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April 9th 1947 began on an optimistic note as far as the striking Telephone Operators was concerned. A settlement was pending, but it still didn't mean a return to work, not for at least another 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the Coal Miners were gearing up and Mine owners were blaming John L. Lewis for the trouble, saying he would not allow miners back to work until all mines in the country passed safety checks.

In London, the Big Four Conference was being sped up with regards to settling the border question between Poland and Germany, with the Polish frontier under revision. Also in London was former vice-President Henry Wallace, on his way to a number of conferences. He held a press conference where he called for an American move to the Soviet Union as a way of avoiding World War 3. He also advocated a complete revision in Foreign Policy and a curb on Imperialist intentions on the parts of both the West and the Soviet Union.

In Greece, the Army was preparing a sweep of rebel positions. Some 160,000 troops were involved.

David Lilienthal was confirmed as Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, ending an 11 week debate over the appointment.

President Truman was taking a wait-and-see approach with the Republican Majority 80th Congress.

Services for Henry Ford were slated for the following day (April 10th). And Frank Sinatra had a date in Court in Los Angeles over an alleged fist fight between him and an over-zealous reporter.

And that's how this day rolled - that, and a lot more via two broadcasts for this April 9th, 1947. The first from the NBC News Roundup and the second from NBC News Of The World Night Edition.

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John L. Lewis: “The United Mineworkers Of America are instructed to resume immediately the mining and production of coal to continue until Midnight, Wednesday November 30, 1949”

There were also some local elections and a look back at the 1948 Presidential election with the famous Harry Truman clip about listening to dire predictions of election returns on his radio.

All in all, a reasonable week as far as history goes. At least it was a hopeful one and you can't say that all the time.

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(John L. Lewis mincing no words before Congressional hearings on Mine Safety - 1952)

Editors Note: This is a repost from last year, the occasion being the recent Mine disaster in West Virginia. As part of this continuing look at the Labor Movement in America, I'm including it here as a reminder - G.S.

With the news earlier today of the Mine disaster in West Virginia, I was reminded how much mine safety had been an issue during the days when John L. Lewis was President of the United Mine Workers Union. How accidents were a common occurrence some 60 years ago and how much of a struggle there was to ensure safe working conditions for miners in this country. That the accident in West Virginia was the worst of its kind in 25 years suggests that conditions have improved. But the danger is still the same and the loss of life is never different. The question if whether conditions have been relaxed in recent years is always up for speculation. The notion of cutting corners to increase profit is a consideration. Perhaps not to the extent in John L. Lewis's day as is evidence by this excerpt from his opening statement during a Congressional investigation on Mine Safety in 1952.

John L. Lewis: “I sometimes wonder why the great God above don’t punish them while they’re speaking their brutal language before the Congress of the United States.”

But then, John L. Lewis was never one to mince words.

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(John L. Lewis - even at 80 he was still busy drilling)

John L. Lewis certainly looms large in the annals organized labor history. Going back to the early 1900's, Lewis was a staunch organizer, leader and outspoken critic. He had his fair share of run-ins with the government, not to mention Management. But he was always on the side of the worker, always fighting for safe conditions. He didn't endear himself to the press, as was evidenced by this Meet The Press appearance on May 31, 1959.

Clark Mollenhoff: “Mister Lewis, while you were before the committee a week or two ago, you said that, during all those years, those early years in labor ‘I occupied the proud position that Jimmy Hoffa occupies today’. Now, do you really think that’s a proud position in labor?”

John L. Lewis: “Have you any sense of humor, at all?”

He certainly didn't pull any punches and the show ended six minutes early.

But John L. Lewis was just like that.