University of South Carolina Libraries
5?EE SX7MTER WATCHMAN, Est? CONSOLIDATED AUG. 2,1 WILL DISCUSS HARDiNG'S PROPOSALS Insists That Employes Abide by Decisions of Labor Board? Up to Both Factions Cincinnati, July-31.?Five speci fic proposals for the settlement of I the railroad strike aro contained I in President Harding's plan which j Will be submitted to arailroad executives in New York and rail union heads in Chicago tomorrow, it was asserted tonight by an of ficial of the railroad shop crafts i unions The official, who refused to permit use of hi3 name, stated he had secured the information from rail union officials in Wash ington Saturday. The five specific proposals, ac cording to the official, include: 1. That the employes will abide by the decisions of the United States Railroad Labor Board in the future. 2. In the matter of seniority the employes who remained on the job during the strike will receive preferential treatment. Men who have been on strike will return with their seniority righffe subject to those rights acouired during the strike by men who remained on the job and that tl|e seniority of the new employes will date from the time they entered the service. The men will accept the recent wage reductions of the railroad la bor board pending a further re hearing on the matter by the hoard. 4. "Farming** out of shop work by the railroads will be discon- i tamed. 5. Discussion of the establish ment of adjustment boards^ Regarding the matter of adjust ment boards the oflBcial stated that the unions desire a national board of adjustment while the railroad executives seek either regional or system boards, '.'?'Three poihte'will ifb stressed by the general chairmen tomorrow, it was stated, as a basis for settle ment, restoration of : full senior ity, national boards of adjustment and elimination of -'farming" out of worK. They will oppose, it was stated, curtailment - of -sej?ority,. agre^ment to accept-in the future decisions of the board and other than a national board, of adjust ment. It was stated that the matter of accepting the proposals of Presi dent Harding is entirely Up to the policy committee of the railroad department of the Amercan Fed eration of Labor since. this body .was the -one which sanctioned the strike of the shopmen. The policy committee is composed of ninety men, thirty from each ?f three dis-. tricts .the dividing lines'of which are the Mississippi river and the Mason and Dixon fine. -m m ?. Killing Near Tindals Henry Smiling, of Tindals, Found dead in Osteen Old . Mill Race Tindal, Aug. 2.?In the after noon of Saturday, July 29th sever al white bos^s, Johnnie Hodge, Caesar Cockriil, Friendly Gallo way and some of . Johnnie Hodge's j small brothers, went to Osteen's; mill to go in swimming, and after they reached the old mill race, a place used for bathing, they met "three colored boys who were just out of the swimming place and were putting on their clothes. These three colored boys were Allen Holliday and the two broth ers of the boy Henry; who later in the evening was found to be dead in the mill rice. The white boys noticed some clothes and a pair of slippers by the side of a log that had been cut across the mill stream, and as the bathing place is near a road they thought, that perhaps some one had been in and probably stepped^ aside in the bushes undressed and would re turn in a short while. However, no one cam* up to get the clothes that had been left on the bank of the stream, and they then suspected that probably*some one had been drowned. Johnnie * Hodge, the older of the white boys, then sent for help to investigate. Several of the nearby white neigh bors went to the old mill, Mr. Geo. j D. Betts, being among them, and he, Mr. Betts, after feeling around ! in the water with a long pole, felt something which when brought out was found to be the dead body of Henry Smiling. Coroner W. J. Seale was* then called over the phone. Mr. Seale brought Dr. W. S- Burgess with hin/. Dr. Burgess held an autopsy, and found that death had not been caused by drowning, but by wounds inflicted upon the head of the deceased, who was probably killed and thrown in the water, after death. Monday. July 31.-the coroner's jury composed of A. B. Elliott, Geo. D. Betts. Harry Hodge. Clar ence Hodge, H. B. Hodge and C. B. Pack, brought out the follow ing verdict: That Henry Smiling came to his death by wounds in flicted upon his head by a party or; parties unknown to the jurors. Paris, Aug. 1.?The British note j on the Inter-Allied debt question has removed all possibility of j France consenting to a moratorium for Germany is the view of official circles, expressed here today. f??shed April, 1850. ML_ RAIL STRIKE " SETTLEMENT DOUBTFUL _ Meetings Held in New .York and Chicago Today. Seniority Rights Are Stum bling Block Washington, July 31.?