Evening star. [volume], April 04, 1948, Page A-5, Image 5

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Emergency Measures
Planned by Tuck to
Insure Coal for State
th< Anociat*d Pr«*
RICHMOND, Va., Apr. 3.—Gov.
Tuck declared today he would take
emergency steps to provide Virginia
with coal if the Nation-wide mine
walkout does not end “within the
next few days.”
In a statement bitterly denounc
ing both the Government and labor
leaders, the Governor said he
planned to reactivate the State
Emergency Fuel Commission, cre
ated in 1946 to meet a similar situ
ation.
The .commission then was in
structed to provide coal for the State
by. increasing production at exist
ing strip mines and opening new
strip mines in coal fields not al
ready utilized.
Though the Governor's statement
did not say so, apparently the com
mission would be directed to take
the same steps to remedy the pres
ent shortage.
Gov. Tuck said re-activation of
the commission would free the
people of Virginia from “the con
stant threat of labor union czars,
who have fed on the meat of favor
able Federal legislation and grown
rotpulent on the Government’s
baby-sitter formulas."
“We will not wait until cold
weather to act,” the statement said.
In 1946, the State Guard was
alerted for possible action in in
forcing the commission decisions.!
But the coal strike ended before
the commission got a good start
on its work and the guard never was
mfibilized.
Coal
fContinued From First Page.)
20- years’ service, and the operators
contend it would break the fund.
District Court had been closed
for hours by the time Attorney Gen
eral Clark and his aides had com
pleted preparation of the order and
assembly of voluminous material
supporting their case.
Justice McGuire was reached at
his apartment at 2701 Connecticut
avenue N.W. The order was pre
sented for his signature by H. Gra
ham Morison, assistant attorney
general, and Joseph Friedman, spe
cial assistant to the attorney gen
eral.
The order states the strike. If
permitted to continue, will imperil
the national health and safety, and
that the Nation is “threatened with
irreparable injury for which it has
no adequate remedy at law-.”
“Stoppage Has Caused Crisis.**
The board of inquiry, which held
Mr. Lewis to blame individually for
causing the strike, is headed by
Federal Judge Sherman Minton,
former Democratic Senator from In
diana. Its report stated:
*'We find independent action was
taken by the president of the United
Mine Workers of America in the
form of communications to the of
ficers and members of the United
Mine Workers of America which
induced them to take concerted ac
tion to stop work in all the mines
of the operators signatory to the
aft-cement of July 8, 1947.
“We find the stoppage was not
independent action by miners act
ing individually and separately.
“Their stoppage has precipitated
a crisis in the industry and the Na
tion as a whole.”
Letter From Lewis Stressed.
The report described as “more
than a coincidence” the fact that
the walkout followed closely the
miners’ receipt of a letter from Mr.
Lewis, written March 12, in which
he told them the operators had
“dishonored" the July 1947 con
tract by refusing to agree to the
pension plan.
"Tie stoppage of work follows so
closely on the receipt of the letter
as to constitute cause and effect,”
the report stated. The walkout
began March 15.
Mr. Lewis testified before the
President's board Tuesday after the
District Court ordered him to ap
pear. In ignoring an earlier board
subpoena, he charged the two fact
finders serving with Judge Minton
were “biased and prejudiced”
against him and the union. The
two are Dr. George W. Taylor, for
mer chairman of the War Labor
Board, and Mark F. Ethridge, pub
lisher of the Louisville Courier
Journal and the Louisville Times.
Lewis Traces Developments.
,In his letter yesterday to all offi
cers and members of the UMW,
Mr. Lewis traced recent develop
ments in the dispute with the coal
operators over a miners’ pension
ahd actions by the Government, be
ginning with his March 12 letter.
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ATTORNEY GENERAL GETS INSTRUCTIONS—Attorney Gen
eral Clark, seated in a car as he left the White House yester
day, pockets instructions from President Truman directing him
to seek a court order to end the coal strike. District Court
Judge Matthew F. McGuire signed an injunction last night.
—AP Photo.
His message preceded release of
the fact-finding report.
He pointed out that the earlier
letter has been interpreted by ‘‘the
press, many officials in Govern
ment” and by the coal industry as
a call to the miners to strike. Then
he continued:
"It is well known to you that I
j have not in connection with the
present dispute, either by the cir
cular of March 12, or by any other
! circular or document, or at any
other time authorized, directed,
suggested, requested or recom
mended any stoppage of work or
any continuation of any stoppage
and I do not now do so.
“Your actions in this regard in
: the original instance were your
own individually determined by
you.
Action is Individual, He Says.
“I asked you on March 12,” Mr.
Lewis continued, “ ‘to discuss the
matter in your local union so that
our membership may be fully ad
vised.’ Such discussions as may
have been held, or which you may
I hereafter desire, have been, and will
| continue to be, on your own initia
| tive. As far as I know it is still
the inherent right and privilege of
American citizens to continue to
exercise the right of free speech and
] freedom of assembly.
