New-York tribune., 1919-11-26
Wide Difference i'm Cost
of Living in Various
Fields Makes Adjust
ment of Pay Difficult
Glass to Disclose
Operators Profits
Hines Asserts Situation
Is Improving and Fuel
Famine Is Not Serious
NeW York Tribune
Washington Bureau

NeW York Tribune
Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON. Nov. 25.--Aftcr six
unable to agree on details Of the gov
ernment plan to bring about an agree
ment between bituminous coal miners
and operators anr when it. adjourned
tonight it seemed to have reached a
deadlock. Director General Hines of
the Railroad Administration and Fuel
Administrator Garfield attended the
session, but neither they nor any mem
ber of the Cabinet offered any explain
alton of the failure to agree or gave
any reason for the long discussion.
The only announcement made was a
simple statement by DR.. Garfield, that
Ject again tomorrow.
Glass Promises Statement
Those who contend that whatever in
crease is granted to the miners should
be borne entirely by the operators
found encouragement tonight in a
brief statement by Secretary Glass that
he might present some figures tomor-
row that should prove every interest
ing" to the public. His figures, he said.
were not intended for the Cabinet but
for the people. AS Secretary Glass has
the custody of income tax returns, it
is believed he is about to reveal the
facts as to the incomes of the coal op-
orators, some Of whom in 1917, accord
ing to former Secretary McAdoo, made
as high as 1000 per cent on their in
vestment.
1t was generally believed tonight
that there was no disagreement among
Administration heads as to the fact
that it was up to the government to
offer a plan. backed by the Cabinet
the miners. and which the operators
could pay without ruin to themselves
or without increasing to any appre-
ciable extent the cost of coal to the
! consumer.
Living Cost COmplicates Problem
In working out the plan the Cabinet
encountered many difficulties. for it
has tackled the problem on the theory
that the cost of living is the great fac
tor to be considered in an adjustment
of miners wages, just as the railroad
administration consistently has solved
reference to it. Living conditions are
not the same in mining towns as
! throughout the country generally, and
this has been taken into consideration
in the Cabinet conferences.
Another set of figures that has both
cred the Cabinet shows the profits OF
operators, which vary with different
coal fields. This fact has made it ex-
tremely difficult to make a country
wide price on coal that would give OPP
orators everywhere a fair margin OF
agreement which would cover the fields
of western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana
and Illinois, the central competitive
! fields, under one price agreement and
wage scale, and other fields which are
closely related in other agreements
The miners would not be sorry to see
such an arrangement come to then
with government sanction, for they
have found it more advantageous in the
past than the present blanket agree
ment. The operators are publicI
against such plan
Gate Left Open to Discord
policy Of this sort will not be
finally adopted without further con
sideration, for the government realizes
1T may result at first blush in sending
the miners back to work, but Offers
the opportunity for many future dis
agreements in different localities
which would be easier to foment
which would keep the industry in I
state of uncertainty and which, if tn,
government actually becomes part,
to all contracts negotiated here, woult
keep the government exceedingly busy
settling such constantly occurring diff
ferences.
Broadly speaking, it was eviden
there was no discussion to-day of thu
possibility of the government taking
over the mines, nor any disposition t.
contemplate such move seriously a
this time. Many government official
are convinced all 1t can do is to pu
out what it considers a fair compro
mise to the operators and miners, t.
urge both sides to take it and let it &,
at that.
If the suggestion is refused the gov
ernment for the present probably will
let them fight it out among themselves
confident that coal production has in
creased so greatly, and bids fair to in
crease SO much more, that the countr
no longer is faced with desperate sit
uation, and believing it might be bette
in the face of such obdurate opposition
to let the operators and miners alone.
Coal Movement Increasing
In this connection Director Genera
Hines tonight issued significan
statement calling attention to the in
crease in loaded coal cars handled b.
the railroads and predicting that thi
week will show an even greater per
centage of the normal number of sucl
cars moved.
The fact that Mr.. Hines gave ou
this statement was taken as reflection
of the growing government feeling tha
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