(By the Associated Press.)?Convinced that the railroad strike would be a mat ter of history within 24 hours after acceptance by railway shopmen and transportation chiefs of President Harding's compromise plan, all of the government's, influence was mustered tonight behind the effort to obtain adoption by the em ployers' meeting in New York and that of the. employees in Chicago tomorrow. Chairman Hooper of the railroad labor board, after a conference with President Harding today, left for Chicago to be on hand when the meeting is called of the general policy committee of the striking shop craft unions. Secre tary Hoover left tonight to attend the New-York meeting of the exe cutives. .?. There was, little doubt in admin istration freies concerning accept ance by union leaders of the pro posed compromise settlement. Sev eral railroad executives, however, are known to hold strong objection because of their belief that it would entail abandonment of old employees who have stuck through the strike, as well as new men who ignored-strong inducements not to accept employment during the emergency. Persona! friends and senatorial advisers of the president were 3trong in their- conviction that this opposition would be more than offset toy those - executives who would accept' the compromise, ei ther as a fair basis for settling the controversy or because of their conviction that acceptance was re quired as a patriotic step. Optimistic forecast of action to be expected from the New York meeting was based more than a little extent, it was indicated, on the belief that T. De Witt Cuyler, chairman of the executive associa tion and Vice President Atterbury of the Pennsylvania representatives of an influential .group in the management' side of the rail con troversy would for acceptance. At the same time, the sticking point in the. whole' attempt to nego tiate a settlement, the "seniority rights" so called continued to pro trude . in every conversation and public, statement of the leaders concerned with as much awkward ness as "ever, even considering the president's suggiestions for its compromise. Managements of sev eral of - the larger systems which now claim to have the strike beaten has insisted that restoring the strikers, even though they accept the decreased pay. and abrogation of favorable.rules, would mean the dismissal of greaj; numbers of com petent men- ? employed since the strike, ft would further mean the displacement of men who stuck by the railroads and who have since received promised promotions in the service.. . On the union .side, it was held by such spoksemen for the organiza tions ?s were still watching the progress of events here that no set tlement would be made by the or ganizations unless it took care of all their men. That meant that ail railroads, and not merely the largest number of smaller roads, had to put the agreement into ef fect, and that all the strikers on teach road had to be taken back. Advisefs to the president had it ! that the executives of the larger j systems who have publicly stated j their positive refusal to take back I the strikers on a seniority basis are i willing, in advance of tomorrow's I meeting, to say to associates that j while they thought the policy I wrong, they could not persist in [refusing to accept a plan devised [by the government of the United [States. The advisers were hopeful ! that resolution would be passed by : the executives' sessions declaring that such procedure was contrary to their best judgment of the necessi ties of the situation but that in view of the responsibility of the presi dent they would accede to his views of what public interest required. Some railroad officials were very doubtful, however, that this dispo sition of the plan would be made. Washington, July 31.?Forty nine representatives of Eastern railroads here today to discuss President Harding's expected pro posals for ending the shop craft strike adjourned without formulat ing any plan for action and an nounced they were still waiting for the president to outline his pro posal. The conference was con fined to discussions of the general strike situation. SWANSON WINS IN VIRGINIA Richmond. Aug. 2.?Returns re ceived by the News-Leader early today from yesteray's primary in dicated that Senator Swanson had been renominated ,over Former Governor Westmoreland Davis by forty thousand majority. "Be Just and Fear 2 HARDING'S PLAN REJECTED BY EXECUTIVES _ i I Railroad Officials Re fuse to