Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-12-26
THE COAL COMMISSION

WYE HAVE heard great deal of
Wv the evils of legislation by
commission, but never has
such a body of men held greater
control over the welfare of the
country than the commission for the
investigation of mine wages and
coal prices to be appointed by the
President under the terms of his
settlement with the strikers. That
commission will be clothed not only
with power to fix wages at any
figure that may be agreed upon bv
the miners and operators, but to pass
that increased cost of production
along to the consumer of coal in
the shape of increased prices.
OF course, the commission directly
cannot make those changes. 1t can
merely submit recommendations 10
the President. But Mr.. Wilson mas
already indicated, in his statement
outlining the terms of compromise
for the coal strike. that he Will ac-
cept whatever arrangement the
commission may make. Under the
provisions of the Lever Act the
President has full power Ito fix the
price of coal and coke, wherever ana
whenever sold, either by producer
or dealer" He also can establish
rules for the regulation of and to
regulate the method of produc-
ton" of coal Under the latter au-
thority he can fix wages. After
those scales of wages and prices
have been promulgated by the
President, there is no recourse for
the public short of repeal of the
Lever Act itself, under which his
power is derived.
1t has been the policy of Con-
gress for many years to favor legiS-
lation prohibiting combinations in
restraint Of trade. Such combina-
tions were considered as imposing
an unfair burden upon the public in
the shape of unnecessarily high
prices, and to furnish means
whereby certain classes of our citi-
zens were able to enrich themselves
at the expense of the others. But
no business combination has ever
been conceived that would exercise
the complete monopoly to be en-
ioyed by the coal industry from this
time on. It will be able to dictate
the prices of its product at all times
and from that dictation there will
he no appeal. Far from being in
terfered with by the courts, it will
enjoy the complete protection of the
Administration, acting well within
the powers granted to it by Demo-
cratic Congress.
With the knowledge that in
creases in coal costs may be passed
along to the consumer, the operators
will readily capitulate to any de-
mand the miners may make. The
miners are we'll aware of that fact,
and have as little regard as the
operators for the public as whole.
That being the case, how long Will 1T
be before the miners are renewing
their demands for n six-hour day, a
five-day week, and a sixty per cent.
raise in wages? There is nothing in
the agreement under which the
mines have resumed operations that
prevents other strikes whenever the
miners may think such procedure
will further their cause. Even
though the award to be made by the
Presidents commission may give
the miners far more than the terms
of the tentative settlement now in
force. there is no means by which
they may be made to accept the ar
rangement permanently or even
temporarily. Immediately the award
is made. a strike may be called for
still better terms.
Although the Presidents follow
ers are hailing his action in the coal
strike as a tremendous stroke of
executive genius, in reality 1T but
payes the way and provides the
means for an interminable struggle
between miners and operators on
tbe one hand and the public on the
other Until some other arrange
ment is made the public will always
he the loser, by reason of its minor
ity standing on the a!l-powerful
commission.