French Leaders Think Miners Will Tire Of Striking

Wanganui Chronicle, 29 October 1948, Page 5

French Leaders Think Miners Will Tire Of Striking

(N.Z.P. A.-- Copyri;

PARIS. Oct. 28 (Rec. 8 p.m.)—The French Government is now convinced that by sending troops to the mines it has gained the upper hand and that sooner or later the miners will get tired of the strike. For the first time in more than a week there were no clashes yesterday between the strikers and security forces. The British United Press correspondent at Steti£nne reports that, many miners are hungry and short of money. The French National Assembly's Defence Commission voted to discuss a motion seeking a Government statement of an allegation made by the Minister of the Interior. M. Moch, that the Cominform was financing the strikers. Meanwhile, engineers are examining the freed pits and report that most will dry’out quickly and there is little danger from firedamp. Eight strikers arrested at Stetienne after the pithead incident last week were given suspended sentences. The Ministry of the Inter’! r announced that expulsion proceedings had been taken against 52 foreign workers arrested during the demonstrations. U.S. Mine Leader Asks Truman To Intervene In French Strike

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (Recd. 8 pm).—Mr. John L. Lewis, president of the American Mineworkers’ Union, urged today that President Truman should bring pressure upon the French Government to “halt the shooting of French coalminers who are hungry.”

Mr Lewis suggested that this should be done through President Truman’s control of expenditure of the Marshall Plan funds. Mr. Lewis said the future of France would be dark indeed if American money, guns and bullets were used “to shoot, starve and oppress French citizens while bureaucrats and the financially powerful in France subsist on American resources and fight elements of the population not participating in the largesse of the Marshall Plan.”