Agree toj Settle Strike on the ! Terms Proposed by President j New York,. Aug. 1 (By the Asso- j ciated Press). ? Railway exacu- { tives of the naiton today firmly but courteously rejected the pro gram advanced by the Harding ad ministration for the settlement of i the rail strike. Willing to accept! conditionally two suggestions put \ forward by the White House?! that both sides abide by wage de- ; cisions of the railroad labor board j and that law suits springing out of i the strike be withdrawn?the heads ; .of 148 roads declared emphatical- ' j ly that it was impossible to rein- I jstatev strikers with unimpaired se- 1 I niority rights, the third provision | j of the president's plan. After being told by Robert S. i ? Lovett of the Union Pacific that: j there was no moral or practical! j reason for budging from their po- j jsition, the executives disbanded;! j caught the first trains for their re- : j spective headquarters and indicat-1 j ed that they were going ahead and i } would operate their roads with! j forces they had assembled since i jthe shopmen walked out on July! j 1st. : The decision not to yield on the I question of seniority was made J known to the White House by tele- j (graph after the rail heads had Iis-; i tened to a 20 minute address by | i Secretary of Commerce Hoover; who, as direct representative of j the president, told them in effect! that the administration held the' seniority question of minor import- i ance in comparison with that of ! upholding the railroad labor j i board. This action was taken in; j the face of a letter from President j Harding addressed to T. DeWitt; Cuyler, chairman of the Ameri-. i can. Association of Railway Execu- I j tives. embodying "the terms of: I agreement, as I understand them, j upon which the railway managers! land united shop crafts workers are j to agree preliminary to calling off ? ! the existing stirke." .; Pesident Harding had closed his [letter with these two sentences: i "I need hardly add that I havej j reason to believe these terms will; be accepted by the workers. Ifj I there is good reason why the man-' agers can not accept, they will be j obligated to open direct negotiations: or assume full responsibility for the | situation." In addition Secretary Hoover had | urged upon the executives at their I meeting when the text of the J Harding letter was read, that set-! tlement of the rail strike was im- j i perative in view of the complicat-j Ing conditions introduced by the i coal strike. i It became apparent from, the j I very opening of today's conference that the seniority question would be the wedge which would divide administration and railway execu tives. After setting forth the reasons why they held this an in- j surmountable obstacle, the rail- j jroad chiefs ended their reply toj President Harding as follows: "It ii- submitted that the strik-j ing former employees can not be \ given preference to employees at i present in the services without do-1 ] ing violence to every principle of; I right and justice involved irf this ' matter and without the grossest [breach of faith on the part of the railroads to the men at present in their serice. Under these circum stances it becomes apparent that I the railroads can not consider any settlement of the present strike whfC-h does not provide pro tection in their present employ ment, both to the loyal employees who remained in the service and to the new employees entering it." The only question which arose during the short period during which the president's proposal was under active discussion was how emphatically the the reply reject ing his plan should be worded. in the balloting each road was given one vote for each 1,000 miles of track it operates. The reply, j i drafted during the noon recess by ? the standing committee, was adopt-; } ed by a vote of 2(55 to 2. This, however, represented unani- ) mous disapproval of the president's, plan, the two dissenting votes be- j ing cast by L. F. Loree, chairman j of the Eastern conference, repre- j senting the Delaware & Hudson; jand the Kansas City Southern with ? J the explanation that he wished the j seniorityy proposal turned down; ' even more decisively. Only two roads operating in the; I United States were nor reported represented at today's conference. They were the Atlanta. Birmingham !