Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-11-23
I'VE Deal Directly With Fed
eral Government" Mine
Owners Tell Harding
Thorne Committee at Des
Moines.
STEAM COAL PRICE
MAKES BIG ADVANCE

Des Moines, Nov. %. - Through
their attorney, Ed Perry, eleven coal
operators in and around Des Moines
refused to answer the list of questions
put to them today by the committee ot
the Iowa League of Municipa lities
frelative to the cost of the production
OF coal.
At a public hearing in the office OF
Governor Harding, the governor and
the committee were told that this was
ia matter for the government to handle
and not the state nor other organiza-
tion.
GOVERNMENT Is SUPREME.
"The prices have been fixed by the
government and the coal operators
submit that federal Jurisdiction should
be recognized as supreme and that
they should not be hampered by spor-
adic efforts Of local parties Mr.. Per-
~ declared.
This attitude Of the operators, how
ever, did not prevent the Investigation
from proceeding and before noon Gift
ford Thorne, an attorney for the Iowa
League of Municipalities had estab-
lished that screened coal had gone up
from SIS cents ton to $1.70 immedi-
ately after the government fixed the
price last summer.
HARDING Is ON "JURY."
Goal operators, dealers, mayors OF
cities railroad men and others are an
tending the hearing. Governor Hard.
ing and the committee OF mayors,
John MacVicar Of Des Moines, M. b.
Snyder. Council Bluffs, and Mayor r.
D. McNutt, Muscatine, conducted the
Investigation.
Mr.. Thorne put a number Of wit
nesses on the stand and the investiga-
ton followed the procedure that OBJ
tains in state railway commission
or interstate commerce commission
hearing.
PRESIDENT HAS DATA.
.fDo you not consider that such infoy-
nation as this investigation would
bring out should be given the public and
would be of assistance to the presi-
dents" Governor Harding asked Attor-
ney Perry. The latter replied that tho
president already had this informa-
tion.
Mr.: Perry said he represented the
Iowa coal companies: Central
Iowa, Norwood White, Des Moincs
Coal, Maple Block. Saylor, Wright
Bloomfield. Enterprise and Keystone.
COST s1.42 A TON.
r. D. Stamm, secretary Of the state
mine inspectors department, was put
on the stand by Mr.. Thorne to bring
out the fact that the Iowa coal con-
sumption, outside that used by the
is just about the same as
the lowe production.
Mr.. Stamm also submitted figures
to show what the cost Of producing
coal at the mines of Iowa, based on
employees wages alone in 1916, was
$1.42 ton. The increase In miners
wages will make 1T higher this year.
he said.
1.-THE price Of screenings, used by big
industries such as public utilities, was
increased by President Wilson's order
August 81. and Mr.. Thorne has devoted
much time to opposing the schedule
fixed at that time. Before the govern
ment took charge Of the coal industry.
big industries obtained coal for the
cost Of production or less, and prac-
tically the only profit obtained from
the sale Of all the product was that
which the individual user Of household
coal paid. The presidents price sched-
ule has the effect Of dividing among all
roal consumers the task of paying
,,roj$O to cool nnor1 &c md Hoo loru I