Show Inside Labor Miners Tire Of Lewis Arrogance By ny Victor Riesel WHEELING W. W Va A A man manof manof manof of is John L L. Lewis to the 1 miners In thi this coal- coal valley area area and and they wish hed he'd switch to something to earn a n living in his final years Certainly the coal diggers appreciate appreciate appreciate ap ap- what hes he's done for their union But they Uley fear him They're bitter over his one-man one rule They're angry over the arrogance w which h i c h launched the recent strike No one here had known they were going to walk out until word came from Lewis' Lewis lush of of- flees Not even the local officials officials officials of of- were consulted And that goes for the coal- coal diggers diggers' regional leader I spoke to during a n long drive from Harrisburg Harrisburg Harrisburg Har- Har to this West Vest Virginia- Virginia Ohio hill hUl country And when I spoke to them they thought they'd stay out longer Many believed Lewis would continue at least to shut shutdown shutdown shutdown down the Ule b big g steel-company steel mines by declaring them Ulem unsafe There was real discontent After all in s so some o m e Pennsylvania pa patches the miners had been working working- about a day a 8 week In other areas three days a week was good Return Ordered They didn't know what would happen happen and and didn't like worrying worrying worrying worry worry- ing about it Suddenly from on high word came to go back down the pi pits ts The miners were broke and glad to work But they're a spirited crowd and hate to be snubbed Like when Lewis comes conies to Wheeling as he did not so long ago He comes quietly into town on a cross-country cross drive calls one of or his old cronies goes to an old riverside hotel rendezvous rendezvous rendezvous of his his and and leaves town after eating and resting without bothering to drive drie a few miles down the road to the mine patches to confer with his people The Tho miners are fed up They follow Lewis because they believe believe be be- lieve it wont won't be too many years before he lie to put it kindly re retires re- re tires Next In Line Lino The gers right now are ready to follow others in the United Mino Mine Workers namely Old Grumps Grump's energetic mus- mus mustached mustached one-legged one trouble shooter shoot shoot- er John Owens 56 U M MV MN V sec sec- 0 Owens w wen e n s an Ohio miners miner's son got down into the pits at 10 lost his leg at 15 in a mine but stuck to digging coal until 1920 There seems no doubt here hereabout hereabout hereabout about Owens succeeding the thc Old Man Man and and its it's all right with the miners right down the line around here But there But there is not the Uie slightest doubt the will take Lewis' Lewis orders as long as hes he's around to give them And the tho themen themen thomen men in the thc pits expect those orders orders orders or or- ders to call for sudden stoppages stoppages stoppages stop stop- pages from now until they take their yearly day 10 July vaca vaca- Then they expect a long summertime strike e with Lewis keeping them clothed and fed out of the multi million welfare fund What For What'll they strike for They can only guess guess guess-as as did the coal company and steel mill executives executives executives tives I gabbed with here and andon andon andon on the way They reckon John JohnL L L. wants a shorter work-week work so the miners can share what therell there'll be Also Lewis will ask for the right to place union mine-union officials on company coal-company production boards to decide just how much coal shall be dug so work can be bc equally allotted among his men and to help plan to prevent the them m market from becoming glutted with coal piles which sag prices and slash wages Of course John will ask foran foran for foran an even larger welfare fund Issue About Dead As for safety barring any unforeseen unforeseen unforeseen un un- foreseen pit tragedy it will wUl be bea a dying issue Lewis is about to get what he wants from congress congress congress con con- gress A law giving federal in inspectors inspectors inspectors in- in power to t lose dangerous danger danger- ous mines This is backed by Democratic and Republican leaders leaders leaders lead lead- ers and Im I'm reliably informed the coal industry as a unit wont won't oppose it it- Just what's involved in mine safety you ou can judge for yourself yourself yourself your your- self from the following figures Lewis says they're evidence that the m mines I n e s are death Others indignantly retort that U. U S S. S coal mines are aro the thc safest on earth Take the year 1944 which paralleled 1948 for which there arc are no statistics yet In that year 1121 men were killed 1 17 i were permanently disabled disabled disabled dis dis- dis- dis 1159 were partially permanently permanently permanently per per- disabled About lost a weeks week's work through accidents accidents accidents acci acci- dents lost from a week to two weeks from 14 to 20 days from three to four weeks 1100 lost about a month lost from 31 to 45 days 1581 were out from 45 to 60 days 1522 lost from 61 to 90 days were out of the pits 91 to days about lost days or more Well We'll find 19 1918 figures about the same And that's old King Coals Coal's story You'll be hearing a lot about it from May day on Copyright 1919 1949 New York Post Corp |