& Atlantic and the Gulf & Ship! ! Island, both of which were de-j clared to have been unaffected hy i jthe shop craft strike. I President A. 11. Smith of the Xew : j York Central apparently crystalized ! the sentiment of the rail chiefs, j when, in the midst of their discus- j rsion, he threw upon the confer-1 j ence table a bundle of 4<iu tele- j [grams from foremen and super visors of the road, announcing) [they would have to resign if the | seniority ranking of the strikers 1 was returned. ! Immediately others leaped to j their feet to testify to a similar! : condition among officials on their j I roads. Resignations would be' *fot?Let all the ends Thou Ainis't s Sumter, S. C, Satu WARDEBTSF: MOST DELICATE PROBLEM ! All Debtor Nations; Have Been Stu-j diously Dodging the; Issue For Manyl Months London. Aug. 2 (By the Asso-\ ciated Press).?The British gov- j ernment's note to Great Britain's j allies in the great war remin?ingj them that they owe Great Brit- ! ain money and that she has a ! right to ask for pnyment, has; thrown wide open the most deli- j cate .topic >ri international poll-j tic.-:. The discussion of the ques- ? tion of debts owed to Great Britain i had been studiously avoided by all1 concerned, apparently with a- view on the part of the creditor nation j that the time for grasping that net-' tie might most conveniently be; indefinitely postponed. j The most cheerful view of the | effect cf the Earl of Balfour's j note dicoverable today was that \ it will afford an understanding all \ around of what are the policies' anc. intentions of the governments | considered. It is considered that i next to repudiation, or an equiva- i lent plea of inability to pay, un- j certainty is probably the worst, damage which Europe and the i world of business could continue to j suffer. Within a few days?after next week's conference between Pre-! rniers Lloyd George and Poincnre I ?the policies of both Great Britain j and France should be made clear. The French position in one vital respect already is plain?that ah i European post-war indebtedness is linked together and any solution of the situation must depend upon ! what Germany may be willing or be I forced to do. Paris. Aug. 2.?Some statement1 of the American government deal- j ing with the note of the Earl of ; Balfour, acting British foreign sec- j retary, concerning allied war debts. > is anxiously awaited in reparations; commission circles, where it was j thought that the British communi- < cation on inter-allied debts would j not have the effect of preventing a! Franco-British reparation settle-! ment. Information is said to have \ reached reparations headquarters j from an authorirative source that j Lord Balfour's note was a "trial j balloon sent up for the purpose of j placing responsibility of solution of I the debts at the door of the United j States." i If the balloon burst through a; refusal of the United States to de-j part from its already established j policy the reparations experts have j been informed that Great Britain j will proceed to a decision at the coming meeting of the French debt commission, regardiless of the American policy. Little hope is en- j tertained among the reparations ex-; pens that the United States will j change its attitude toward its! debtors, but the point is emphn-i sized that Lord Balfour's exposi tion clears the atmosphere of all doubt as to who holds the key to the whole problem. It is felt that the United States is bound to make i some answer, even if indefinite in character. j j wholesale, from subforemen to. general managers, if their person-: al pledges to protect pesent em-! ployees ecu Id not be made good, \ they declared. "What we want the government j to do is to let us alone: to let us.' settle this strike in our own way," j declared Mr. Smith. "We have organized new shop; forces and are getting the roads back to normal. Unless the gov ernment ceases its interference, we will have a far worse strike on our hands. You must stand by those i who stand by you to maintain, dis- ! cipline. If strikers are reinstated with seniority rights it will be im- \ possible to maintain discipline. j "Acceptance of President Havd-j ing's proposal would result in complete demoralization of Amer ican transportation system and' the system of honorable coopera-j tion between employer md em ployee upon which it was founded.] The decision was wholly one sided for not a single official or the 14S arose at any time co propose! unqualified acceptance of the pres ident's proposal in its entirety. Those who framed the associ?