◆ SpookStack

-” io a w po ™s a ; In addition, the Secretary urged the defendants not to take this arbitrary action. He stated that they could not terminate the agreement at vill or whim. But the defendants insisted on following their own ! course, ignoring the rights of the other party to the contract--the &-. ; ~ ; Government of the United States, They refused to recall the "notice" ; they had given. /- y & The strike signal was out--on the 20th of November the miners would ¢ be out toc. To make that more certain the defendants, on the same date, Sata mailed copies of their letter of November i5th to ali of the members of the United I'ine workers. At the bottom of each copy, over the signature of the defendant Lewis, was typed "The foregoing is for your official information.” That was the signal. Copies were posted in conspicuous —-s places at or near the mines. The notice was tantamount to an order to striles-and it had that very result. aaa On Uovember 16th the country faced a despe ~ ves-., _fituation,. If the "notice" became effective on November 20th, the coal mines would 7 be shut dovwm again--creeping paralysis would seize the country's in- a De a en = = = > 2 a rial machine--an estimated five million men would goon be out of worl: our commitments to devastatec cowumtries could not be met; our armed forces in occupation could not be properly maintained; our foreign reletions would be impaired. The struggle had world-wide implications. / = The sovereienty of the Government of the United States was being put to the cest. On the domestic scene, ineone would drop twenty billion dollars; wages a billion dollars every month; production during a most vital period would be dovm 25%; government revenues would fall 280 millior dollars every 30 days. The supply of coal then on hand would last 37 aAneee nf Ww eae a =: = _ a. 4 eo 3 consumption-~if in one stockpilee-put it was scattered 7