The Flick of an Eyebrow

The crocuses were out and so were the miners. According to custom, the strike began on the first minute of All Fools' Day, but affected no mine schedules until 24 hours later.

There was no fuss or picketing. The mighty U.M.W., long since as disciplined as a squad of marines, needed only a flick of John L. Lewis' shaggy black brows. In 23 states, 400,000 miners simply stayed home to spade their gardens, wet a line in a good sucker stream or sit back and warm a well-calloused toe on the kitchen stove. Mine operators sent all but a skeleton force of supervisors home.

In Washington, once the strike was on, John L. flicked his eyebrows at the operators and Labor Secretary Lew Schwellen-bach, who had tried, certain of failure, to prevent the strike. Everybody, including Lewis, knew that just for the asking he could have the same 18-c--an-hour increase which the steel and auto workers had won only by long hard strikes.

But John L. was after folding money: a royalty of 10-c- a ton for U.M.W.'s Health & Welfare Fund. Nobody doubted that he would get it--at least at a compromise figure.

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