- j tion's reply to the White House made it plain that the new em- i ployees and those who declined to join the strike had done much to uphold the railroad labor board.! the importance of whose authority! the president had emphasized | through Secretary Hoover. The.' committee w ho drafted the mes-! sage for Washington set forth very distinctly that they felt bound orally and legally to back up the1 pledges they had given to the workers now manning the shops.1 The executives contended tiua ; in standing by present employees, J they were only upholding the rail road labor board, which in a res-j olution adopted on July after the strike was called, set forth that i the new men who entered the ser-! vice of the railroads were not! strikebreakers but new employees' who had a legal right to engage in ? such service to prevent interrup- J tion of railway transportation and Were entitled to the protection of j the government. ? mm it be thy Country's, Thy God's and rday, August 5, 1922 COAL STRIKERS' CONFERENCE PROBABLE Possibility That Nego tiations May Be De veloped Soon ? May Be Gathering From Four States Washington, July 31 (By the .Associated Press).?Wirh the fed eral emergency coal control ma chine' piloted by Fuel Distributor Spencer finally under way, the pos sibilitythat negotiations for a sep ai-ate wage settlement between the miners' union and some operators in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana bituminous fields might be instituted this week was strongly indicated in Washington tonight. Representatives of the various government departments and pro ducing operators cooperating un der the administration's distribu tion plan set to work on the initial problems facing operation.on the scheme, such as organization of re gional committees in the producing fields and formation of coal pools. The personnel of some of the re gional committees is to be an nounced tomorrow. Members of the federal distribu tion commitete also conferred to day with Cleveland operators on the question of supplies for the Great Lakes region, but no statement was made as to conclusions reached by the conferees. In Cleveland, it was understood, a meeting is to be held next Mon day looking to th? settlement of the strike in Pennsylvania Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. How extensive such a partial set tlement of the miners' strike would be or whether such a conference, lacking a considerable number of employers of larger forces of min ers, would be successful at all re mained questionable in official and semi-official view*. Ever since the strike began, some operators have expressed willing ness to negotiate ,with John L. Lewis, president df the United Mine Workers; and the scale com mittees of the union. The control ling majority in most operators' as sociations has been unwilling, how ever to concede the union's de mands for a semi-national wage scale, made up by a joint action of the employers and employees in the four states named, and have also been unwilling to concede the wage scale of 192?) with its $7.50 daily wage basis for common labor underground. Soaring prices of coal, due to shortage, is said to have made the ?higher wage scale acceptable &t least while the market lasts, though heads of the larger mining enterprises outside of Ohio insist that a settlement giving the men the war time scales again would only allow a few months of op eration followed by shutdowns be cause the non-union coal would throw the output bearing higher overhead cose out of the markets. Ohio coal operator's associations are said to have been made a nu cleus about which Mr. Lewis was forming an interstate group with whom he would shortly attempt to negotiate a wage scale. There were indications tonight that the Cleveland meeting might have in it some operators from northwestern West Virginia as well as the four states mentioned. This territory has never been in cluded in the wage contracts of the central competitive field in past years, but there has been some de mand for its inclusion, since the coal produced there figures, largely in the markets to which the Ohio Pennsylvania product goes. Raleigh. X. C? July 31.?Assign ing as reasons for delay his ab sence from his office and "great reluctance to assume any respon-~ sibiliry in the matter of coal dis tribution," Governor 'Cameron Morrison today notified Secretary Hoover that he had designated the members of the Xorth Carolina corporation commission to direct the distribution of Xorth Carolina's allotment of coal. "After full reflection" Governor Morrison telegraphed, "I see noth ing to do except to assume without any possible warrant of law, the power ro comply with your request and 1 hereby designate the mem 1? rs of the state corporation com mission to represent Xorth Carolina in so far as you require representa tion by the state to direct the dis tribution of Xorth Carolina's al loiment of coal." Philadelphia, July 31.?The 18th week of the coal strike found In ternational President John L. Lew is of tlo- i'nited Mine