In notices posted at the mine plant
and printed in Wallace and Kellogg
newspapers as paid advertisement,
"neutral employees" of the Sunshine Mining company were notified today by mine owners' "committee of 356" that "they may return to work not later than 6:45
a. m. tomorrow." "This is a deadline," the notices read.
"Neutral employees" were de-.
scribed as men who have not been
working since the Sunshine strike
started Monday, but have not been
on the C. I. O. picket line that has
swarmed upon the highway near
the mine and attempted to influence workers to stay off jobs. Company officials said there was an
increase in the work crew today
over yesterday's 330.
Committee Rules Mine.
The "committee of 356" is so
called because it was this number
of men who cast ballots against
"outside influence" in company affairs at the time the first vote was
held at the company property in
June. R. M. Hardy, president of
the company, said that "operations
of the mine have been turned over
to the committee for the present."
He reiterated that "these men have
shown the finest spirit of loyalty
I have ever seen exhibited in a
group of workingmen."
These workers went to the mine
from Wallace and Kellogg today in
trucks, but the committee arranged
to  have  busses  for  transportation
'This committee does not consider this a strike, but a minority
walkout and we can back this statement by signed affidavits of two of
the union judges who counted the
votes in last Friday's election," the
workers' committee said today.
Say Few Favored Strike.
They cited that Thomas F. McGuire, C. I. O. organizer, "has not
made public the actual vote in the
union election," and said that "it is
our understanding, on reliable authority, that but 214 votes were
cast and that of this number 90
were opposed to a strike, leaving
124 out of the company's crew of
534 who favored a strike. Such a
minority should not be entitled to
dictate the work policy of the company or even attempt to prevent
the remaining 411 men from carrying on their constitutional right
to work."
Drunkenness and disorderly conduct were charged against pickets
on the night shift, who, the committee statement alleges, "are disturbing residents at or near the
mine and making themselves bothersome to an extent that these residents have requested that four deputy sheriffs be placed on each night
shift."
There was no violence as men
went to and came from the mine,
but jeering of pickets marked the
procession of trucks and workers
through mine property. At least 40
women and some children were in
the picket line.
Sent here as Governor Clark's
personal representative, J. L. Bal-
derston, state commissioner of law
enforcement arrived here late tonight. He declined to make any
statement as to his plans other than
to say he would "begin work in
earnest" in the morning. He indicated the governor had outlined no
definite course of action.