Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1922-03-19 | Page 21 | 600,000 Miners May Quit Work

600,000 MINERS j m mi work Small Crews Will Stay to Prevent Flooding of Properties NEW YORK, March 18. Six hundred hun-dred thousand union miners ln the anthracite and bituminous fields will iuit work April 1. unle.-v-i some unforeseen un-foreseen solution of the present wago controversy Is offerod ln the meantime mean-time John L Lewis, president of the International organization of I'nitod Mine Workeis. announcod today. to-day. ( ( ; I U s M n II li l Plans for the evacuation of the mines already are under way, .Mr. Lewl9 said In the event of a walkout walk-out crews of pumpmen, engineers, firemen, watchmen and ltelpors will remain at theii posts to prevent flooding of the mines and maintain the properties, ho said. Ho estimated estimat-ed that 1000 men would remain on duty ln the anthracite and 3000 in the bituminous mines for such purposes. pur-poses. Final orders for withdrawal of the men will be lesusd by the general policies coifimitlee of tho union at Cleveland or Chicago, probably next week. It was said, effective ln case operators and miners fall to arrange a new worklnp contract before April i. ORDER issi i S The order to suspend operations in the anthracite field April 1 already al-ready ha-s been issued by the mlner' general wage council in session at Shamokln, Pa. An arbitration committee com-mittee of elffht. composed of operators oper-ators and miners, will meet bete Tuesday to discuss a new wage scab, lor this flold Work in the bituminous mines automatically au-tomatically will cease. April 1. I-. Lewis asserted, because of the operators" oper-ators" refusal to meet with the miners, min-ers, in accordance with the terms Of their but contract.