Workers hopeful that the long suspension of mining will soon be at an end. He said today that he had no reason t<> change his opinion expressed last week that a conference of ope rators and miners in the Central competitive held would soon be held. It is understood that an inter state wage conference has been practically assured and that certain influences are being brought to bear to have a large tonnage rep resented ai the meeting when call ed. It has been repeatedly stated that a joint wage conference would be called as soon ts sufficient ton nage consented to such a meeting to make a basic wage schedule. Troth's." BRITISH VIEW ON TH E ALLIED DEBT QUESTION _ I Important Note In-j tended For the United States Made Public I London. Aug. 1 (By the Asso | ciated Pres?).?The British foreign; office tonight issued the text of an important note on the question of' interallied debts. Though not for- j mally addressed to the Washing ton government, having been' ostensibly meant only for some of the allied and associated powers, it evidently is intended primarily for consumption in the United States. The note places on formal rec-1 ord. on the eve of the coming con- j ference between Premier Poincare j and Prime Minister Lloyd George \ with representatives of Italy and Belgium in London, the British j government views on the question i of interallied indebtedness and rep- ? arations. Briefly the policy advocated is j that it would be unjust to the i British taxpayer to ask him to for give allied war debts while at the : same time he was required to' shoulder the indebtedness to Amer- j ica. j The note, which was addressed by the Earl of Balfour. acting for- j eign secretary, to France, Italy. I Jugo-Slavia, Portugal and Greece j constitutes a strong plea for in-; ternational settlement of debts j and reparations on the basis of aj general cancellation of interallied j indebtedness and a generous reduc- j tion in German reparations, and at | the same time is the government's! reply to those persons of the pub- j lie and the* nei&fpapers which have i frankly advised cancellation of the; French, Italian and other allied i debts to England, _ irrespective ofj whether the United'states was will ing to cancel the British debts. Washington, Aug. 1 (By the As-! sociated Press).?War loans to I Great Britain are regarded by America as independent entities | without relation to interallied debts; or-the reparations situation, it was} said tonight at the treasury in com ment upon rep"orts of a note ad-! dressed to_%^x_Ejurupj^n nations byj the Earl"of Balfourr In the absence of^the official tcxtj officials were disinclined* to com-: ment upon the specific propositions; enunciated hy Great Britain, but j the treasury took the view that it! ! was not a definite indication of { England's coming negotiations with ! the American debt commission. Paris. Aug. 1 <By the Associated j Press).?Premier Poincare today in! a note to Herr von Hoesch. the j German charge de'affaires. sum marily ended the efforts of Germany! to postpone her payments of debts' to French citizens contracted byi Germans before the war. The .note of-M. Poincare. which1 was in reply to a German com munication announcing inability toj meet the obligations in question j gives the Germans- four days in! which to ?make up their minds. ] Should they fail to give assurances' before noon of August 5 that the [ 2,000.000 pounds sterling due will: be paid August 15, M* Poincare as- j serts that the French government will take such measures as it deems necessary. . ,? .,?? t* ? _ Future For State In Meat Production! Resource Will Be Developed and Utilize Cheap Untfllable Lands, Says Expert Ciemson College. July 31?"That j South Carolina has a great dor- j mant resource in her future meat j producing capacity, a resource j which will be gradually develop ; ed, and which will utilize the cheap untillable lands of the state,"; is the opinion of Prof. L. V. Stark- : ey. chief of the animal husbandry division, who has just returned j from western North Carolina,; where the chief source of income j for the farmer is cattle. It is sur prising hut true, that the farmers j in this section are in good cireum stances. They are living in com-! fortable houses and seem to have' incomes which supply their needs, i "In fact, in traveling over sever-; al states of the south and west l! have yet to see a live stock section! which is not prosperous." continues! Prof. Starkey. 