U.S. SOFT COAL MINES

Grey River Argus, 20 November 1946, Page 5

U.S. SOFT COAL MINES

. ; NO STOPPAGF Government Ready to Operate WASHINGTON, Nov. 18. The Secretary of the Interior (Mr. Krug) declared that the Government would keep the nation’s 330 softcoal mines open, regardless of any opposing action by the U.M.W.A. president (Mr. John L. Lewis), who maintains that the union’s contract with the Government will terminate at midnight on November 20. The Government, anticipating a show-down, has frozen all stocks of soft coal. Meanwhile, Mr. Truman is on holiday at Key West, where informed sources said the President has decided to fight Mr. Lewis to the finish. Federal Judge Goldsborough has granted a temporary order restraining Mr. John L. Lewis from terminating the United Mine Workers’ contract on November 20. The tem-

,• nrary order will terminate on November 27, unless good cause is shown for its extension.

The order restrains the United Mine Workers’ Association from making any breach in any obligations under the Krug-Lewis agreement and from coercing, instigating, inducing, or encouraging the miners to interfere by strike, slow-down, walkout, cessation of work, or otherwise. The Office and Defence Transportation has ordered a reduction in all steam-train passenger services by 25 per cent. LANDLORDS OPPOSE RENT CONTROL. NEW YORK, Nov. 18. Mrs. Frank Morris, pr Gent of Landlords Incorporated, addressing the National Apartment-< Owners’ Association at Oklahoma City said that a strike of landlord- against the Office of Price Administration’s rent controls is sweeping Texas “like wildfire,” and that 10,000 apartments in Texas were already vacant, and would not be rented until the control was lifted.

Mrs. Morris declared that the owners could not properly maintain their properties under the present rent ceilings; therefore it was better for them to be idle than have money lost in the occupancy of destructive undesirables who could not be evicted.