New-York tribune., 1918-07-22
Miners Urged
ToDo" "Bit" by
Staying onJob
Rush to Colors Threatens
Fuel Famine Again
This Winter
Appeal by Wilson
May Be Necessary
Liquor Also Is Working
Against Full Output in
Pennsylvania
By Theodore M. Knappen

warn, in winter. Pennsylvania anthra-
cite is preeminently the domestic fuel.
In other times people have even burned
it on the Pacific Coast, paying $50
ton for it rather than burn local soft
Goals at S6. Out of an annual produc-
ton OF about S5.00o,ooo gross tons,
about 5a 900 900 is in domestic sizes.
The rest goes to the railways, power
plants. central heating establishments
and industries.
The men who work the mines of
anthracite are. therefore, primarily the
sources Of winter comfort and heat for
the household. # they succeed in their
great struggle 70 produce snort-handed
all the coal you will need. you will
have q winter without hardship. II
they fail, you will know something Of
the suffering of war.
With their ranks reduced from 177,-
900 to $4,000. the miners of this re-
gion have been called upon to produce
at least as much coal as last year. SO
far thev have about held their lines. In
fact, by falling back on the reserves of
the culm banks. they have actually
shipped more coal so far this year
than last by about 100000 tons. But
there has been a slight decrease in the
tonnage of domestic sizes
The culm banks (thc waste of former
times WELD more steam than domestic
coal. The freshly mined coal is largely
domestic, and the fact that the ship
ments of domestic sizes are declining
shows that the thinning Of the labor
ranks is beginning to tell. If this de-
cline should continue throughout the
year, it inevitably will mean that the
domestic coal that has been set aside
on paper for the North Atlantic and
New England states will have to be re-
duced that means trouble.
No apportionnent was made of the
steam coal All of it that can be
shipped goes through the ordinary
trad CHI nnels 10 It's normal destina-
tons. The demand for it is so in
sistent that there is tendency to ship
larger proportion of steam sizes.
Most Important First
The only rules regarding its distri-
button are that in any event the more
important war industries must be taken
care of. That is a job in itself. The
Bethlehem Steel Corporation was wont
to use 100000 tons a year. Now it is
calling for 100000 and may go to 1000
0o0. So with other throbbing war in
dustres
Here in the anthracite country, as
in the bituminous regions the chief
enemy of max mum production with a
smaller working force is booze-the
best friend of Germany in the United
States just now. In this (Schuylkin)
ceggty. 9gd with 100000 people, there are
1900 saloons. In some communities
there is bar to every fifty persons.
Not content with this, it is the Gus.
tom Of the brewers to send out wagons
travelling saloons-to dispense beer
and whiskey to the miners as they
come from their work. They actually
pursue the men with their anti-coaI
toxin. He who would escape must lit
orally fec. Sunday is the field day OF
the booze forces. On Sunday they de.
stroy Monday.
The miners are good lot. They
Their patriotism runs high and their
Intentions are good. But just after
they have pledged themselves TO re
newed efforts booze comes along and
they forget-to some extent Despite
booze they are exerting themselves ex-
traordinarily, but without it they
could do 10 per cent better-and that
~ per cent would solve the fuel prob
lem at least domestically for the whole
hoTrtheastern section of the country,
Even as it is, demon rum is on the
run. It IS said that 500 saloons in this
county viii fail to renew their licenses
because their business has been de-
stroyed. Credit part of the destruc
,ion TO the patriotism of miners, who
Know that to do their duty they must
Geny themselves their customary in.
dulgence. Credit the rest of it to the
great host of motion picture theatre,
mat have given the miners u substi-
tute for the hospitable saloon. 1t is
me custom in this black diamond
country for miners to enter q motion
picture theatre and stay till the lights
20 out, while the films go round anc
round
A Natural Soldier
four miner IS natural soldier anc
something of an adventurer and sport
me war game appeals to him. He
volunteers or when the draft reaches
MN he Will not put in an exemption
application. Sometimes when he i.
stopped by an exemption secured fol-
MN he quits and goes to some non
essential industry and thereby get:
INTO the ranks Of the fighting men.
1T IS hard to discourage this sort O
spirit To hold the men in the Goa
industry it has become absolutely nee
essary TO teach them that to do thei
nest for their country they must den,
themselves the honor and glory of tn
battlefront. 1t always has been pos
slble for local exemption boards t.
Keep the miners in deferred classes
out they are emotional, too, and the
cant bring themselves to urge fighte
not to fight.
That is why positive instruction
must come from Washington to tn
t.oca boards to give all miners de
.erred classification. More than that
the situation calls for patriotic ap
peal from the President himself beg
ghg the miners not to fight for thei
country's sake. Can you beat it?
IS agreed on all sides that tn
resident can do more to stimulat
coal production than all the other in
nruences that can be brought to beal
ne can not only keep the miners ou
oi tse army, but he can get them
work longer. IF he will adopt the suq
gestlon of the coal producers, max
1ne appeal. style the miners member
ol national service honor, give thel
some little souvenir of his persona
Interest-a badge or chevrons-an
send his own personally chosen repre-
sentatives into the mining regions I
teii the men that the executive hea
or the nation desires them to wor
nnaFder and longer and stay out Of tn
n,ghtlng army the effect will be wor
ucrfui. But while the miners wait fc
snls word that doesn't come the RI
Sruiting offices are still at work rigl
III the shadow Of the mines