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Show Ike Rejects Sen. Moss1 Proposal For Strike Fact Finding Panel President Eisenhower rejected a request of Senator Frank E. Moss of Utah for appointment of a fact finding board to recommend recom-mend a basis for settlement of the copper strike, the Senator's Washington office was informed this week. The strike was partially settled this week. Gerald D. Morgan, deputy assistant as-sistant to the President, wrote Senator Moss as follows: "The President asked me to write you further concerning your letter of November 3, calling call-ing his attention to the economic impact of the present non-ferrous strike upon the people of Utah, and suggesting a factfinding fact-finding board which will, recommend recom-mend a basis for settlement. Apparently Ap-parently most of the parties in the non-ferrous industry are awaiting some clarification of the steel dispute situation before engaging in definitive negotiations. negotia-tions. "It has been this administra-I administra-I tion's consistent position that any compulsory action on the part of the government either by way of compulsory arbitration or a mandated fact finding board, constitutes " an unwarranted in terference with the process of free collective bargaining. When similar requests were made in the steel dispute, the President indicated that while he was opposed op-posed to the imposition of any board, he would seriously consider con-sider any joint request received from the parties for the appointment ap-pointment of a non-government board with such power and authority au-thority as the parties might designate, des-ignate, since that would then be their voluntary act and an extension ex-tension of their own collective bargaining. He has received no such request. The President appreciated your interest in this matter." Senator Moss had written the President proposing appointment of an impartial board "to ascer-I ascer-I tain the facts in this dispute and make public a full and complete report of the facts, and recommend recom-mend a basis for settlement that will serve the interests of the west and be fair and equitable to the parties concerned." - Recent estimates indicate that I the strike, which began August 10, has cost Utah more than I $32,000,000, Nevada and Arizona $2,500,000 each, and New Mexico Mex-ico $1,300,000. |