Show F RANGE AVERTS COAL SQUABBLE Cleverly Satisfies liners Owners 0 and find Public By By- M A BIRD Special 1 to The opy right 1927 1027 Consolidated Press Association PARIS April 16 Thc a-Thc The The country country- w de do mining out lock-out which a few fey c n ago threatened U to I I 1 Industry and tion ton Ion and might have hoe the 11 Poincare cabinet and the rc Ion of or French has ha t n n averted by governmental con con- cone conc c e Citation Ilia Ion Although Allbough AI hough without legal power to enforce a settlement Minister of at Public Works Tardieu worked qui mui Hy fly for lor eight months for lor tho the crisis and was able to meet tho the socialist and n st onslaught in the chamber r I Oh tho the announcement that the thed d had bec beets bee settled to the of ot all all- concerned In Including In- In eluding the mine owners miners n nl railroads and gen gen- general general eral crag public M M. Tardieu revealed rc that In tn Oc- Oc foni r 1926 coal stocks were selow so se low that certain railroads had hadon hadon on only Iy y six days days' supply while gas gasn nd n 1 power pot companies were in m nn n ny Instances supplied d for only r r or four Cour days The end of ofin oft in t I n British strike in November No broke Droke a a. slump in coal prices placing the tho companies in a dilemma dilemma ma o of at shutting down or slashing wages which the tho miners refused to lo accept This apparently inextricable dif dlf- difficulty I encouraged the socialists and communists to begin an or or- organized or- or organized assault on the Cabinet confident that their attack would bo be favored by serious industrial disturbances I CUT M 01 t. t Tardieu summoned the tho mine owners first and flatly announced tat the tho government would not tolerate a a. wage slash during the winter months which would work u untold old hardship on the tho miners 11 lief- lief demonstrated also that the companies had made unusual profits particularly during the British strike and therefore were in n a good position to lo absorb the tho mc sacrifices of f the tho read read- readjustment rea 1 period He made them understand that It if Ie they shut shutdown shutdown down or pro provoked a strike the tho theono ono ons for Cor the Iho nation a In- In Indu du dUJ try T would be vast last and iri n a ole ale lie He Induced them to reduce o- o s approximately 15 per perc perI immediate low- low lowe c nt m without any I e eang ins of at wages This Ihs m ni tnt ant operating at a loss lossa to a ot o U majority of ot the mines but buth butto h to hi loc es were absorbed b by the i accumulated during 1 1 6 DS J Th railroad companies were n n. t r tackled and persuaded in ink inK k JI aural noral to allow freight reductions reductions Ions t principally on long hauls This policy was designed to aid the French mines in competing with wilh British coal in certain re regions re- re reglo regions and thus gions glo s near the seaboard r du o importations I mally malty Minister Tardieu sum sum- summoned summoned summoned tho the miners' miners representatives representations and snowed showed them the tho sacrifices to to- tow and the rail rail- railroads railroads w ni nl h tho owners roads had consented He lie easily proved by figures that unless the mines w gri g b t I were reduced bringing un- un mu t inevitably close to miners not only but to industrial In workers He lie pointed pO out that whereas the tho own own rs rs rJ had made price reductions elective e e during the winter the them m were not asked to accept I a go ge reductions until March or Ap Apr il II when the effects of price cu would be reflected in lower 1 ll ng mg costs Furthermore in the tho pr principal mining districts the workers were asked to accept re reductions re- re of ot ani only sit to eight per peri perc i c t against 14 to 15 per cent r ructions auctions in coal prices ART TU SOCIALISTS After many weeks of ot persistent c ort or tho the whole program was ac- ac ace acc e c pred and when wl the socialist In- In Int Int Int t came before the cham cham- chamber chamber ber to attack the cabinets cabinet's coal policy they found the tho ground ground cut rom under their feet by the ther f r ct et that the mine workers whom they pretended to represent present r had come to an amicable agreement with the employers and the gov gov- |