Salt Lake Tribune | 1919-11-03 | Page 3 | Reports Indicate Tendency to Call off Great Strike

REPORTS INDICATE TENDENCY TO CALL OFF GREAT STRIKE WASHINGTON, Nov. 2. Attorney General Gen-eral Palmer and his associates were cheered today by confidential reports which were said to show a tendency in I some districts to call off the strike. Some locals were asserted to be making efforts to this end. In other places, however, how-ever, the miners were reported apparently detcrmined to stay out until their "demands "de-mands were granted. In a general way the confidential reports re-ports were along the same lines as press dispatches, shewing that tho union miners, almost to a man, had quit, while in the nonunion mines work went on without apparent interruption. Attorney General Palmer's instructions to district attorneys to watch sharply for the first evidence of conspiracy to re-trict re-trict the output of coal, or profiteering, was taken to mean that the department of justice was preparing to open war on agitators who might invade tho mine fields and attempt to keep out miners willing to return to their old jobs. With all strike benefits cut off by the court, officials believe the miners, or a large number of them, will go back to work provided they are not urged to remain re-main out. The department of justice is just as determined to arrest and prosecute to the limit coal dealers who take advantage of critical times to profiteer as it -is to deal with representatives of the radical element who try to stir up trouble among the miners. This determination was reflected in correspondence cor-respondence made public toda; in which Attorney General Palmer administered sharp rebuke to W. A. Marshall, president presi-dent of the Wholesale Association of New York, who protested against any interference inter-ference by the government with coal prices or supplies. Mr. Palmer declared the government was acting solelv for the benefit of, the public and that "tho coal! dealers ought to be willing to co-operate in such a national emergency, "even to the extent of sacrificing profits." Some officials said tonight that it might not be possible to size up the situation for several days, but the general belief was that the next forty-eight hours would disclose a "back-to-the-mines" tendency openly confirming the confidential reports.