Evening star., 1950-03-17
Ousted UNIV Official
Says Secret Signal
Kept Strike Going
BY the Associuted Press

ID CANTON, H., Mar. 1.-THE
ousted president of a United Mine
Workers local said today John
L. Lewis secretly ordered his
miners not to heed the February
II court injunction which di-
rected them to return to work.
Lloyd H. Sidener, A, former
president of Local 7455, Canton,
said in an interview that Mr.
Lewis, while publicly ordering his
miners to end the strike. used a
system of secret signals down
through the ranks which ordered
them to continue the strike.
Mr.. Sidener filed unfair labor
practices charges in Chicago
Wednesday against the UNIV
before the National Labor Rela-
tions Board. He alleged the
union fined him $4,000 for at
tempting to return to work
February "a, and fixed an ad-
ditional penalty of S25 for each
additional day he might try to
work. He said he also was
ousted as president of the local
union.
Says 1t Was Oral Signal.
He said Mr.. Lewis sent tele-
grams ordering the miners to re-
turn to work four hours after he
was served with a Federal court
injunction.
But Mr.. Sidener asserted Mr..
Lewis also sent the secret signal
orally down through his chain of
command"
This signal, "the whistle blew
one" meant that the miners were
to continue their walkout despite
the kilograms, Mr.. Sidener said.
He added that he, as locals
president, received the signal in
a telephone call from Bernard
Beasley of Canton, chairman of
Subdistrict 2 of the Illinois UNIV
district. Accordingly, he said, he
passed the word on to the local
union members.
Mr.. Beasley could not be,reached
for comment Immediately.
Ignorant of Signals.
John Lakin, jr, who replaced
Mr.. Sidener as Local 7455 presi-
dent, told a reporter: II never
knew nothing about the signals
if there were any. At that time
I was vice president, and all orders
were received by the president,
Lloyd Sidener, or the secretary
treasurer of our local"
In Washington Mr. Lewis him
self was unreachable. But in a
March interview with Arthur
Krock of the New York Times, he
was quoted as saying:
II know it is said that between
the local officers and members and
myself there is a set of secret sig
mails, that I phrase such urgingS
in a way which they will under
stand to mean the contrary. /
But how could there BE such
signals? And if there were, why
has no one in the industry. with
spies all about, been able to de-
tect and expose them? 1t is nom
sense"
Refused to Cite Union.
On March 2, Federal District
Judge Richmond B. Keech in
Washington refused to cite the
union for contempt of court. He
said in his decision: '.t.1
ut may be that the mass strike
of union members has been or
dered. encouraged, recommend
ed, instructed, induced, or in
some wise permitted by means
not appearing in the record. But
this court may not convict on con-
lecture, being bound to act only
on the evidence before it, which
is insufficient to support a finding
of either criminal or civil con-
tempt"
If the signal had been "the
whistle blew three" Sidener said
it would have meant the miners
were to return to work in accord
ance with the kilograms.
Even the greenest miner knows
that when Lewis announces he
wants the miners to end a strike
forthwith he is just making a
show" Sidener said. THE miners
know they must wait the word
of their local and district officials,
who get the word from Lewis, on