The sun., 1916-12-01
THE SHORT DAYS WORK IN RELA,
TON TO THE COST OF LIVING.


but the mines Of the United s,a,.,
have been called upon TO supply N.
markets Of other countries forme,,.
dependent upon England which. n,
cause Of the enlistment in her v,,,
armies. can no longer supply them
The situation has become So ,er,.
that laborers on the railroads NM
ought to be employed upon the tract,
are often drafted to the piers for u,s
In transferring coal from the rail.
road cars to the hulls Of the yesssl,
Moreover, the phenomenal actiyi,v
with the attendant high wages ana
high prices has led all sorts and con
ditions Of people to forego once prac.
tised economies in the use Of coal in
their homes. and this enhances ,ba
demand. This Is the condition nj m.
beginning Of winter when an inad..
quate supply Of coal means dls,re,,
in the homes and a diminution OF In.
dustrial activity.
II must be added that n measure a,
blame rests with the consumers a,
coal. Months ago the operators fore.
saw that their difficulties would in.
crease and their production diminish
They besought the extensive users n,
bituminous coal to place their order,
far in advance that they might in a
measure be filled. and urged that thew
store coal for future use. MANY con.
sumers. however. even those who wer.
wont to have storage piles. but had ey.
hausted them. even those whose cor.
sumption Of coal had increased 600 Der
cent. and more neglected TO heed the
warning. indulging in a human pro.
pensity to repose a blind confidence In
the future.
The situation In the anthrac,s
fields Is entirely similar. having been
brought about by entirely simla,
causes. Two years ago the an,hrs.
cite operators in order to keep their
mines running and their miners en-.
ployed produced a surplus of anthra.
cite coal that was stored. The stocks
in storage were largely depleted
months ago. and they cannot he re.
plenished. Instead Of each an,hra.
cite miner producing more coal, he
now produces less.
The car shortage in the anthracite
region has not been so serious as in
the bituminous fields. The railroad.
designated "the anthracite lines" a.
nearly all times have been able 10
provide the cars necessary To- marke,
the coal for which there Is demand
Other anthracite carriers with a
greater volume OF more diversified
traffic have not done SO well The
principal reason for the shortage in the
supply OF anthracite coal and tho high
prices lies In the fact that there are
fewer miners and mine laborcrs. and
that these men will not put forth the
effort needed for the maintenance o.
the industries and for the comforts Of
the homes using this hard coal. When
an anthracite miner has worked Ave
and a half or six hours day hc quits
His laborer may work half an hour
or an hour longer in loading into the
mine cars the coal a miner has blasted
from the vein. lf miners and mine
laborers would work even full eight
hour day the production Of anthracite
coal could he increased by 20 per cent,
and the prices would no longer soar 10
the heights of to-day.
IL ustu ~ a Illlllltt ~
tent in mills and factories and ~ an
extent by the railroads. Its chief Uss
Is for heating the great office buildings
the hotels, other buildings wherein
men congregate. and their homes The
high wages and high prices now pre-.
vailing have led many who were FOR
/ mcrly content to use b!tuminous COD
in their stoves and furnaces. now 4
demand anthracite. Although the an,
thracite companies make lower price
In the summer than in tho winter "
order to keep their mines running
their miners and laborers employed
/ and to encourage consumers to lay !
their stocks FOR the winter II IS thea
! annual experience that the greater
number of consumers delay their o-'
ders until cold weather has arrived
Thus 1t is that at the beginning nj
the winter season. when coal Is mo-,
needed, the supply is diminishing au'
! prices are rising. The root of 'r'
, trouble is in the diminished number n
miners and the dsinclination "f 'h">'
who remain to do even fui d,'
work LOGAN q. M,pUErsnN