The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1917-08-30

WO0OQ CIxS0 tue A0tuSAS&pS HASOS
for Producers and .Jobbers and
Sets Limit on Profits Of
Bituminous. nv
Washington, Aug. 73.-eovern-
ment control Of the coal industry was
made almost complete tonight, when
President Wilson named DR.. H. "a.
Garfield, president of Williams coli
Ilege, fuel administrator, fixed anthra-
cite prices for producers and jobbers
and set limit on profits to be made
BY bituminous wholesalers.
| The next and final step will be TO
make regulations for coal distribu-
ton and to fix anthracite and BIZ
luminous retail prices. This will be
done when a distribution programme
is perfected and when the federal
]. trade commission has completed =
plan under which retail profits may
be fixed.
The anthracite prices fixed, effect
i've September I. are virtually the
same as those now charged at the
mines under voluntary arrangement
made by producers with the trade
commission. The prices that may be
charged by jobbers, however, will re-
duce present costs sharply. Bitum-
Iinous jcbbers profits, too, will be
cut by the new price scale set Tor
wholesale transactions.
Bituminous profits for jobbefs- are
fixed at IS cents ton OF 2.ooo
pounds, and the. same restrictions
that govern dealings by number OF
anthracite jobbers apply to bitumin-
Gus transactions.
The presidents order forbids rail-
road owned mines from selling to
other mines and prohibits dealers
from selling coal produced BY rail.
road owned mines on basis OF
prices fixed for other mines. The BIZ
luminous jobbers prices become ct
Elective Immediately.
The coal administration will be OF
gained as soon as DR.. Garfield has
completed his work of recommend
ing to the food administration GOV
ernment price for the 1917 wheat
crop. DR.. Garfield's price fixing
committee, it was said today, would
be ready to announce price within
a few days.
DR.. Garfield announced tonight he
would institute a licensing system for
all coal dealings from the mine to the
retailer, and that if prices were fixed
+ Tor retailers the licensing would be
extended to cover retail dealings.
Under the law giving the president
control of fuels the government can
take over and operate any mines fail
ing to observe the regulations pre-
! scribed. A corporation similar to the
wheat corporation of the food admin
istration was suggested tonight as a
/ possibility, to prepare the govern
ment to handle the situation IT the
price fixing plan does not work out
satisfactorily. The last resort under
the law is government requisition OF
the output of all mines and the sale
of it to the public. The organization
Of an operating and purchasing cor
poration would provide all the ma
chinery necessary to put the COM
Wandering provision of the law into
operation.
Fixing of retail prices presents a
tangled problem. Handling costs are
not the same in any two cities, and
flat gross margin that will assume
so,;t,hie profits will be hard to fix.
On the other hand a percentage
profit plan would present even more
difficulties because of trouble in
keeping track of bookkeeping meth
DDS.
The biggest problem ahead OF the
coal administration is the labor sit
|uation. General deduction of prices
| in bituminous fields probably means
labor will be disappointed in many
requests for wage increases. II there
are strikes and production is reduced
the government can operate the
mines, but it has no power to COM
| pel labor to work. Officials of the
government and labor representatives
are negotiating over this problem.
Some operators have declared it will
be. impossible to grant wage increases
under the new scale Of prices, and
throughout the Middle West and in
other parts of the country, general
coal mine strikes are pending.
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