'There are many farmers in South j Carolina who believe that on thej average beef production does no: J pay. Perhaps they are right. But1 we have the rigdit to ask why is it; that it does not pay? There are I several things which might con-' tribute to the correct answer to tliis question.' some of which are; poor soils, poor pastures, scrub j eat tie. tree range, diseases and the like. Professor Starkey is of i the opinion, however, that when we; get the right sort of pasture, beef j production will pay. There are thousands of acres of idle land in South Carolina, and! as soon aa these acres are put ur.-j der fence and the soil which is now: bare is covered with grass, beef production can be made profitable! j But we must not think for minute j that this change will come about \ in one year, nor. in five years. Economical beef production on thin, cheap lands will be a development! that will come siowly. ' THE TRUE SOU* MORE MEN NEEDED IN COALMINES United States Cham ber of Commerce Reports Result of Investigation of Sit uation Washington. July 31.?Addition of 100,000 men "of equal producing efficiency" to those now mining coal would insure a supply of coal adequate for the country's heeds, according to a report made public today by the coal bureau of the chamber of commerce of the United States. The bureau based its calculation on the production by 185,000 men ?the number said by the depart ment of labor to be at work in the mines?of something over 5,000,000 tons in the week preceding the rail way shopmen's strike. There are positive indications, the bureau said, "that certain in dustries in various parts of the country have reached an end of the bituminous ? resources," A development of the strike which has caused much con- ? corn, the report declared, was the interruption of coal delivery at Lake Erie ports for shipment to the Northwest. According to the bureau the chief point of issue between the miners and operators was found to be "the basis upon which the operators shall deal with the miners"?, whether on a national or district basis?with the "check off" hold ing the next position of importance. The report estimates that $15, 500,000 was collected annually by the United ? Mine Workers' nation al organization from the "check off" and that about $7,000,000 of this was paid out to weighmen em ployed by the union to verify weighst of coal which was paid for by the ton. ^ m m Coal Procedure Being Worked Out Washington. Aug. 1 (-By the As sociated Press).?A plan of pro cedure under which the govern ment's emergency fuel control ma chine will be operated was com pleted today at a meeting of the central coal committee with Henry B. Spencer, fuel distributor, presid ing. It was understood that the plan would be submitted to Secre tary Hoover tomorrow and that federal distribution would there upon bcome actually effective. At the same time it was said the per sonnel of the regional comminees to be placed in the producing mine fields as agents of the' central body will be placed before Mr. Hoover 1 for approval, together with a draft of the detailed instructions which will govern the-- activities of those organizations in combatting profi teering and insuring a ready dis tribution of fuel. Mr. Spencer made public the fol lowing appointments of Southern state fuel agencies . which have been reported to the central com mittee: ? Florida: Florida railroad com mission, Tallahassee. Fka.: Xorth Carolina, state corporation com mission. Raleigh, X. C; South Car olina, B. E. Geer. chairman, gov ernor's coal commission, Greenville: Virginia, Maj. Alexander Forward, coal administrator, Richmond, Va. Philadelphia. Aug. 1 (By the As sociated Press). ? Governmental and financial influences are being exerted, it was learned here today, to have a representative number | of bituminous coal operators enter the interstate joint wage confer ence called for Cleveland next Monday by John L. Lewis, inter national president of the miners' union, to make possible the adop tion of a basic wage scale. In ad dition to calling the wage confer ence President Lewi.j has summon ed the organization's general pol icy committee to meet at Cleve land at the same time. REED WINS IN MISSOURI St. Louis, Aug. 2.?With Senator j Reed leading Breckinridg^Long by about sixreen thousand votes for the Democratic senatorial nomina- j tion, on the face of returns from twenty-four hundred and twelve: precincts out of thirty-eight hun dred forty eight in the state. Reed's campaign manager, Ed Glenn, told the Associated Press today that Keed would win. by twenty-five thousand votes. St. Louis, Aug. 2.?Reed's lead fell to fifteen thousand and eighty nine at eleven o'clock today, as ad ditional country precincts were re ported. LOW FREIGHT RATE STANDS Washington. Aug. 1.?The pro- j posals of Southeastern railroads to