Evening star., 1948-03-28
Board Sets DeodIine
For rLeWis omorrow:
Subpoena Is Ready
If Own Summons
FoiIs, Court Order
Will Be Obtoined
BOARD PROPOSES 15ac Rail Pay
Increase. Page A-4.
By james Y. Newton

PreSlQent truman emergency
board of inquiry last night was
prepared to crack down on John
L. Lewis If he fails to say by 10
am. tomorrow that he will ap-
pear before the board to tell his
side of the dispute over a miners
pension which caused the two
Week-old soft coal strike.
The board is expected to subpoena
Mr.. Lewis Immediately if affirmative
word has not been received by the
deadline on the invitation to tes-
tify in the Taft-Hartley Act hear
ing. Some authoritative sources in
dicated the subpoena already had
been drawn.
In the event the boards sub
poena proves ineffective within a
reasonable time. it is expected that
a summary subpoena or court or
der compelling his appearance will
be obtained in District Court. Such
an order could be served on Mr..
Lewis by United States marshals at
either his United Mine Workers Of
flee or his Alexandria home.
All of that is expected to take
place tomorrow.
. Would Be Given Time to Answer.
The next public hearing of the
board, headed by Federal Judge
Sherman Mfnton, is set for 2 o'clock
tomorrow afternoon. A reasonable
time for Mr.. Lewis to answer a
board subpoena, presumably, would
be an hour or so after the hearing
gets under way. Other witnesses
will be on hand to testify regard
less of whether Mr.. Lewis appears.
II Mr., Lewis failed to heed the
court order, contempt proceedings
will be instituted against him, pro-
viding for fine or Jail sentence in
event of conviction.
Some Federal officials said the
board will submit a report on the
coal dispute to President Truman
as early as Tuesday, with or without
Mr.. Lewis direct testimony in
cluded. In the event difficulties
are encountered, it is believed the
board will stand by and append
whatever statements Mr.. Lewis or
the mine workers may make.
Has Not Ruled Out Appearance.
Mr.. Lewis has not ruled out an
appearance before the board There
was no further word from him re-
garding the invitation to testify
which he refused to accept Friday.
At that time, he informed the fact
finders that he was looking into the
legal questions involving his ap-
pearance and hoped to have the
answer sometime Monday"
Meanwhile, there was talk amonk
the operators that the 100000 soft
coal miners may head back to work
soon. But John Busarello, president
of the Pittsburgh UNIV district.
said: From all I'm able to gather,
the men are not going back to work
until this pension thing is settled"
He said he knew nothing about
back-to-work plans, and 1t was
doubtful, in any event, whether the
miners would return on Easter Mon
day.
The National Coal Association
said the miners in the two weeks
of the Nationwide pension strike
have lost in wages double the
amount of the disputed $32,000,0 900
already in the welfare fund.
Board Assembling Report.
The inquiry board, which also in
cludes Mark F. Ethridge, Louisville
publisher, and DR.. George w. Taylor,
former War Labor Board chair
man, worked all day yesterday be-
hind closed doors assembling for
their report pertinent data on the
welfare fund dispute supplied by
the operators. They will work on
the report again today.
Tomorrow the board will hear
testimony from Thomas E. Murray
of New York and William Burke.
secretary of the disputed welfare
fund, and additional testimony from
Ezra Van Horn, operators repre-
sentative. Mr.. Burke was expected
to present the minutes of meetings
held by the funds three trustees,
which should show development Of
the dispute which led to the strike.
Mr. Murray resigned in January
as the third and neutral trustee OF
the fund. In stepping out he blast
ed the unyielding positions of the
other trustees with regard to the
use of the still -untapped fund Mr..
Van Horn is the operators trustee,
while Mr.. Lewis represents the
miners.
Allotment of Fund Disputed.
The contract between Mr.. Lewis
and the mine operators states that
the welfare and retirement fund is
to be used in payment of pensions,
death, sickness and accident bene-
| fits, hospital and medical care. 1t
is raised by 10 cents per ton levy
on all coal produced.
The dispute began over the appor-
tionment of the fund to the various
| See COAL, Page A-10D
/