Show r Prolonged Coal Strike Threatens to Help Communism Sweep Over Europe The wide nation-wide coal strike now endIng endIng end end- 4 Ing Jug its ith fourth week will soon have a disastrous disastrous disastrous disastrous' dis dis- dis- dis effect on the nations nation's economy and it is already lessening the chances for successfully carrying out the multibillion multibillion multi- multi billion dollar European recovery pro pro- gram Already workers in addition to the coal miners have been forced out of employment Rail service hauled by b. coal-burning coal locomotives ves is now cut 25 per cent and the Office of Defense Transportation Transportation Transportation Trans Trans- has ordered such service cut cutin cutin cutin in half effective April 15 That means a drastic restriction on transportation with resultant slowing down of business I and industry as the limits movement movement move move- ment of raw materials and goods Iron Age the steel trade magazine rays gays the nation has already lost pr production duc- duc tion of f tons of steel due to the coal strike and snowballing snowballing- shutdowns of steel plants all over the country will rapidly rapidly rapidly rap rap- idly increase that loss Iron Age estimates estimates estimates esti esti- mates that even if the strike is ended quickly the total steel loss may amount to tons before the industry gets production back to normal Observers say that the automobile industry industry industry in in- will soon feel the impact of the strike because of a lack of steel Another Another Another An An- other we week k or two of no coal production may see the Industrial slowdown and unemployment Unemployment unemployment un un- employment mounting very rapidly The coal stock cushion on hand when the strike began is fast disappearing All of this will wiIl have far greater repercussions repercussions re re- re- re percussions however than just causing some unemployment and some industrial slowdown in America That's bad enough of itself but the possible effect of the lost production in hi the world picture is serious The coal strike has bas probably already cost us as much steel production as we were scheduled to supply Europe during the first year of f the Marshall program We will find it difficult to make up that loss European rehabilitation will therefore therefore there there- fore for suffer If European rehabilitation is seriously sly impeded our whole program to rebuild western Europe as a bulwark against communism will vill suffer That's the most serious aspect of this coal strike It is playing with dynamite the the dynamite of a communist sweep over Europe The coal coat strike is not only hurting the coal operators and the coal miners Itis It ItIs Itis is not only hurting the public cally It is not only forcing other workers out of their jobs The greatest harm is that it is threatening to wreck this country's program to stop communism ism That makes this strike a national issue which directly affects the country's country's country's coun coun- try's future security Something must be done to get c coal al production resumed If the coal operators and the coal miners have any sense of responsibility to their country they will settle their relatively petty d differences without risking the nations nation's nations nation's nations nation's na na- na- na tion's E security any further |