies Of fuel caused
the ODT and ICC to order the new
reduction in both coal-burning pas
senger and freight service. on
cials said Wednesday the railroads
had stocks sufficient to last only "a
days.
Other Industries Crippled.
The Is per cent cut ordered to-
day is in addition to a similar re-
duction put into effect earlier.
Those curtailments, plus the re-
duced coal freight loads, have made
approximately 10000 railroaders
idle.
Coal burning locomotives nor
mally handle about As per cent Of
the passenger trains and IS per
cent of the freight service.
The strike has crippled opera
tions in other industries, especially
steel. In all, approximately 100000
workers in various fields are idle
in addition to the 100000 soft coal
miners.
In another coal crisis develop
ment, attorneys for Mr.. Lewis filed
in District Court today motion
to dismiss a petition of the soft coal
operators which asked the court to
appoint q third and neutral trustee
of the UNIV welfare and retire.
ment fund. A dispute over pay
ment of miners pensions out of the
$32 100000 fund touched of the
coal strike.
Jurisdiction Challenged.
Attorneys A. K. Shipe and Walter
M. Bastian joined with regular
United Mine Workers counsel in fl
ing the dismissal motion. They said
the Taft-Hartley Act provided only
for appointment of an umpire for
disputes over welfare funds and
that, therefore, the court lacked
jurisdiction to name a trustee. Both
sides have indicated a neutral trus-
tee could help settle the dispute
over use of the welfare fund.
In the steel industry, $1,000
men already had been laid off
and additional furnaces were being
closed down. Bethlehem Steel said
it was losing production of 10000
tons week and Carnegie Illinois
1000 tons day.
Steel officials placed the loss
in production since the beginning
Of the strike at 100000 tons. Out
put next week may be reduced to
about half normal.
| HdTticy FIdhS ActlOn.
Meanwhile, there were these other
developments in the coal strike:
l. Chairman Hartley of the House
Labor Committee said he would act
quickly to curb the power OF Mr..
Lewis if the Taft-Hartley Act fails
to end the strike,
e. President Truman told a news
conference that he will enforce the
Taft-Hartley Act to the letter in
an effort to halt the strike.
8. Coal mine operators and repre-
sentatives of the United Mine
Workers--with Mr.. Lewis absent
were meeting again today for fur
ther discussion of the miners pen
sion issue that touched off the
strike. There was little hope of
settlement.
4. The Southern Coal Producers
Association filed an unfair labor
practice against the UNIV with the
National Labor Relations Board,
charging refusal to bargain. The
charge could lead the another in
junction against the union.
Attorneys for the Justice Depart-
/ (See COAT, Page A-41