‘‘Any action or decision which
j you may now care to take continues
| to be entirely for your own deter
mination without direction of any
character from me or from any of
your international officers."
The letter concluded:
“I, therefore, now repeat that you
, are not now under, and have never
been under, any orders, directions
or suggestions, expressed or implied
from me, or any of the union offi
cers, to cease work or to continue
to cease work in protest to the
present dishonoring (as we see it) of
the 1947 contract. I now report
factually the events which have
occurred and the situation as it
presently exists.”
Issue Called Trustees Dispute.
The President's board gave the
background of the dispute over use
of the money in the UMW welfare
and retirement fund, provided by
the contract. The fund, unused,
now totals about $32,000,000. It is
raised by a levy of 10 cents per ton
on all coal produced.
The board described the dispute
as one among trustees of the fund,
rather than one on interpretation
of the contract, as Mr. Lewis had
contended.
They said the whole trouble was
the failure of Mr. Lewis and Ezra
Van Horn, the operators' trustee, to
agree on a way of paying pensions
, out of the fund, which under the
contract must also cover benefit pay
ments to the miners for accident,
illness, hospitalization, death, etc.
There was disagreement, the
board found, between Mr. Lewis
and Mr. Van Horn on who was to
be eligible for the pensions, and
how much to pay those eligible.
It also found that Mr. Van Horn
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was right in saying that Mr. Lewis’
pension demand was too costly for
the fund’s revenue—about $50,000,
000 a year.
The Lewis demand was that all
members of the UMW in the soft
coal fields with 20 year’s service
should become eligible for pensions
upon reaching age 60. He would
include men who are not employed
by signers of the contract, as well
as they who have retired but still
hold UMW cards.
‘‘If carried out,” the board said,
“the Lewis proposal Would more
than exhaust the present fund of
about $30,000,000 and such addi
tional funds as may be reasonably
anticipated, and leave nothing for
the many other objectives of the
fund as enumerated in the agree
ment * * * .”
Cites Broad Vacancy.
The report also noted that Mr.
Lewis had done little to help find
a third and neutral trustee for the
I fund, one to replace Thomas E.
Murray of New York. Mr. Murray
resigned in January after he was
unable to agree on either the Lewis
or Van Horn ideas for using the
welfare fund.
Mr. Murray’s own plan, likewise,
was not accepted by either of the
; trustees. He, however, described
the Lewis plan as “actuarily un
sound.’’ Reports of private ac
l tuaries and the Federal Security
I Agency reached the same conclu
; sion.
The inquiry report, in accordance
with the Taft-Hartley Act, refrained
from recommending any method of
'settling the dispute.
Freight Embargos Threatened.
Supporting affidavits from top
Government officials stated speci
i flcally the effect of the strike on
.the economy if allowed to continue.
It was said that it would be neces-i
sary to embargo all freight ship
ments within 10 days, and if the
strike lasts a total of 60 days in
dustrial production will drop 25 per
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Rail Freight Embargo Predicted
If Strike Isn't Over in 10 Days
Government officials warned last
night that an embargo on all but
essential railroad freight would be
necessary in 10 days if the coal
strike should continue that long.
The seriousness of the mines
shutdown was pointed up by depart
ment chiefs in affidavits designed
to support the Government’s con
tention that the strike is endanger
ing the health and economy of the
Nation.
J. Monroe Johnson, director of
the Office of Defense Transporta
tion, said the freight embargo on
all but commodities essential to
public health and safety would re
duce the volume of railroad freight
traffic to about half that moving
before the strike. Currently there
is a 25 per cent embargo on coal-,
burning passenger and freight loco
motives.
“This measure as estimated would
extend the remaining coal supply of
the railroads another 8 or 10 days,”
he said. “A further reduction in
coal-burning passenger locomotive
mileage would probably add another
day to the supply, making it about
a 20 days’ supply for transportation
of necessities.”
Would Affect Lewis.
The embargo would have a ma
terial effect on the movement of
express and parcel post, in partic
ular such items as perishables and
citrus fruit, he said.
In an over-all summary of the
strike effects, Secretary of the In
terior Krug estimated that within
60 days the shutdowns would in
clude :
Sixty-seven per cent of electric
power utilities. 88 per cent of by
product coke plants, 82 per cent of
steel and rolling mills, 91 per cent
of Class I railroads, 72 per cent
: of cement mills, and 77 per cent
of other industries.
| Acting Secretary of Commerce
j Bruce said department technicians
| have estimated that at the end of
ja 60-day period all industrial pro
duction would be down 25 per cent
and that 5,000,000 full-time workers
would be laid off.
“It is estimated that the annual
cent and 5,000,000 workers will be
laid off.
The Taft-Hartley court order will,
if obeyed, stay the strike for 80
days. Then, if no settlement of the
dispute has been reached, President
Truman is required to make a full
report to Congress and suggest ad
ditional authority to end it.
A dozen or so of the defendants
named in the suit, including Mr.
Lewis, either live or have offices;
here. Court attaches said legal j
papers for other defendants will be
sent to United States marshals in
various other cities for service.
