The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-08-14
COAL OPERATORS STILL GIVING
TESTIMONY BEFORE COMMISSION
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day will ever recur, although 1t is
not improbable that iron Will reach a
point where it may have to be sold for
s. 90 or less. No two men calculate the
cost of iron alike.
The coal operator is entitled to roy
atty for the coal taken out of the ground.
The furnace man is entitled to payment
for wear and tear. A man who makes
an investment in an Industrial plant is
entitled to a fair profit; to interest on his
money, and to decline in value, and for
requirements. Most of the iron men in
this district barely pulled through for
many years and their plants ran down
and all profits since 1899 and 1900 has gone
into the rehabilitation of the plants Most
of the iron made in Alabama has to go
north for a market. More than 80 per
cent goes north of the Ohio river From
1890 to 1900, not a dollar was invested in
Alabama furnaces. That is to say in
building new ones.
The iron market was higher in 1902 and
1903 for a few months, but, following Gus
tom most of the iron belonging to fur
naces here had been sold in advance for
$11 to s12.
The high price iron sold was In small
lots. Some iron was sold last year for
the first half of 1903 delivery. None of the
iron was sold for the last half of 1903.
Runaway prices are Instantaneous.
During the last half of 1902. there was
united effort among manufacturers in this
district by moral influences to keep the
price of iron down. It would be best for
for all to keep iron down to twelve or
fourteen dollars.
The Coal Market.
AS to the great advance made in the
price of COAL which has been so much
talked about, as compared with the price
paid for mining when the wages were
advanced from BIN to So cents, there is
nothing in 1t. Coal advanced to $1.2O from
80 cents. had steam coal offered me for
60 to 20 cents, bur l would not take 1t for
a present, and haul 1t away. | was then
coal buyer for a railroad. Kentucky coal
has the same rates to many markets that
Alabama coal has Likewise Illinois coal.
After eliminating furnace coal and rail-
road coal. little is left All other labor
beside the mere mining has been in
creased (material. company men, etc.) If
coal Is advanced 10 cents that means
10 cents advance in a ton of coke and %
cents In a ton of iron. Coal lands have
increased greatly in this section.
Operators could not combine and regu-
late sale price of coal. There are 126 mines
in Alabama, and the grade of coal is diff
ferent In each mine. l have seen no evil
dence of any of the operators making too
much money.
AS to Hours.
Miners demand that all employees shall
have an eight-hour day. Conditions here
are not ripe for any such movemnt. The
miner should be eight hours at his work.
One reason given for 1t is that 1t is
done elsewhere and so should be done
here. Why they do 1t elsewhere l don't
know. Operators claim that they have
sustained losses where II was done. 1t
would not reduce output If the miner was
at his work eight hours, and worked
steadily while there.
Men are taken in and out of the west
ern mines, and they are taken In soon
enough to leave them at their work for
eight hours. l don't believe Alabama
miners would accept an eight-hour day
except that 1t decrease their time 20 per
cent. This would mean an Increase IN
cost to the operators of from 70 to "a
per cent This would also affect the cost
of iron. 1t is easy to say the miner would
do thus and So / don't know why we
should believe this. He don't work eight
hours now. He never works any longer
whenever he chooses. out OF 1000 men
working in and about mine not more
than 80 per cent are company men; 70
per cent are miners. The men working
short hours would shut off the washers
at the coke plants. Coke ovens run either
forty eight or seventy-two hours, and all
stoppages in the mines prevent regularity
in the coke plants, and entail serious loss
to the furnace owners.
Don't Work Eight Hours.
The miners don't work more than eight
hours, but 1t requires outside men to work
ten hours to keep up with the miners
working eight hours. We never charge or
draw coke ovens on Sunday The coke
must be drawn with great exactness and
care in order to be of the best quality.
Seventy-two hour coke Is better than
forty eight hour coke. The eight-hour
day would mean decrease in production
and increase in cost Few mines in this
state have an average daily output of
1000 tons Drivers at thirty-five or forty
ton mines might handle a much larger
output. The western mines that have
increased wages have put in either the
air machine or the chain machine The
eight-hour day for miners would cause
all the other men in the furnaces and
other departments to demand eight hour
days. 1t would increase furnace pay roll
fifty per cent. Here conditions are diff
serent from elsewhere. Men get to the
face of the coal at 1880. Trackmen and
drivers go at the same time, that Is,
about a. M, and quit about 4:SO. That
would make about nine and one-half
hours Outside men quit soon after 4;30.
All of the men work less than ten hours,
and get paid for a ten-hour day. The
men start to go into the mines all the
fire at 4 o'clock there are no loaded cars
standing on the side tracks. The wash
ers at our mines don't begin much be-
fore 8 a. m. The washers do practically
nothing before 5 o'clock.
Combats a Theory.
1t is maintained by many advocates of
the S-hour day that men engaged in siren
serve their energy as to do more work
than on a ten-hour basis White men
might do this, but negroes never would.
One of the arguments used is that 1t
would make work for more men. We cam
not get labor enough as it Is There Is no
surplussage at our mines. We are now
fifty men short.
There is much inequity in the way in
which the prices have been fixed as based
on the Pratt seam. A uniform scale would
be all right If the labor was equally good.
The men go where they get the best pay.
In some mines driver could haul eighty