alter the rates on apples coming from the Pacific roast to Virginia, Georgia and the Carolinas, were to be held unjustified today by the Interstate Commerce Commission, which ordered that the proposed increases in rates be set aside. - ? , , ??4. rHRON, Established June 1, 18*tL VOL. LiL NO/50 LEADERS IN THE MINE MASSACRE Five Hundred ; Mem bers of Mob Can Be Arrested When the . Word is Given Pittsburgh, July 31.?The Na? ional Coal association in a statei ment issued here tonight announc ed completion of ?. "sweeping im partial investigation of the Herrin?" massacre" declared that the lead-/ ers of the mob. were known aid. that at least "500 members of th.?L mob can be arrested anytime th$?; Attorney General Brundage ofIl linois gives the word." The association in laying its ev-> idenee and finding before thje governor of Illinois statement safdrjC "Particular emphasis should be > laid on the point that survivor^ *of the massacre are able to point out the .official of the United,". Mines Workers of America who' gave the word to take, the unarm. ed prisoners off the roads into the woods and shoot them down in the manner of an army squad execut ing spies or traitors" says the an nouncement. ? The statement adds: "The National Coul association reports supports the contention of the Illinois attorney that the masi- - sacre was not spontaneous.'" The statement announces that its. | investigation corroborated storied of "barbarous treatment of the wounded" as reported by -press associations and newspapers,, and declared that some bodies were found to have been "branded." Springfield. 111., July 31 (By^jgg^; Associated Press).?The IlKhois branch of the United Mine Work ers will "finance and erect the de-^ fense" of every union member brought to trial for the Herrjnf~ massacre, Frank Farrington, nh-~ nois president, announced today.: "The very magnitude and stern- / ness of the agitation for the pun ishment of those involved in the rioting creates danger for innocent ? ! men." said ai statement issued over* Mr. Farrington's signature this af ternoon. Fuel Committee Ready to Greenville. Aug. 1.?Ben E. Gei^f chairman of the South Carolina togl committee recently appointed fcy Governor Harvey, tonight made thwi following statement: *^"he stai?- ?? fuel committee, composed or\B. EL Geer. W." P. Conyers and A. G: Furman. has not yet received full/ instructions from Washington to procedure and additional infor mation will be given to the press as received from day to day. ; .* "All applications for coal will be handled according to priority * established by the fuel administra tion at Washington and in order of the emergency indicated.- All applications if sent by telegram ? shouid be confirmed by letters, and with each application the fol lowing, special information. should be given: . " '- ' ~7~T "Nature of consumer, if public utility or otherwise: % "2. Character of coal required, including source from which- supr ply has been previously obtained. "3. Amount of coal on hand and weekly, consumption. "The fuel administration at Washington has ruled that nb*requi sitions will be honored unless ac companied by evidence guarant?-^ ing payment of sight draft wii$L* weight certified and car number at- s tached. "The state fuel committee, rec- ' ommends that each consumer ar range with bankers to guarantee financing of shipments. "Each application to the state commission should be accompan ied by a letter from the bank ca**c rying such a guarantee. Pending the organization of the state eoqfc mission and final announcement fef definite procedure, effort will he made to handle individual orders a- promptly as possible wher? emergency arises." Hollowell Leaves Export Corporation Columbia, Aug. 2.?R. L. Hol lowell has resigned his position a? secretary and treasurer of the American Products Export and Ins* port corporation, the resignation being made at a meeting of the board of directors of this organ ization held July 25 and becom ing effective at the close of busi ness July 31. His resignation was accepted with a statement of ap preciation of his services. Richard I. Manning, president of - the corporation, was elected treas urer and from now on will be both president and treasurer, with addP*/ * tional compensation. Robert V. Read was elected as sistant treasurer and secretary of rhe corporation. '..?>? WILL ACCEPT HARDING'S PLAN Chicago. Aug. 2.?Union chiefs, headed by B. M. Jewell, head of the striking shopmen, met again today to act on the president's proposals for a settlement of the rail strike. Following yesterday's session, it is intimated that informal ac ceptance of the plan will be voted;.