Mr. Truman ordered Mr. Clark
to seek the strike order shortly after
returning from a two-day trip to
Williamsburg, Va., during which he
studied the coal crisis. Release of
the board of inquiry report, sub
mitted last Wednesday, was held
up for study until yesterday.
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rate of national income, currently
running at $215,000,000,000, would
drop to $190,000,000,000 after two
months,” he said.
Warning Is Issued.
Warning of the pinch being felt f
by electric power utility plants, he
summarized their plight thus:
Of a total of 622 plants, 114 have
coal stocks insufficient to permit
operations for more than 15 days
and another 135 will have exhausted
their stocks in 30 days.
He said that 20 of the Class 1
railroads estimated coal supplies
will be exhausted at the end of 15
days, 40 more by the end of a
month and that only seven have
stocks to operate more than 60 days.
With the week beginning to
morrow, the steel industry will face
a curtailment reducing its operating
rate to 72 per cent, Mr. Bruce said.
This compares with a 89.4 per cent
rate for last week and an average
rate of approximately 93 per cent
prior to the stoppage.
Foundries’ Shortage Serious.
Mr. Bruce said the most serioifs
shortage is being felt by foundries.
The automotive industry reported
stocks for threfe to four weeks’
production and the farm machinery
industry has from two to six weeks’
supply on hand.
He said the stoppage is causing a
loss of production that cannot be
made up.
Others swearing to the seriousness
of the shortage were Raymond S.
McKeough, vice chairman of the
Maritime Commission; James A.
Crabtree, deputy surgeon general of
] the Public Health Service and S. W.
Cramer, jr., deputy chairman of the
Munitions Board.
The latter said a continuous stop
page would have serious effect on
operations of the Army, Navy and
Air Force. Already, he said, stocks
are exhausted at the Norfolk Naval
Base, at Atlantic City and the Naval
Academy, and in two weeks will be
exhausted at the Naval Research
Laboratory and the Naval Gun
Factory here.
Sabath,82 Today,
Won't Celebrate;
Cites Conditions
Adolph Sabath, who entered Con
gress 42 years ago as a Democratic
Representative from Illinois, is 82
years old today. But there will be
no celebration.
Not that the little, white-haired,
white-mustached man isn’t feeling
good. In fact, he feels good enough
to say “yes” to friends who ask if he
will run for another term.
“But with conditions as alarm
ing as they are, I just don’t feel like
celebrating,” he said.
“Judge” Sabath, as most' ac
quaintances call him, was bom in
what is now Czechoslovakia April 4,
1866, and came to this country in
1881. Thinking of his native coun
try, he feels the United States is
somewhat to blame for the Com
munist coup. We could have been
more convincing in our demonstra
tion of friendship, he said.
"But in a few years the Czechs
will be free again, and so will the
Poles and others," he predicted.
Reaction
<Continued From First Page.)
have any effect on rank and file I
members of the UMW unless they \
receive orders to return to work
from Lewis." He added that he
believed the miners “felt the action
was against Lewis, rather than
against them.”
The first operators’ comment
came from M. M. McCormick, su
perintendent of the Consolidation
Coal Co.’s Van Lear mine In the
Big Sandy Field in Kentucky, who
said:
“I’m glad to hear that (of the
injunction). We’ll be glad to get
back to work. It’s my opinion that
90 per cent of the men in this field
want to work. This gives them the
chance they’re looking for.”
Many miners Indicated before the
injunction that they wanted more
direct word from Mr. Lewis on just
what he desired. They were queried
shortly after Mr. Lewis sent them
a message to do as they pleased
about returning to work.
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Press Club Chorus Bows
To Philadelphia Group
The Kelly Street Chorus of Phila
delphia came to town last night and
gave the National Press Club
Chorus a singing lesson.
They carried away an “18 carat”;
gold-painted beer keg, permanent!
trophy from the first annual con-;
test between the two vocal groups.'
Presenting the beer keg to the
42-member Philadelphia •group, John
O’Brien, vice president of the Na
tional Press Club, said he hoped to
see interest stimulated in the press
chorus before next year’s contest.
He announced that the Washing
ton group, directed by Reinold War
renrath, will meet for a similar ses
sion May 22 with the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad Chorus.
The visit last night was sponsored
by a special committee of the
Visitors’ Bureau for the Republican
and Democratic political conven
tions, both to be held this summer
at Philadelphia. Albert M. Green
field, chairman, said the trip was
made to give Washington newsmen
an example of the type of enter
tainment the city intends to pro
vide at convention time.
Galiinger Patient Killed
In Plunge From 4th Floor
A patient at Galiinger Hospital
leaped or fell from r fourth-floor
window of the hospital’s Medical
Building last night. He died two
hours later.
Other patients said they saw the
man. John Williams, 71, of the 1500
block of Thirty-third street N.W.,
jump from the window at about!
7 p.m., hospital authorities reported.
He was rushed to the emergency
room, but died at 8:50 pm. from
multiple injuries.
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