Evening star., 1950-01-22
Some Miners Agree
To Work as Ives Asks
Strike Fact-Finding
By the Assoeiofed Press

By the Asseeiofed Press
One segment of striking coal
miners last night voted to return
to work as Senator Ives, Re
publican, of New York urged
President Truman to appoint a
fact-finding board Immediately in
an effort to get coal production
back to normal.
"The situation has become so
critical that the President saould
take action at once" Senator Ives
told a reporter. He added that he
had relayed his appeal to Mr..
Truman through reliable
agent" whose name he refused to
reveal.
At Pittsburgh. a United Mine
Workers official said 1900 West
ern Pennsylvania miners had
voted to return to work tomorrow
and that 2,400 others had voted
to extend the strike.
Many to Vote Today.
They were the vanguard of
most of the 10000 strikers in
Pennsylvania and Northern West
Virginia who will vote on a back
to-work question today.
Advised by a field general for
John L. Lewis, the union presi-
dent, that they should let their
stomachs decide" if they should
go back to work, the miners will
determine by ballot if they will:
l.. Heed the order relayed by
United Mine Workers district
leaders from Mr.. Lewis to end
their two-week-old walkout and
dig coal three days a week with
out a contract.
2. Give their leaders an un-
equivocal mo" and stay out of the
pits until they get contract and
can work five days a week.
Clash in Colorado.
The growing tension was dem
onstrated near Canon City, Colo,
where IS members of a splinter
union clashed with UNIV men,
bers on picket line. The battle
Of rocks and fists injured eight
men, four of them sent to hos
pitfalls. Three UNIV district lead
ers were arrested and all further
picketing was banned by court
order.
Near Weirton, w. Va, uniden-
titled men blew up a new power
shovel at a strip coal mine just
inside the Pennsylvania State
line. No one was injured, but
damage to the shovel was esti-
mated at $67,
Senator Ives said he was not
necessarily asking that a fact
finding board be set up under the
National emergency provisions of
the Taft Hartley Act-a law Mr..
Truman wants repealed.
II am simply saying that a
board should be appointed, en-
tirely independent of the Taft
Hartley law, if he prefers to do It
that way" Senator Ives said. 20
Cites Provision in Bill.
Senator Ives said such a move
should not embarrass Mr.. Truman
politically because there was a
provision for naming an emer-
gency board In the labor bill which
the President sent to Congress
last year.
That bill, which would have re-
pealed the Taft-Hart1ey law, was
rejected by both the Senate and
House.
The Administration measure
made no provision for use of the
union-hated Injunction in Ma
tional emergencies. Under the
Taft-Hartley law, the Government
can-after getting the fact-f1nd-
ing boards report-seek a court
order barring a strike for 80 days.
Mr.. Truman has said repeatedly
that National emergency in coal
does not exist.
The President also has said that
he would not hesitate to step into
the coal dispute when he decides
conditions warrant it.
Apparently driven by hunger
and anger, the Western Pennsyl-
vania miners gratif1ed John Busa-
relic, District president, by their
decision to return to work.
Sixty of my locals voted today
and only six of them decided not
to follow the suggestion of Mr..
Lewis to end the strike" he said.
Only minutes after Mr.. Busa-
rello'S announcement, Carson
Hibbits. UNIV District 30 presi-
dent at Pikeville, KY, announced
that 1000 miners who represented
5000 men voted unanimously to-
day to return to work. He added:
The miners here are behind