Gaffed

Labor's biggest whale was reduced to herring size last week. In a brief climax to a long legal fight, John Lewis floated once again into a Washington courtroom, sniffed contemptuously at newsmen, stood up and glared when Federal Judge T. Alan Goldsborough came in, then plumped himself down to hear his fate.

Facing him was the man who had prepared the Government's case--bouncy, 40-year-old Assistant Attorney General H. Graham Morison. Early in the week, Morison had persuaded Goldsborough to slap a $1,400,000 fine on Lewis' union and a $20,000 fine on Lewis himself for criminal contempt of court. Shaken by that and the threat of more to come, Lewis had wired his union chiefs: "I do hope [the miners] immediately return to work." To make sure they did, Morison had got an 80-day injunction prohibiting Lewis from ordering another walkout. Now Morison was ready to put the gaff on him.

He pressed the charge of civil contempt.* Lewis could be jailed or fined on the civil charge at the discretion of the court. Morison noted that 85% of the miners had gone back. His recommendation: the civil penalty should be postponed. This meant that Lewis would still be on the hook. The court could haul him in and fine him at the drop of a miner's pick. Judge Goldsborough thought the suggestion "eminently proper" and adjourned the case.

* The difference between criminal and civil contempt is a hairline visible only to lawyers.

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