The evening world., 1919-07-08

which pictured conditions as acute,
but which did not point out that
production in 1913 was not nearly so
essential as II was In the stress OF
the war in 1918. A sample az the
warnings issued BY this bank plainly
shows the Inconsistency Of the plea
launched at the public. Il is as fol-
lows:
'"rhe Anthracite producing COM
panips are working as hard as they
can 20 increase the production OF coal.
There IL q large shortage, however,
the falling or In production during
May alone. as compared with a year
ago. being 1,175,341 tons. For the year
70 date, the shortage is SO great that
II h dlficult to see how IL can be
made good, since many miners re-
turning from overseas service are
seeking other employment.
'Besides this, hundreds Of miners
are planning TO visit their old homes
In the war area as soon as they can
secure their passports and shipping
accommodations. This is . serious
factor which the producing conf
panies have to contend with, for labor
conditions in anthracite territory arc
10 unsettled as 20 make IL essential
for the companies TO keep at work
every miner that Is now on the Job, II
they are abie 20 do 30. The miner is
/ a highly skilled worker and from
present Indications his services will
become OF Increasing importance 10
the country from now on, since exist
| mi nj M mi "a
wholly inadequate 10 meet tho de-
mand, judged by tho standards OF
severe winters.
'Tho present coal shortage is partly
attributed TO the extraordinary condi-
tions prevailing last year. Owing 70
tho severity OF the winter OF 1917
thousands OF people dlled their cellars
last fall with more coal than they
ever bought before. An exceptionally
mild winter followed, so that con-
Humers had more coal than they knew
what TO do with. The consequence
was that In January and February,
when much public buying was ex-
pocted, there was such light demand
a. 20 make It necessary for the pro-
ducing companies 10 work their mines
only four or ave days a week.
This led naturally 70 heavy fall
ing of IN production, as tho producers
could not increase their storage
stocks, owing 20 the immense surplus
already on hand.
There Is not the slightest doubt,
| therefore. that, should next winter
prove one OF unusual severity, a serl-
Gus coal shortage might easily de-
velop. All the producing companies
are doing everything possible to make
good this deficiency and TO so increase
their reserve stocks as to enable them
to satisfy the demand for the domestic
sizes when the broad inquiry devel-
ops later on. There Is relatively little
demand for the steam sizes at this
time"
MANY THINGS BANKS CANNOT
OR WILL NOT EXPLAIN.
In this statement the bank fails TO
state why the operators shut down In
April and part OF May. and why they
contemplate shutting down In August
The bugaboo OF miners returning TO
Europe, in the bank statement, al
though conservative in comparison to
the claim OF the operators that 10000
are planning to cross the ocean, new
ertheless is far short OF the truth, for
no one In this section has yet discoY-
cred a single case OF miners quitting
work to 20 TO Europe. Any quitting
OF work has been due TO the COM
panies deliberately shutting down
their plants several days a week and
thus making II necessary for the
other direction.
Failure 10 operate the vast virgin
helds hereabout constitutes the
strongest source OF criticism. The
| Lehigh Company has one field which
has never been touched, and which Is
estimated to contain no less than
zoo, 100000 tons OF anthracite coal.
This Is only one OF many like cases.
and the natives insist that Federal
Intervention should be invoked, even
IN such action does not appear tinan-
ctally appetizing to the coal baron.
who u trying TO keep down produc-
ton. The Philadelphia and Reading
Coal Company, the Lshlgh Valley
Coal and Navigation Company aud a
dozen less important companies arc
criticised by the knowing ones here
about for similar tactics.
The tax collector OF MinersViTle to-
day confirmed The Evening Worlds
statement that there is no labor
shortage. He knows hundreds OF
miners, knows their Ambitions, and
personally worked in mine from
the time he was ten years old. He
Insists that the men are only too
anxious TO work in the mines and
that the operators themselves are
applying tho brakes to production.
Another official OF a nearby town,
who was afraid to have his name
used, criBply summarized the situa-
tion as follows:
There Is no coal shortage. There
need be none. There Is plenty of
labor, n the companies will take. A
instead OF asserting that the men
insist on loafing two or three days a
week Why don't the companies ex-
plain, In their circulars and publicity,
what was done with that 6 cents
a ton assessment which was levied
last year and collected by them? The
law was later declared unconstitu-
tional, but we had paid that {
cents. Did the company turn in that
money TO the authorities? on, MOI
Did the company give us back that
assessment? oh, no! Six cents a
ton may not sound big. but II amounts
to quite eonsideruble sum when
millions OF tons are CONCERNED.
SLATE AND STONE SOLD TO
GOVERNMENT AS GOOD FUEL.
why don't the companies explain
what they are doing with the huge
mountain OF anthracite stored north
OF Broad Mountain and why they