Meetings between John L. Lewis and representatives of the nation's soft coal producers will be resumed tomorrow at Charleston and White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. These meetings will be the resumption of efforts of Cyrus S. Ching, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, to settle the coal strike which has been continning "unofficially" but effectively since September 19.

This year's coal strike differed from those of recent times in that the United Mine Workers never used their usual "no contract, no work" slogan. Instead, after the last contract expired on June 31, the miners inaugurated a three-day work week in an effort to strengthen their bargaining position. Their aim was to cut down existing coal stocks without the odium or financial stress of going out on strike.

However, with the termination of the contract, Southern coal operators stopped all payments to the Miners' Welfare Fund. This fund was set up under the wage agreement of 1947 and stipulated that coal miners would pay a 20 cent-a-ton royalty for pensions and sickness benefits. The Southerners argued that with the end of the contract, they were no longer obligated to make payments, especially in view of the three-day week.

Senate Investigates

The Senate Labor Committee launched an investigation into the administration of the fund by its three trustees, Ezra van Horn, representing the owners, Lewis for the UMW, and Senator Styles Bridges for the consumers. The Committee brought out the fact that Bridges had been paid $12,000 by the Fund for legal expenses, and had sided with Lewis in every one of the 28 disagreements to date.

Van Horn, testifying before the Senate group, further complained that he was unable to get any information on the specific expenditures of the Fund, and, on September 16, he resigned from his post.

Meanwhile, the cut in the work week had cut coal production from 11,000,000 to 8,000,000 tons a week, reducing the income of the Fund by $600,000 weekly. The mine operators claimed that the income had dropped to $7,000,000 a month, while pensions and benefits were being distributed at an $11,000,000 monthly rate.

By September 16, the capital of the Fund had dropped to $14,000,000, and it was forced to suspend all payments. Three days later, the nation's 480,000 hard and soft coal miners left the pits in what the UMW called a "spontaneous" walkout. The immediate reason given for the walkout was the default on fund payments by the Southern operators and the new slogan, "no welfare, no work," was conceived. The walkout, however, included the Northern and Western mines which sent their regular monthly payment of $3,000,000 to the Fund on September 21.

The strike was 100 per cent effective among Lewis's miners, and there were some instances of violence at non-union mines which continued their operations. The anthracite welfare fund, administered separately, had to suspend payments on September 30, since its reserves were dwindling.

Strike Shrinks

The position of the UMW was not as strong as it had hoped, since summer demand for coal had dropped considerably, negating the effect of the three-day week. Early last week, the anthracite miners ended their sympathy strike, perhaps to persuade their home-heating customers not to switch to oil. Next day, the 22,000 soft coal miners west of the Mississippi returned to their jobs.

But 380,000 bituminous miners in the North and South are still out of the pits. It is the first instance of steel and coal walkouts, separately caused, running concurrently. Mediator Ching, balked in his efforts to end the steel dispute, has turned to the coal situation in an effort to get a settlement somewhere.

Although there has been no public statement of the Union's requests, Lewis has reportedly injected a whole set of demands into the mediation talks. The Union conditions are said to include an increase in average daily pay from $14.05 to $15.00; a reduction from eight to seven hours a day with no pay cut; an increase of 10 or 20 cents a ton in royalty payments; and a production control plan to spread available work among all miners. Management is reportedly against any sort of raise.

Ching last Wednesday invited both sides to a conciliation meeting, and Lewis replied in his usual pithy manner, "will attend." The owners also agreed, and the first session of talks was held on Friday, with no results announced. The three principals will be back at it again tomorrow, with Ching determined to effect a quick settlement.