Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 70, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 February 1909 — MINERS’ VOTES SUPPORT LEWIS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

MINERS’ VOTES SUPPORT LEWIS

Walker States He Won’t Contest Election. TELLERS REPORT TODAY

President Declares His Stand Will Be Against Dissension and Bickering and That He Will Refuse to Make Any Reply to Any Personalities Aimed at Him—He Says the Time Hat Come For the Convention to Settle Down to Business. Indianapolis, Feb. 2.—The convention of the United Mine Workers of America underwent a change over the week end and the reopening session found the Lewis administration victorious over its opponents, led by John

Walker of Illinois, who was Lewis’ rival in the election for the national presidency. Walker gave out a statement that ha would not contest the election because he believed such action hopeless. The tellers of the vote probably will report today and their report will show President Lewis’ majority to be about 16,000. The first test poll of the delegates came on a motion to adopt the paragraph of the report of the committee on officers’ reports approving the course of President Lewis and the national executive board in suspending President Van Horn and other officials of district No. 11, Indiana, for having disobeyed the mandate of the national officers to discontinue the strike at the Hudson mine. Roll Call Favors Lewis. The roll was called, a process occupying most of the day, with the result that in a total vote of 2,681, there were 1,627 approving and 1,054 dissenting votes. The majority for the Lewis administration was 573. There was little of the spirit of hostility in the speeches of President Feeban and other officers of the Pittsburg district when they took the floor to protest against the action of President Lewis in refusing financial assistance to the striking miners of the MercerButler field. Pennsylvania, on the ground that there was too little chance of success. Rather, President Feehan pet forth the present status of the struggle and appealed to the delegates to support him in the application to the national officers for aid The discussion of this matter will be taken np today. Says Bickering Will Be Stopped. Prior to adjournment President Lewis said it was plain that there should be no further quarreling over'' personal differences and that the business of the convention should now be disposed of as quickly as possible. He would give all information asked for In regard to his attitude toward the Mer-cer-Butler strike, he said, but he would not engage in bickering with his critics The convention now is in its third week. It will be necessary to elect a national vice president and a national secretarv-treosurer on the floor of the convention, for in the December election no candidate received a majority of the votes cast.

THOMAS L. LEWIS.