Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-11-06
U. 5. MayMove
Within Week 10
End Coal Strike
Lewis Leaves for
Secret TuIks With
Illinois Operators
By james Y. Newton

Top administration officials said
last night that the Government
must crack down on the 49-day-
old soft coal strike by the end of
this week unless there is a break
in the deadlocked contract nego-
tiations between John L. Lewis
United Mine Workers and the coal
operators.
Anxious to gain a break in the
solid front of operator resistance
to his demands, Mr.. Lewis en-
trained for Chicago for secret talks
with powerful Illinois mine owners
who, repeatedly. are almost equally
as anxious for an end of the strike.
The avowed purpose of Mr..
Lewis trip was to preside over a
strike-strategy meeting of the
UNIV 200-member policy commit
tee. which he summoned to meet
in Chicago tomorrow afternoon.
But the miners chief left day
earlier for discussions with some
OF the big mine owners there.
Meanwhile, the picture looked
brighter in the 36-day-old steel
strike and there were high hopes
that dispute would be cleared up
early this week. More than 400
900 workers were still idle in the
ind11ctry hou,avor
Ching to See Operators.
Aside from Mr.. Lewis journey
to Chicago. the other hope to avert
emergency action to end the coal
strike rested with Cyrus s. Ching,
the Government mediation chief.
Mr.. Ching will meet with Southern
coal operators here at 2::30 pm.
tomorrow. He expects to call in
Northern and Western operators
later in the week and, if develop
ments warrant it. bring the opera
tors together for joint conference
with Mr.. Lewis.
Mr.. Lewis, it was said, was ready
to reveal his precise contract
terms to the interested Illinois
operators. So far he has only
stated that he would be willing
to settle for a new contract which
would add from 80 to IS cents
per ton to coal production costs.
1t is known that his main de-
mands are an increase in operator
payments to the UNIV welfare
and pension fund-probably to
80 cents a ton. The levy now
is 20 cents. 1t is also known that
Mr.. Lewis wants the work week
shortened.
Along that line, it was said
authoritatively that Mr.. Lewis
would make a strike-ending agree
ment with the operators if they
are willing to boost welfare pay
ments to 80 cents a ton and re-
duce the work week to 371a hours,
portal to portal, a reduction from
the old contract of ,half-hour
"a day. In return, some operators
believed he would be willing to
waive the miners present paid
half-hour lunch period. The lat
ter would mean nothing, since the
miners used to "eat while work.
ing before they got the paid
lunch period in their contract,
and they still follow the same
routine.
Deadline Week Away.
If Mr.. Lewis fails to do bust
ness" with the Illinois operators,
officials said that President Tru-
man will be ready to end the
strike through use of the Taft
Hartley Act and it's anti-strike in
junction. The deadline for action
roughly is still a. week off.
Mr.. Truman has said he would
not hesitate to use Taft Hartley,
which he tried to have repealed
in the last session of Congress, if
he believes the Nation is faced
with real strike induced national
emergency.
Reports came from new sections
last night that the country was
close to the nlc-aency" line as
result of fuel shortages.
In Pittsburgh, hardship was not
far away. Some hospitals reported
their coal would last only day
or two. Dealers said that stocks
were down to a half-weeks' sup
ply and some homes were out of
fuel.
In Rome. Ca. the city audi
(See LABOR, Page A-7.)