New-York tribune., 1918-07-19
Increase Is 5-8 of Ton
in West Virginia
District
Patriotism a Big
Incentive to Work
Miners Wives Preach
"Win the War by
Saving"
By Theodore M. knappen
,Sn..;ol pispotcA to The Tribune

iSp,.iol Dispatch TO The Ir7bune)
PARAMOUNT, w. Va, July 1S.-This
:. tho headuuarters of the Consoll-
acted Coal Company of the giant
.orrorations of the bituminous coal
r;ning industry The company en-
,,ovs twelve thousand men. West
virqjnia is a prohibition state. AS the
consolidated company has experienced
chance from wet to dry here and has
r,nes in wet states 1t ought to know
something about the effect of drinking
on coal production. This is what it
Knows: Since prohibition went into ef-
feet its West Virginia miners have in
creased their production about five
s;xths of a ton per man per day. In
other words, they now are getting out
close 10 six tons day instead of five.
The company caused careful study
n Oe made with view to ellminat-
ing all ether causes that may have
contributed to increased production, so
il cannot be accused of having taken
snap Judgment
Probably at least one-half of all
the coal produced in the United States
comes from mines that are in wet
districts Assuming that other wet
districts would show the same increase
in production that West Virginia did,
prohibition would mean an increased
coal output of 900 tons for the
whole country.
Means More Coal
That is to say that nearly one
country requires this year automatical-
ly would follow the inauguration of
prohibition. The improved morale Of
the men would make it possible to
augment production still further.
1t is the effect of temperance on
the morale that causes the coal pro
ducers to say that prohibition is the
fundamental element in the pro-
gramme for the stimulation of pro-
ductlon. None of the other measures
they propose can attain their full eff
iectlyeness without prohibition.
"lt is impossible to attach too much
Importance to the elimination of drink
ing as d factor in meeting the coal
crisis, said George T. Watson, vice
president of the Consolidated COM
pany.
The Fairmount field probably has
suffered more from the lack of trans
portahon than any other large coal
inning district. There were times last
winter when thousands of the miners
could not work thirty hours a month
because there were not enough cars.
Inc district still shows large nom
maj deficiency IN cars.
Output Is Record
The coal mining boom of the last
Two or three years has caused a mine
ueYelopment Tar in excess of railway
eapaclty The condition cannot be en-
,reiy removed until the railway out
g, 1eIs are enlarged by the building of
eUIp4e tracks and lengthening sidlngs,
anu 'ne Improvement must not be
merely local, but extend to the main
Th me OF the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
ane baltimore & Ohio trunk line could
mo' possibly haul all of the cars of
.Idi mat could be delivered to it from
,ae feeders, even if they were adequate
W serve the mines. The neck Of the
eo.lle Tor the Baltimore & Ohio is
cue cue crossing of the Alleghanies. 1t
Sa,, Sam guarantee to lift only 800 cars a
dsy over the summit, but it now is
oo oO'ns se Two or three hundred cars better
xoon however, by one of those shifts it
soon soon Will be possible to increase tha
shipments by several hundreds of o.re .re
.tly otally. BY moblizing the facilities Of +
Me- pennsylvania and of the Western
,";alyland ,;n. IN conjunction with the Raj
m1m nnure & Ohio, and thus making maxi
"''N" use OF some trackage that hith-