Evening star., 1948-04-12
Bridges Pension
Plan Accepted
Men toGob Back
Van Horn, Operator,
Dissents. indicating
Possible Court Test
By jones Y. Newton

The 29-day-old soft-coal strike
was settled today after John l..
Lewis won $100 monthly pensions
for the members of the United
Mine Workers, but this failed to
save him from an order to stand
trial for contempt of court.
| Mr.. Lewis gave the word for the
100000 striking miners to return to
work after the sudden and dramatic
announcement that a pension plan
had been worked out by the trus-
tees Of the UNIV welfare and re-
tirement fund. The dispute over
pensions touched of the strike
March Is.
A Lewis telegram to the miners
stated simply:
Pension is granted. Agreement
is now honored."
Senator Bridges, Republican, Of
New Hampshire proposed the
strike ending pension plan. Mr..
Lewis agreed to it and the two
pushed it through a trustees meet
| ing over objection of Ezra Van
Horn, the operators trustee. Sem
ator Bridges entered the dispute
only yesterday as the third and
neutral" trustee.
20 Minutes Before Hearing.
Announcement of the plan and OF
Mr.. Lewis message to the miners
came barely 20 minutes before Jus
tice T. Alan Goldsborough in Dis
trict Court-at 10.a am.-began hear
ing contempt charges against Mr..
Lewis and the UNIV. The charges
result from refusal to obey another
court order to call off the strike,
and the Government announced the
charges would be pressed regardless
of the end of the strike.
Most reports from the coal fields
indicated the miners would return
to work tomorrow, and UNIV head
quarters here foresaw no trouble.
But, John Busarello, head of the
Pittsburgh union district, when
asked If the men would show up for
afternoon shifts, said "Well, wen
have to wait and see what the court
does ION the contempt charge"
Hugh White, head Of the UNIV in
Illinois, notified all members in the
State to report for work tomorrow.
and said he expected normal opera
tions. William J. Hynes, head Of
the union around Uniontown, Pa,
and leaders of Ohio's 1900 coal
diggers, all predicted immediate re-
| oDenino nf the mines
S100 Monthly Payments.
The plan provides for S100 MONTH
ly payments to those UNIV men,
bers who wish to retire at 81 and
who have 20 years service in the
mines. 1t is retroactive and applies
to those who have retired since May
%, 1916, which is the date the Gov
ernment agreed to a miners well
fare fund after seiZing the mines to
end another strike.
There were some immediate indi-
cations the coal operators may re-
fuse to accept the Bridges plan
and possibly may institute new
court proceedings to prevent its ad-
ministration.
Except for the retirement age, the
Bridges idea closely resembles MIR.
Lewis demands. He had asked the
age be set at so and that all UNIV
members be made eligible to receive
regardless of when they retired.
Taft Act Violated, Van Horn Says.
Senator Bridges announced that
Mr. Van Horn had dissented. The
operators trustee then told the
news conference, hurriedly arranged,
that he thought that ages 60 and 50
are both too low" and that he did
not think the income of the present
fund - about $50,000,000 a year -
would sustain the plan.
AS he understood it, Mr.. Van
Horn continued, the Bridges plan
provides for payments to miners
whose employers have not signed
the coal industry contract. That,
the operators have contended, Is
contrary to the Taft-Hartley Act.
ANY new court action to halt pay
ments presumably would be taken
on that basis.
Mr.. Lewis, after saying I'VE will
carry out unreservedly our part un-
der the tBridges) resolution" added
this to Mr. Van Horns comment:
THE mine workers have nothing
more to add except to say they un-
derstand the coal operators are still
against pension"
Senator Bridges said that Mr.. Van
/ (See COAL, Page A-6)