Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-11-23
WHY COAL MINES FAIL
COOPERATE FULL TIME
Economic Reasons for Condition Which
Is One of Complaints Involved
In Bituminous Strike.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.


~ OMETHING is radically wrong
with an industry that averages
IL less than ESQ working days a
year. In 191S-a year Of great
production-the bituminous coal mines
of the country operated only 249 full
working days, according to the sta
tistics of the geological survey. Nor
| is this a new condition for the in
dustry. For the last twenty-three
years the statistics show that 249 is
the greatest average number of work.
/! ing days in any one year, and in 1894
| the average was only III days.
Four main causes have been as
signed for this failure of the mines
| to be continuously operated and to
miners:
1. Lack of railroad cars upon which
| to load the coal as it is taken IRON,
the mines. There has been .particu-
! larly strong complaint of lack OF
| cars during the present year.
2. Labor shortage, due to labor
| troubles bringing about strikes, and
actual shortage of men.
8. Mine disability, due to break
down of machinery or an accident
| that prevents working the mines.
T. Lack of market for the coal.
! Issue in Coal Strike.
The failure of the bituminous coal
| mines to give continuous employment
to the men has come to the fore
| more strongly than ever before at
| this time because of the nationwide
coal strike. The trouble has existed
! for years, however, and so far no cure
has been found.
The miners are proposing as rem
| edy that the working week be cur
tailed to five days of six hours each
| thirty working hours week. Tney
contend that under such conditions
the mines should be able to work
continuously and give the men con-
slant employment.
| But the great difficulties that lie In
| the way of continuous employment OF
| the miners, according to men who have
studied the subject, are to be found In
|
| the impossibility of storing bitumi-
| nous coal after it has been mined
| without danger of great loss, due to de-
terioration, spontaneous combustion, and
the necessity of storing under cover.
In the spring and some of the sum-
mer months the demand for coal fallf
off. The coal operators can find ne
market for their coal If they continue
! to work full time. On the other hand
in the fall and winter the demands fol
the coal are very great. They have
large market to supply.
| This situation has resulted In the
development of a number of mines
and the employment of sufficient
number of miners to meet the period
of great demand for coal. This de-
mand has to be met or the people and
| the industries of the country suffer
Too Many Mines and Miners.
| The consequence has been that there
are too many mines and too many
miners to permit of continuous daily
employment throughout the year, even
if it were found possible to store the
coal mined until it could be sold and
used. If all the coal mines in opera
| ton when the strike began should
work continuously the year round, the
production of coal would be in the
] neighborhood of S00.000,000 tons a
/ year, whereas the consumption OF
bituminous coal will run this year
about 5o0.O00,0o0 tons. and last year
the consumption when the country
was in the full blast of war prepare
ton and industries working at top
speed was about 5S0.0o0,000.
| So it seems that if there is to be
continuous operation of the mines and
/ the miners throughout the year. the
number of mines and miners must be
reduced. The capital in some of the
| mines must go elsewhere and the
miners must find other jobs. The in
| dustry could not stand the production
of surplus of something like 3oO,-
100000 tons of coal year.
! Senator Frelinghuysen of New Jer-
sey, chairman of subcommittee OF
the Senate committee on interstate
cation into the high price Of coal and
! the industry generally, will submit to
| his committee several suggestions
looking to remedying this evil of nom
continuous operation and employment