The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1919-09-04
J D. Morrow Tells Senate
Commute Such a Combina-
tion Mould Be impossible.
PRICES ATs MINES LOWER
THAN LAST YEAR
Better Grades Of Coal n ave Advanced
Il. But lower. Grades Declined,
Making Average Of AN
Grades less. Il

/ washington, IL. C.-(Speclll)--A
lcOmbination among bituminous coal
Operators 4 to maintain Or fix prices
does not exist and would be impossible
HI attempted, q. d. ~. Morrow, vice
president of the National Coal assOcia-
| ton, told the senate subcommittee in
TITS first ilay s inquiry here into the
coal situation. Prices at the mine, MI.
Morrow added, have declined under
the competition which prevails and are
lower now than they were a year ago.
''There are about 5000 separate com
mercial producers operating apprOxi-
mately seven thousand mines from
which bituminous coal is regularly
|shipped,' Mr.. Morrow said. TN addi-5
ton there are some two thousand oper-
ators with about three thousand mines
who begin producing and selling coal
whenever the price goes up little
and offers profit to them. Thus in
l917 coal production was reported to
the United States geological survey
from 1904 mines. Moreover there
are hundreds of thousands Of acres Of
coal lands along railroads on. which
. new mines can be readily and quickly
opened by anyone so disposed.
"Such condition obviously does not
lend itself to restrictive combinations
among producers. In addition the
operators of each mining field are sub
i ject to competition from the producers
of other fields, so that buyers have
many different sources of supply avail
able to them. I...
! anyone. who alleges that there is a
nationwide combination among btu
minOus coal producers when these are
the conditions of bituminOus coal pro-
duct;on- and distribution, merely adj
!. vertises his own ignorance or convicts
himself of deliberate and vicious mis-
statements. E~1t & r.@
\ "Of the five thousand separate btu
lminOus coal producers in the United
States, 2,294, approximately As per
cent, hold membership in the National
Coal association. They produce about
I5O percent of the total output of
|bituminOus coal in the country.
Charges thstl the National Coal
tain prices are without foundation in
jfact;s they doubtless proceed simply
4 from ignorance of it's purposes and
activities. The National Coal associa-
| ton neither buys nor sells coal; nei-
1ther does it have anything whatever
to do with the prices which it's men,
oers ask or sell at, nor with the terri
.ory into which they ship their ycoal,
2or the quantity which )they produce"
| Nh. Morrow stated that bituminOus
,oal prices have declined since the
armistice, and in general are lower
han the prices fixed by fine United
States fuel administration. He sub
nitted charts to the committee graph
!cally showing the prices which btu
ninOus coal sold at at tie mines in
! different districts Of the United States
j rom April ! to August 1, 1919. In
connection with these charts, Mr.. Nor
low explained that when the price re-
strictions OF the fuel administration
we're removed on February 1 last the
better and more desirable Goals went
% a premium in the open competitive
/ market and the less desirable Goals
declined in price. +
This was the action to be expected,
1e said, in a market where the buyer
exercises his choice and can obtain
he kind he prefers AS a result, in
stead Of the, uniform prices in diff;
.erent districts, which We're fixed by
|.he United States fuel administration.
prices promptly spread out, some Goals
1 going higher and some lower than thew
! lld been. ;y
| Meantime Mr.. Morrow said, ..the
| cost Of producing bituminous coal is
ligher now than it was a year 90. due
20 the fact that the mines then were
operating six days a week aud in many
eases now are operating only four days
ger week, and in some. cases only three
lays per week: The Overhead expense
sf maintaining mines goes on lust the,
same whether coal is produced or not.
These ldle.day expenses, have resulted
II increased costs per ton as compared
with last year. When these increased
costs are considered in connection with
che general decrease in prices, it is
| clear that profits of bituminous coal
operators are materially less than d
year ago. sg&
Referring to statements by Repre-
sentative HuddlestOn of Alabama,
tD!rectOr General Hines Of the railroad
administration and Others, to the eff
fleet that bituminOus coal prices at the
mines are unduly high, Mr. Morrow
said: wish to deny publicly and
iemphatically these allegations that
Ibitulninous coal prices are being mains
tanned in some improper manner and
inre unduly high. l am convinced that
these statements proceed SIMPLY from
Il lack of understanding of the facts
Mr. Morrow drew comparisons be-
tween the prices, of bitulninOus Goals
lat the mines in the United States and
foreign countries.
Prices at the mines in Great Brit
ain, he said. ARE about three times
the mine prices sprevalent in the
United States. In France the mine
prices are more than tl.reeland a half
times those of the United States.
English mine prices lpnge from $G.y4
to STA per ton, while bituminous
coal in France is costing about $3.50
ter ton at the mines. The aSarage
finsne price of bituminous coal sold in
the United States is in the neighbor.
hood Of 81 40 PER tor. Z y!