The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1903-01-01
The Coal Problem.

The Coal Problem.
The President in his message Il
Congress, recommended that the duty
on anthracite coal be abolished. On,
or more bills to amend the Dingley
tariff bill have been introduced in Con
gress to that end, but the committee
to which they have been referred has
officially. that the Republicans in Con
gress have determined not to report
any bill that will 'meddle with the
tariffs" as even such an innocent bill
as one to remove the duty on anthra
cite coal would. if reported. be open
to amendment. and thus start up the
whole question of reforming the pro-
tectiye tariff.
A vote upon an amendment to such
a bill would put all the members OF
Congress on record, and most of the
Republicans do not care to be record
ed as being opposed to taking off the
duty on trust products that are being
sold to foreigners cheaper than to the
~AAASkiNthh PCOPiC SlCsit
publican Congressman would he be-
tween the devil and the deep sea if
they were compelled to record them
selves on this issue. Some of them.
perhaps enough to carry an amend
ment, might vote with the Demo
Gratis. To have a number of Repub-
Hcans vote to place trust products on
the free list would be disastrous to
that party. as it would show split
on an important issue and would per-
haps lead to further decentralization.
Thus to save the Republican party
from exposing its lack of unanimity,
even the recommendation of Presi-
dent Roosevelt for the removal of the
duty on anthracite coal remains un-
noticed by the party leaders, and this
slight relief to the people is denied.
If the President had also included
bituminOus coal in his recOmmenda-
ton, his case would have been much
stronger, for free soft coal would give
greater relief to the coal consumers
than free hard coal There have been
some importatiOns of what is called
Scotch and Welch anthracite coal un-
der the stress of the present coal fam
inc, but as it ranks but little better
than the good qualities of bituminOus
coal, it is not very salable at the price
that is demanded for it. nor would it
be if the duty of 81 cents per ton was
not added to it's cost. On the other
hand, free bituminous coal would
greatly relieve the distress now pre-
Nova Scotia coal would compete at
New York and Boston. and every ton
imported would reduce the demand
for anthracite by one-half or two
thirds, the relative value of the Goals
varying somewhat for heating pur-
poses. The importation of Nova ScOs
tia coal, Iee of duty, would, there
FORE relieve the situation and help
to regulate the price and to keep it
within the bounds of reason. 1t
would allow more coal to be shipped
from the mines to the Western States
by reducing the quantity needed at
the seabOard. It would also relieve
the railroads of that much freight and
allow them to hurry forward the
coal which they now say
they are unable to carry In sufficient
quantities to supply half the demand.
Free coal, both anthracite and hi
luminous. is. therefore, an immediate
necessity to every one, and yet Con-
gress delays to pass this most neces-
sary legislation. For partisan reasons
the Republicans have decided that the
cussion. This may be Letting well
enough alone" from the standpoint
of Senator Hanna. who is a mine OWL
er and who is piling up riches by
charging exOrbitant prices for his coal.
but 1t is cruel and inhuman to the
suffering poor and is robbery of those
in better circumstances.
The political necessities of the Re
publican party are so interviewer with
the trusts. it so relies upon the trusts
for campaign funds. that the leaders
who dominate Congress will not al
low any bill changing the present tar
iff law to come up for consideration.
The Democrats would have the right
to offer amendments to such a bin
when it reached the stage of the COM
mittee of the whole, and if bill was
to place anthracite coal on
the free list, the Democrats would
propose to include all coal. Amend
ments would also be offered to put
rust products on the free list, and that
is what the Republican leaders fear.
Thus the abject misery that comes
from lack of fuel is intensified by the
grasping partisans who control the
Congress of the United States. The
trust mother, the tariff. must not be
even to hair Of her head. to
prevent the suffering and loss of life
that is sure to follow if free trade in
coal is not at once provided for